The Female Face of Poverty

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. After granting shape, life and rhythm to a formless naught, he gazed upon his creation and saw that it was good. Then, God, as an artist sets his signature on the finished canvas, decided to crown his work with his last creation, a being endowed with untouchable sacredness, with his very own image. He created human beings, male and female he created them, so that they would rule over the earth in perfect unity with him as well as with each other…

As part of my studies in Theology, I went on placement during which I hoped to learn about working with women in a church setting. It was here that a small prayer diary was given to me. After chatting to the pastor for while, she took out the booklet and said: “Sarah, read this. This is what women’s ministry is all about.” As she left, I flicked through the pages. The beautiful, staring eyes of women from different parts of the world invited me to share in their stories and pray. Turning to the foreword I read:

“A few years ago, I was asked the question, ‘What will be the greatest global challenge as we enter the 21st Century?’ You may think of war, terrorism, famine, AIDS and a number of other colossal needs, which all surely qualify. But among the most serious issues is gender injustice – the abuse and suppression of women. Why? Because it is the biggest, most far reaching, and most hidden.”  - Loren Cunningham


My later studies of sociology allowed me to study gender inequality more deeply. Although I spent a few months researching the issue, I know I have only scratched the surface of the topic and have discovered only a small fragment of the injustice women experience all over the world. Reading about different situations was heartbreaking. Only reluctantly do I imagine what it would be like to really experience such injustice and 

suffering – apparently, just because God had chosen to make me a woman.

As it is estimated today that two thirds of all poor people on the face of the earth are women, experts often say that poverty has a female face. Although it is not very hard to believe this about distant and less developed countries, I find it shocking that the quota is just about the same in our “civilized” countries. The high number of poor women is intrinsically linked with the changes our societies have undergone during the last decades.  The traditional concept of family and marriage has been undermined and to grow up with both parents is not necessarily the norm any longer. In fact, the fastest growing type of family in Western countries is the single parent family. This is, according to specialists, one reason why women are increasingly affected by poverty. 

In split families, it is usually the woman who will receive custody of the children. Bearing in mind that women generally earn less than men, it is understandable that assuming both custodial and economic responsibility for them can be burdensome. Thus, many women living in this situation struggle to make ends meet. As a specialist once said, “for men, a job is often an effective remedy for poverty, while women are often poor even when working full-time.”

In other parts of the world, women face different kinds of poverty.  In too many societies, giving birth to girls is still a great disappointment or even a curse to which the only remedy seems to be infanticide. Such gender biases have immense repercussion on the well-being of societies. In India alone, it is estimated that 1 million women are ‘missing’ because of gender biases: Baby girls are too often aborted, and those who outlive birth will probably have an inauspicious position in their family, meaning that boys will be favoured concerning basic child care and nutrition, leading to higher death rates for little girls than little boys. Girls will also attend school for a shorter time than their brothers (if at all), as they will have to be prepared for marriage from an early age. Their lack of education robs them of any life chances, rights to make decisions on their own or of any aspiration to change their fate.

The fact that women play an essential role in the well-being of communities is not a particularly recent discovery within development studies. However, the third Millennium goal has drawn attention to the importance of women in development, stating that they must be released and empowered in order to alleviate poverty and raise living standards.  

Anyone using their common sense would agree that the situation of oppressed women has to improve, begging the question why the completion of this mission is taking so long. My guess is that this has to do with the fact that such changes would clash with hundreds of years old traditions and mindsets that now seem unshakable. For millions of women, female circumcision, poverty, forced prostitution and other forms of inequality are simply the reality of daily life.

I wonder if there are such seemingly unshakable mindsets regarding gender biases in our churches today. If experts assert that women’s involvement in society is key to the well-being of a country, could it be the same for the church? Is it possible that for centuries the church has only been living up to half of its potential? If God designed a man and a woman as the foundation for humanity, with a task surpassing mere marriage, that of ruling over the earth, maybe the world would function better with man and women ruling together. Could this maybe also be true for the church?

Global village

I had seen world maps a thousand times before. The shapes and shades were familiar to me, as I had tried to memorize capitals, poked pins in all the countries I had visited, or marked countries I had prayed for. This time, however, as I stood in the prayer room of Regents College, staring at the massive world map, I had the impression to look at a different, new world: every country connected to each other, many poor ones dependent on a few rich ones, the world’s  wealth accumulated in tiny parts, large continents left destitute. In some parts, lives lived blind to the other’s fate. In other parts, lives not worth being called lived.

Having studied about God’s goodness, love and hunger for justice for three years, then to immerse myself in discussion and research about the order of the world and its “playing rules” within further studies in sociology has felt like a kick in the teeth. The present world order somehow reminds me of a scenario we have probably all experienced: a group of children interacting with each other and the bully enforcing and bending the rules of the game in order to suit him. What a relief to see the well-intending teacher approaching and demanding fairness from the tyrant! Alas, there is no such relief to be seen in the world of economics. Some might have hoped the financial crisis would have been enough of a warning, but there is still no sign of repentance for greed.

The values within the current neo-liberal system are completely different to those we believe in as Christians. Efficiency and profit hold the absolute highest priority. Injustice and exploitation, it seems, are merely a price many are willing to pay for higher revenues. After decades of such neo-liberal capitalism, the globalized world hasn’t much improved. In our wealthy and powerful countries, inequality between rich and poor countries grew twofold between 1960 and 1990. In the last thirty years, both in the UK and US (the two countries which pursue neo-liberal policies most aggressively), both the percentage of people who earn less than half of the average income and the percentage of people who earn more than 200 times the average income, has grown significantly.

While the neo-liberal regime tries to integrate as many countries as possible into the global trading system, the result of restructurating often proves to be detrimental to the poorest and most vulnerable of societies. Although the economic journey of the Southern American country, Peru, is seen by some to be a structural adjustment success story, it is also a helpful example of how such structural adjustment can be detrimental to the poorest. In the summer of 1990, the newly elected Peruvian president, Fujimori, instituted IMF (International Monetary Fund)-style structural adjustments in an attempt to stabilize the Peruvian economy and stop inflation. For the population and especially the poor, consequences were shocking: petrol prices rose by 3,000%, electricity by 5,300%, and water and telephone by 1,300%. As food subsidies were withdrawn, the price of food increased extensively.  The price of bread, for example, increased by over 4,000%. All this happened simultaneously with a decline of over 50% in wages. As a result, by 1994, 59% of the Peruvian population was living in poverty.

Within neo-liberalist theory, the consumer (that’s us!) is the most important actor, as their choice concerning what they buy dictates what will be produced. This, I believe is truer than we sometimes realize. We are often unaware of the consequences of our daily decisions, especially regarding what products we purchase. I was so pleased the other day when I, a consumer, bargained for four weaved placemats. Back home, inspecting my purchase with contentment, I noticed a thick, long black hair trapped between the plaits. Quite disturbed, I realized that someone had actually made these placemats with their hands. I can only hope they were the hands of an adult with a fair income, although I think it is unlikely, taking into account the price I had paid for them.

Pondering about this experience, the scripture came to my mind in which a religious man asks Jesus what he needs to do in order to inherit eternal life (Luke 10). Answering his own question, he quotes Deuteronomy: love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself. To his next question, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus answers with the parable of the Good Samaritan. As I felt strangely close to the stranger who had made my placemats, I wondered if she was my neighbour. After all, I had bought something she had made. I had influenced her income in some way, maybe her way of life. Surely I have some responsibility towards people if what I buy influences their lives. As we live in this “global village”, although this lady lives thousands of miles away, I believe she is my neighbour, and that I have to love her, too.