The Three Church Mother Bodies in Zambia which have long been united in speaking out on various injustices, have now come together and developed a commitment to root out gender based violence and inequality through “the Zambian Church Declaration on Gender Injustice and Gender Based Violence”. They have recognized that gender inequalities, imbalances and gender based violence do exist within the churches.
The Leaders of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, the Council of Churches in Zambia, and the Zambia Episcopal Conference committed their member churches to working for gender justice in the various decision making structures within the churches and the rest of society. They also committed themselves to gender mainstreaming in their institutions.
Norwegian Church Aid in Zambia has Gender and Good Governance in the churches as one of its priority areas of work, because if the Church wants to be engaged in the fight for equal rights, the Church need to put her own house in order before criticising others.
The Norwegian Ambassador to Zambia Mr. Tore Gjøs congratulated Norwegian Church Aid and its partners on the good work towards gender justice. He further referred to the United Nation’s resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and said: “I feel that what we are experience today is a long step towards achieving these objectives in Zambia“.
Mr. Ronald Mukuma, the Minister for Presidential Affairs also appended his signature on the Theological Declaration to illustrate both the commitment from Government and as an affirmation of the unity that is required between different organisations in fighting gender based violence.
The signing of the Gender Declaration was a commitment by the Churches to the following;
- Promoting and attainment of gender equity and equality within our Church structures, operations, and practices in the society in which we live.
- Ensuring the proper training in interpretation of some portions of scripture in our theological schools, seminaries and colleges is adequately provided.
- Protecting women and men, boys and girls from the vice of gender injustice and gender based violence.
- Supporting the cause to stiffen punishment and strengthen the Penal Code on gender injustice and gender based violence.
- Imploring the Zambian Government to do what it takes to open up the bill of right (for us) so that social, economic, and cultural rights are addressed.
- Working with the Law enforcing agencies in dealing with gender injustice and gender based violence.
- Ensuring that the Church and our society in general become gender friendly through the on-going advocacy against gender based violence.
- Facilitate gender mainstreaming/sensitivity in our Church.
