Gloria Sinaga, 34, one of the participants of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Women’s Pre-Assembly in Namibia, is determined to act on women’s issues related to gender-based violence, gender justice and women’s participation. Sinaga, a representative from the Protestant Christian Batak Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, HKBP) in Indonesia, absolutely agrees with the Women’s Pre-Assembly resolution to address the issues.
She learned from the Pre-Assembly that issues such as gender-based violence, genital mutilation, gender justice, violence against women, women’s participation in the different structures of state and church are issues concerning the entire world. “Earlier I used to think that issues such as gender-based violence, early marriage and violence against women were issues only of the Asian continent. In the Pre-Assembly I learned that people from all over the world have to join hands to tackle the issue,” she says.
The first impression
When Sinaga entered the Assembly and found the number of female bishops in the hall, she discovered a new reality. “It inspired me and I immediately began to think that if women only had the opportunity to receive theological education, every woman could be a bishop,” Sinaga says. She believed that the opportunity to discuss prominent issues of the region with these women is due to God’s grace.
During the four-day Pre-Assembly in Windhoek, Sinaga discussed the issues of her region with other participants and developed a common resolution. “It enabled us to share regional issues and build strong solidarity,” she says.
The Asian way of discussion
Although most women from her region have been able to share the issues women are facing every day, she found Asian people a bit hesitant to speak up and argue. “Although women in my region have very good knowledge of the issue, they are a bit hesitant when sharing ideas publicly. It may be due to our culture,” she says.
The same quiet Asian women however boldly presented in the main assembly. During the plenary discussion held on May 11, 2017, Ranjita Christi Borgoary, a delegate from India, raised her concern that women wearing short clothes are being perceived as a cause for an increased rate of sexual violence, including rape, in the region.
Plan ahead
By profession, Sinaga works in a bank. Despite her busy schedule, she plans to share her experience and findings of the Pre-Assembly particularly related to gender justice and gender-based violence to fellow church members. She plans to disseminate the information to the grassroots level. “Working for the church makes me happy while working at the bank helps me economically. I will be balancing both by the grace of God,” she says.
LWF/Umesh Pokharel
