CCA Consultation calls for empowering Asian women to combat gender based violence

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

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21 November 2018
 IMG_8346 (EWAAV_NR final)Participants at the Morning Worship and Theological Reflection Session led by Dr. Susan Thomas.

A three-day Consultation organized by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) focused on the theme ‘Transforming the World and Building Peace’ called to empower women in church and society to combat gender-based violence. 

“Women as victims of violence and as survivors have long mobilized themselves to resist violence, and they have proved effective in peace advocacy, social conciliation, and negotiation. Women are valuable partners of God’s incredible plan of gender diversity; they are created with a purpose and for a purpose. They should not be discriminated on the basis of gender identity”, observed the participants during the discussion.

The Consultation was held at the YWCA in Bangkok from 15 to 17 November 2018 and attended by 28 representatives of women’s divisions of CCA member churches and national ecumenical councils across Asia.

The participants representing church related women’s organizations shared struggles of grassroots women in combating violence. They emphasized the need for urgent actions for providing the tools and space for dialogue and deeper understanding about the increasing trend of gender-based violence.

Deekshya from Sri Lanka narrated the examples of how courageous women at the grassroots in her country who as victims of violence and as survivors have long mobilized themselves to resist violence by peace advocacy, social conciliation, and negotiation during the civil war period in northern Sri Lanka.

Quoting the statistics of a recent UNICEF survey which estimated 35% of Cambodia's 15,000 prostitutes are children under the age of 16”, Srey Sotheavy, a Cambodian young Christian woman peace activist said, “in order to counter this situation in Cambodian society, the Church in Cambodia need to seek the support of civil society and other faith-based organizations to work together and combat trafficking of women and children”.

Biblical theological reflections on women in Biblical narratives such as Ruth, Hagar, Deborah, and Vashti focused on how to engage and encourage Asian Christian women to re-read the Bible from women’s perspectives.

“We need to find ways to re-write the stories of our own faith and witness in contemporary contexts, and we should not allow bitterness and disappointment to influence our lives”, opined the participants.

Dr. Susan Thomas, a lay representative of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church in a presentation narrated the stories of the Biblical characters of Deborah and Vashti, and their examples of assertiveness and courage.

“Deborah, who was an assertive woman leader exemplified the qualities of a prophetess, just judge and strong administrator, and she was as equal to any other prophet in the Bible. Women in the Biblical narratives who resisted violence and oppression also had to face difficult situations as they stand against injustices.   Together we can build peace, bring the change, and transform the world; hence we need coordinated actions to combat violence and oppression”, said Dr Susan Thomas.

The participants urged the churches and ecumenical councils to encourage women and men to work together in a common platform to achieve the goal of gender equality and elimination of violence against women.

The Consultation was the third in a series of annual regional consultations organized by CCA as part of a new programme initiative – Ecumenical Women’s Action against Violence (EWAAV).

An Asian Ecumenical Women’s Assembly (AEWA) to be held in Taipei in 2019 will be a major ecumenical event of CCA with focus on ecumenical action of Asian women to combating violence and building peace.