By Rev Mafu Mbili
I come before you today as a witness to the power of faith and the promise of justice, a promise that must extend to every woman within our churches and beyond.
We cannot talk about transformation in South Africa, or within the South African Council of Churches, without addressing the realities women face both in our churches and in our pulpits. Too many women in faith communities still experience exclusion, silence, and even violence. And yet, we know the truth: women are the heartbeat of our churches, the carriers of wisdom, and the bearers of sacred leadership.
From a faith perspective, Scripture tells us that both male and female were created in the image of God. Jesus Himself lifted up women in His ministry; He taught them, healed them, and commissioned them. It was a woman who first proclaimed the resurrection. The gospel has never been gender-blind; it has always been justice-bound.
We also need to further look at how we are still misusing sacred text for injustices like it was done in Apartheid.
From a legal and constitutional perspective, our country upholds equality for all. The South African Constitution and international treaties like CEDAW affirm the full dignity and rights of women. But we must ask ourselves: are we, as the Church, aligning our practices with this justice? Or are we part of the structures that delay it?
Aligning our practices with the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide (NSP on GBVF) and how that is another one we need to work better together in.
The KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council (KZNCC) is a prophetic voice in our land. We must lead by example. This means affirming women in leadership at every level, creating safe spaces for survivors of gender-based violence, and challenging theological misinterpretations that have kept women bound for too long.
Let us be clear: faith and law are not in opposition. Both, when grounded in love and justice, can work hand in hand to liberate.
The personal and internal transformation is needed even within the KZNCC (I think this one, many of you share the frustration of how slow things are moving and the blocks that are still put up when you want to deal with GBV and gender policy). The denial that GBV exists, so how you prophetically call this out, will be important. Within other pastors and denominations, women are still abused within churches. They label GVB in a certain way, rather than facing abuse as abuse in any form. Whether spiritual or physical, it an abuse.
As the church, we are called to be not only a spiritual home, but also a moral compass and a healing presence.
Another point is to address the multigenerational woundedness that still exists and continues to be perpetuated in our nation’s structures of government and church and how it needs to be addressed both internally and externally.
As people of faith, we have a unique position to do this, but we have to confess that we have not done this adequately and to look at how this is part of the healing journey.
What is the disconnect from what we know, eg, women are the heartbeat of the church, carriers of wisdom, etc… so why is there still exclusion? This relates to the power issue and who is benefiting from it and these are the reasons we are not seeing changes. Often related to economics as well.
So let us rise together.
Let us create churches where women are not just welcomed but empowered. Where law protects, and faith uplifts. Because when women thrive, the whole church thrives.
This is what KZNCC can do, provincially and even on district levels as a programme, as GBV has taken its toll on women. The Omotoso Case is an example and it must be noted that many more that have not got media attention.
Faith and law can be used as a first to speak about this beast that is affecting women.
