African women account for two thirds of the world’s 774 million adult illiterates – a proportion that is unchanged over the past two decades. In Sub-Saharan Africa 81% of boys were enrolled at primary school during 2005-2009, compared to only 77% of girls. With just 11% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for more than 50% of maternal deaths. The probability that a woman will die from a maternal cause is 1 in 31 in sub-Saharan Africa compared with 1 in 4,300 in developed regions . In some countries in Africa, up to 40% of girls said that they were “not willing at all” at their first sexual experience. In Sub-Saharan Africa, child sexual abuse is rampant with numbers thought to be much higher than reported. Girls are twice as likely as boys to be sexually abused. At least 1 in 5 kids are sexually abused. In some African countries the number reported is 1 in 3 children and in South Africa, the number is 1 out of 2 children being sexually abused. Do not just read these numbers as simple statistics, instead, read these numbers again picturing the women and children around you.
…the trauma of this world is one of the primary mission fields of the twenty-first century. It is one of the supreme opportunities before the church today.” – Diane Langberg, PhD
Genesis describes a God who saw and heard Hagar and Ishmael in the desert (Genesis 16 & 21). Just as God saw and heard Hagar, and sees and hears emotionally traumatized women and children worldwide, we, as Christians, as members of communities, as people, are called to see and hear and act. We are called to advocate for the voiceless around us. We are called to fight the injustices we see around us everyday and globally. We are called to join God in His work of transforming communities with His truth and His life. “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.” —1 John 3:17-18
As we look at the life of an African woman or child, we realize this is not a matter of the need for westernized feminism but about basic human rights.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality always helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor.
Sources:
The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics. UN DATA; UNESCO Institute for Statistics – UIS; World Health Organization, 2010; Moore, 2007; Stolenburg, 2011; Langberg, 2015′; Vacs UNICEF, 2010; Pereda et al., 2009