By Matters India Reporter

Bangkok, Nov. 21, 2018: A three-day consultation organized by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) has called for empowering women to combat gender-based violence in the Church and society.

“Women as victims of violence and as survivors have long mobilized themselves to resist violence, and they have proved effective in peace advocacy, social conciliation, and negotiation,” observed the participants of the consultation that focused on the theme ‘Transforming the World and Building Peace.’

Women, they asserted, are “valuable partners of God’s incredible plan of gender diversity; they are created with a purpose and for a purpose. They should not be discriminated on the basis of gender identity”, observed the participants during the discussion.’

The November 15-17 consultation held at the YWCA in Bangkok was attended by 28 representatives of women’s divisions of CCA member churches and national ecumenical councils across Asia.

The participants shared struggles of women to combat violence at grassroots. They stressed urgent actions for providing the tools and space for dialogue and deeper understanding about the increasing trend of gender-based violence.

Deekshya from Sri Lanka narrated how courageous women at the grassroots in her country who as victims of violence and as survivors have long mobilized themselves to resist atrocities through peace advocacy, social conciliation, and negotiation during the civil war period in northern Sri Lanka.

Srey Sotheavy, a Cambodian young Christian woman peace activist, quoted statistics of a recent UNICEF survey that estimated 35 percent of Cambodia’s 15,000 prostitutes are children under the age of 16. “In order to counter this situation in Cambodian society, the Church in Cambodia need to seek the support of civil society and other faith-based organizations to work together and combat trafficking of women and children,” she asserted.

Reflections on women in Biblical narratives such as Ruth, Hagar, Deborah, and Vashti focused on how to engage and encourage Asian Christian women to re-read the Bible from women’s perspectives.

“We need to find ways to re-write the stories of our own faith and witness in contemporary contexts, and we should not allow bitterness and disappointment to influence our lives,” the participants said.

Susan Thomas, a lay representative of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of India, narrated the stories of the Biblical characters of Deborah and Vashti, and their examples of assertiveness and courage.

“Women in the Biblical narratives who resisted violence and oppression also had to face difficult situations as they stand against injustices. Together we can build peace, bring the change, and transform the world; hence we need coordinated actions to combat violence and oppression”, said Thomas explained.

The participants urged the Churches and ecumenical councils to encourage women and men to work together on a common platform to achieve the goal of gender equality and elimination of violence against women.

The consultation was the third in a series of annual regional consultations organized by CCA as part of a new programme initiative – Ecumenical Women’s Action against Violence.

An Asian Ecumenical Women’s Assembly (AEWA) to be held in Teipei in 2019 will be a major ecumenical event of CCA with focus on ecumenical action of Asian women to combating violence and building peace.