Council for Women's Ministries Learns Women's Issues Never More Visible
Episcopal News Service. December 14, 1994 [94199]
Lucy Germany, Assistant Editor of the Journal of Women's Ministries
Women's issues have never been more visible in the church's ninth province -- nor their solution more in the hands of women, members of the Episcopal Church's Council for Women's Ministries (CWM) heard during two December meetings in Honduras.
The CWM meeting at the diocesan center near San Pedro Sula preceded a three-day meeting with women from Province IX -- the dioceses in Latin America and the Caribbean -- Canada and the United States, gathered as the Anglican Encounter Event. Honduran women sponsored both events and Diana Frade, member of Executive Council, served as coordinator.
Both the Encounter and the CWM meeting produced vivid witness to the plight of women all over the world and a determination to take appropriate action.
The 15 women's groups comprising the CWM focused on the upcoming Fourth World Women's Conference scheduled for 1995 in China and on a proposed Women's Summit that could take place in 1996 in the United States. A third focus was on the Episcopal Women's Foundation and how it might be expanded to meeting funding needs. Small groups strategized on how women could use their skills and talents to advance women's issues.
Over 200 women from throughout the province attended the Anglican Encounter and shared stories of women violated on the streets, abused in their homes and oppressed in the workplace. A panel of professionals spoke movingly on the indifference of government to the status of the desparacedos, political adversaries who have "disappeared," and the plight of the families who continue the search.
Dr. Mirna Thiebaud de Alvarenga, a physician working with AIDS patients, said that the number of cases among women is growing at an alarming rate and that sex education is desperately needed. "What are we going to do to prevent the virus from taking hold of our families -- land what will happen if we continue to be submissive and don't take charge of our sexuality?" she asked.
Others spoke about the harsh working conditions and low pay offered by the maquillas, foreign-owned assembly plants where the owners benefit from cheap labor. Eda Nohemy Moreno, an advocate for women's rights in Honduras, spoke bitingly about violence against women, describing it as a cultural given in homes, on the streets and in the workplace. She called for legal reforms and revision of the Honduran family code.
With hands upraised, swaying to the songs of the hemisphere from a specially prepared song book, the women vowed unity, mutual understanding and support.