WCC FEATURE: Faith leaders in Tanzania vouch for disability health rights and services

As the world marks the 16 Days of Activism on Gender Based Violence, religious leaders, human rights activists, and development partners in Tanzania joined on 5 December to discuss the human rights of girls and women, including those with disabilities, in a forum titled “Wealth of Knowledge and a Wealth of Care.” A boy helps a blind man walk along a muddy street inside the Protection of Civilians. Photo:Paul Jeffrey/WCC 14 December 2023 The forum, organized by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network, and Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, an agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland, assembled a series of talks from faith leaders, doctors, and organizations working to improve the rights of vulnerable women and girls. Bishop Dr Frederick Onael Shoo, immediate former presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, said it was important for women and young people— especially persons with disabilities—to be aware of the opportunities that influence in their lives, the services available to them and the right to bodily autonomy. “Therefore, the sexual health of disabled women and girls should be brought up in the public debate. It should be underlined that social norms and the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and young people with disabilities, as well as bodily integrity, require special attention,” said Shoo. According to the bishop, this conclusion was drawn from church work with the Tanzania Federation of Disabled Person’s Organizations and the Selian Lutheran Hospital, which is setting up accessible sexual reproductive health services. In the evening gathering, the partners exchanged views on the human rights of women and girls; how churches can help ease access to services for women and girls who have experienced female genital mutilation and other forms of violence, including women with disabilities; and on promoting positive norms and values in communities. In addition to almost no access to services for persons with disabilities, the bishop said, social norms related to disability and gender often normalized violence faced by girls and women with disabilities in the communities. “An emphasis should be on the benefits that can be achieved by promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights for society as a whole, and especially for women and girls with disabilities,” he said. In Tanzania, the WCC Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network has been supporting the Selian Lutheran Hospital to make its sexual reproductive health services—which are predominantly delivered to members of the Maasai Indigenous community—inclusive, such that they accommodate persons with disabilities. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland