The Sunday News
Nkosilathi Sibanda, Features Correspondent
A GROUP of women, clad in colourful church uniforms stared in awe at a nurse who was talking about cervical and breast cancer during a health symposium organised by the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe recently.
The crusade attracted women from different Christian denominations around the city who gathered to talk about finances, healthy living and other issues feminine. But, when the topic of healthy living took centre stage, the house was brought to an unusual quiet. The look on the women’s faces suggested a whole lot more than being amazed at what they were told — fear.
What compounded the shock was the fact that some were hearing about cervical and breast cancer for the first time in their lives. Knowing about the deadly Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer, opened minds long clogged.
It begged the question, is the church doing enough to educate communities on health matters such as cancer?
According to a database released by the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry and Ministry of Health and Child Care, an estimated 2 270 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the country every year. To that bit, the mortality rate is at 64 percent.
A nurse who works at a clinic in Lupane said in an interview last Tuesday that in most locations, especially in rural areas, cancer was often associated with witchcraft.
“If one gets a cancerous infection, they are likely to have been cursed. That has been the case in most African societies over the years. Rural women are at risk more than ever. We render care to new infections every week. It is alarming,” said the nurse.
Before the cancer campaign took full swing in Zimbabwe, not many had an interest in getting early diagnosis or let alone seek information about the ailment. What most people knew about cancer was that it affects smokers. It has only dawned now that there is more to the disease than what is known on the street.
But apathy has had a great effect in drawing away women to know more about cervical and breast cancer. The brunt of these two diseases has no discrimination. Women in all spheres are victims.
On realising that there is a slow penetration of health information in the church, female preachers in Bulawayo made a bold move to talk about cancer and diseases at the pulpit.
At the church crusade at Bulawayo’s Amphitheatre women of cloth encouraged fellow women, particularly those from disadvantaged communities to go for early diagnosis of cervical and breast cancer so as to make meaningful decisions that will change their lifestyles for the better.
This also comes hard on heels of a nationwide campaign by the First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, calling on all women to visit their nearest health facilities to be screened of the deadly cancers.
Of late, it has been noticed that the health campaign has been derailed by pastors who discourage women who attend their churches to do away with medical tests, citing that they can receive “spiritual healing” without modern medicines.
The church conference that lasted for three days was a first of its kind in the country and attracted motivational speakers, finance gurus, medical experts and other women religious leaders of repute.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Reverend Siphathisiwe Fuyane of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe said the cancer scourge has had an effect on women who fail to make independent decisions concerning their health.
“We had this crusade with the sole intention of educating fellow women on a number of topics that affect us. It is high time that women from all walks of life in Zimbabwe make meaningful decisions concerning their health lifestyles. Our first point of call as women in the church was to encourage one another on the issue of cervical and breast cancer.
“This was a holistic approach in that we also touched on the issue of nutrition and to that end we quoted the scriptures and reminded ourselves and the nation that God wants us to be clean and live healthy lives,” said Rev Fuyane.
During the crusade delegates were also taken through financial literacy where women were also taught on ways to create wealth.
Rev Fuyane said in Africa women bore the brunt of fending for their families without sufficient income, hence the need for them to be knowledgeable on how to handle finance.
“Remember the church is not all about preaching, but also drawing life lessons from the word of God. We need to break the cycle of poverty in Africa. The only way to do that is to empower women.”
The empowerment crusade also made the call for women in the church to exercise their right to vote in the forthcoming harmonised elections.
Another lady of cloth, Rev Pamel Simari of the Evangelical Lutheran Church said in as much as women need empowerment, it is wiser for them to note that there is no way that they can shape the future without exercising the right to vote.
“The fact that we as women are the majority in country must encourage us to go and vote. Through voting we are saying that we can shape the future.
“We have to wake up and go and cast the ballot so that we create opportunities that will boost our finances, free us emotionally, psychologically and give our children a future,” said Rev Simari.
Rev Simari said women are the backbone of most institutions and they need to shake off the inferiority complex so as to take a stand in matters that are critical to their livelihood.
“The reason we organised this conference was merely to interact as women in the church with the aim of uplifting one another. Women are leaders in every home, office and any other institution but some of us need to be empowered. We need to support each other on how to make wise decisions even when voting,” said Rev Simari.
