Church Hierarchy Hypocrisy Not Man Vs Woman
Marina Gashe – a pseudonym for her actual name Rebeka Njau. Interestingly enough, in an interview with Gashe she is asked the question “what is the one thing which you hate most in life?” Her answer is as follows, “It is the hypocrisy of church leaders. Sometimes I think all churches should be demolished so that they can be built afresh on truer foundations. Even though I worked at the National Council of Churches of Kenya for a long time I did not attend church service and I don’t even now because I cannot stand the doublespeak. Through this perspective, it is clear that she has distaste for the two-sidedness of religion – it is probable that this may relate to the manner in which it portrays women?
I do not think that her view is about whether or not woman are portrayed in a positive or negative light. I think however she is talking about the Church leaders in which the last thing they are concerned with is the shepherding of their flock. She does not agree with the sermons that are preached to the people and the underlying greed which is the real motive for the infrastructure of the church. Sermons are about love and giving and the church and people leave and go out and take and hate.
How do you think this idea is represented within her work?
Marina refers the church as a place where people gather she compares it to a well. People are attracted to the church for spiritual needs as a well would provide for physical needs. She does not talk about her hate for the hypocrisy of church leaders in her writing.
Do you think that her issue with church leaders is related to gender?
It may be part of her issue with the church leaders but I do not think it is connected to who, be it male or female, but the lies that are fed to the flock that angers her.
I found a very interesting take on Culture and equality of the sexes in Kenya where our author Marina Gashe is from. It seems that the author Ciarunji Chesaina, thinks that it will be very slow going for a cultural change to take place even though Kenya is working towards eliminating discrimination against woman. The Kenyan government in 1985 made an affiliation to the Maendeleo ya Wanawake a Kenyan woman’s non governmental organization. The article goes on to say that traditional practices and attitudes by the mother raising their children are detrimental to the change that is so desperately needed. Woman are considered the custodians of culture and if they rear their children as their mothers taught them they are perpetuating the inequality of the sexes. Kenyan woman have not recognized their need to change the way they rear their children no matter the economic success of the family the male child is still brought up to aspire towards the traditional male roles. The mothers ineffectually act as role models for their female children when they continue to act the traditional role to keep family harmony.
Social scientists have observed how difficult it is to effect change on the cultural plane. Nawal El Saadawi author of “The Hidden Face of Eve”, contends: Time and time again, life has proved that, whereas political and economic change can take place rapidly, social and cultural progress tends to lag behind because it is linked to the deep inner motive and psychic processes of the human mind and heart.
The heart of the problem lies the changes that men have undergone due to not having the resources to provide for their family, the role the woman have taken on providing for sustenance of their family by gardening and selling that produce at a market. The man in this family feels emasculated instead of grateful. There is confusion however due to traditionally the man still makes decisions as how the money should be spent. In this situation the woman either relinquishes the right to decision making or fights with her husband if she does not agree with decisions that are made by the husband. Both of these situations do not fodder equality between male and female.
Presently woman head 60 to 80 percent of households in Kenya and are doing so successfully, how ever they are not considered to for any managerial or top level positions in the workforce. They are socially handicapped due to the Kenyan Judicial system. Kenya’s Declaration for Human Rights whose first article reads: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood.” Unfortunately Kenya’s stand in regard to the equality of women to men before the law is only on the institutional and theoretical level. There is a basic gross discrimination against women, the roots of which are founded on cultural attitudes. They are taking the word “brotherhood” literally.
Woman are considered subordinate to their husbands and the men on payment of a dowry for their new wife consider the woman their property to discipline at they see fit. Legally if a man beats his wife and maims her and the police are called it is considered a domestic disagreement and best to be settled at home and not on the court dockets. Another area that woman have no rights is owning of property and if there is a divorce the woman is stripped of all ownership of mutual property. In the case of death woman traditionally did not own property but the woman’s children had the right to farm and provide for the widow so that she did not become a burden on the clan and all the children would be cared for. Clan law however does not exist anymore and individual land ownership does not consider woman to capable of land ownership leaving the woman stripped of her land without means to support her family the land goes to her male in-laws.
It was perhaps 50-60 years ago that a woman’s place in the United States was in her home and the father of the family was the breadwinner, the change from that concept happened due to economics its roots were deeply ingrained in family and cultures. But change happened. Now it is the norm for a woman/ mother to juggle both child rearing and contributing to the family financial health. The father working and pitching in with childcare and household chores. The change did not happen without family strife. Necessity was the force behind the change in roles and that will be what happens eventually in Kenya. If Kenyan society recognizes the need to evolve their culture so that men and woman have healthy relationships, equality between the sexes will happen.
<a href="http://www.crvp.org/book/Series02/II-10/CH25.htm" title="CULTURAL ATTITUDES AND EQUALITY OF THE SEXES: FOREVER INCOMPATIBLE?"
World Lit 2014 