The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure
Senior Reporter
A regional initiative to end child marriages, sexual abuse and Gender Based Violence (GBV) in local indigenous churches has spread its tentacles to Manicaland Province.
It will uncover abuses in the churches and help victims get justice, counselling and empowerment start-up packs.
The initiative will also help in setting up succession policies to avoid infighting.
The majority of apostolic churches in the province have earned themselves a bad reputation for promoting violence and abuse of young girls and women and sweeping the cases under the carpet.
The initiative is being pushed by the Council for Churches in Africa (CCA) in partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development and a development partner, Women Association of Survivors (WAS).
The CCA and its partners are also ready to assist the churches to build schools, clinics and universities for the benefit of their members and the communities they operate from.
South African-based CCA president, Bishop Dr Ricky Moyo last Saturday attended the Pascal ceremony at St Luke’s Apostolic Ejiwel Jekineshen Church which is led by Archbishop Dr Phillip Pferedzai in Birchenough, and challenged churches to build schools, clinics and universities in their areas.
“We have the numbers and can build these schools, clinics and universities, and then name them after our leaders,” he said.
Dr Moyo said lack of succession policies is precipitating factionalism, legal battles and brutal fights when founders or long serving leaders die.
This, he said, injures the name and integrity of the churches.
“Battle for leadership succession in indigenous churches has been featuring in the public domain, battering the image of these churches. This happens because there are no clear succession policies.
“Our churches are self-governing, but going forward we will be helping our founders and long-term serving leaders to put the necessary mechanisms in place for their succession to be smooth. The church should be the light and salt of the world,” he said.
He also said issues of child marriages, sexual abuse and GBV are tarnishing the image of the church.
“The time has come to shun these practices. We are being criticised because these practices are rife among us and we sweep them under the carpet. We need a paradigm shift to protect young girls and women. All men marrying young girls and bashing women must rot in jail, and we are serious about that,” he said.
WAS director, Miss Kuda Kunze said the church can play a pivotal role in extricating victims from abusive relationships.
Young girls who are victims or survivors of child marriages are sent back to school through a programme called Edu Her.
“Church leaders are trained on how to respond to sexual and gender based violence, and also on how to support survivors.”
