Pharos Journal of Theology最新文献

{"title":"Women and care ethics during the COVID-19 pandemic: Who cares for the care-givers?","authors":"Elias Konyana","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.49","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.49","url":null,"abstract":"Caring is a general ethical responsibility that makes human existence worthwhile and fulfilling. Whenever society is distressed be it by a famine, war, poverty or a pandemic, the impact falls hard on women, children and people living with disability. We all need to be cared for and we owe the same obligation to \u0000others, especially those who care for us. However, during crises, the ethics of care becomes integral and, more often, men are not readily available to offer it. Arguably, the duty to care is one of the most compelling obligations that make human and non-human beings survive any form of distress. However, it is unfortunate that women face more of the brunt of the requirements of the duty to care than their male counterparts, particularly in the home front. This was most evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when most ill persons were kept in the home because healthcare institutions were overwhelmed with numbers of infected persons scrambling for limited and non-existent resources. The pressure was not only on scarce resources, but COVID-19 also brought into sharp focus the need for better care for those who care for the sick in the home, especially during times of national distress. This article is a critical reflection on \u0000the impact of COVID-19 on women healthcare providers (HCPs) caring for the sick in the home. It particularly focuses on the caring burden created by COVID-19 and how it impacted on women’s mental health acknowledging that, currently, there is limited feminist analysis of moral distress among women healthcare providers in rural communities and healthcare institutions. Through the ethics of care theory and the feminist political economy lens, the article further explores the care challenges faced by women during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The article employs in-depth interviews and focused group discussions as the methods of data collection. It also proffers interventionist strategies that could be employed to lessen the burden of care on women. The findings show that more women healthcare givers suffered a lot of pressure from the impact of COVID-19 since they received little recognition and appreciation from both patients and the healthcare institutions they worked for.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"25 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141690390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"When mentally ill women become sexual preys in Zimbabwe: An African indigenous religio-cultural perspective","authors":"B. Humbe","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.47","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.47","url":null,"abstract":"There is a phenomenal increase in the number of cases of women suffering from mental illness in our contemporary society, which is hard hit by pandemics. As scholarship reflects on this condition, there has been little attention paid to the impact of indigenous religion and cultural practices to the sexual and reproductive health of women with mental illness and indigenous entrepreneurs who seek economic fortunes in a post COVID-19 epoch. Largely, the Zimbabwean society detests mental illness and this has rendered mentally ill women to the social margins. However, cases of men from the mainstream society having illicit sexual intercourse with mentally ill women are rampant, both in urban and rural environments. So one can ask why men from the mainstream society are having sexual relations with the ostracised mentally ill women. Prioritizing ethical considerations, this qualitative study uses ritual theory as its theoretical framework, sociology of religion, phenomenology of religion and gendered cultural hermeneutics to explore the prevalence of these sexual practices. Data was gathered through interviews and desk research from January to December 2023. Findings of the study were that these sexual activities are ritualistic, done to enhance success in politics, business, farming and self-initiated churches. An analysis of the reasons behind the performance of these sex rituals showed that a mentally ill woman’s body is an entity which belongs to the spiritual world so the sexual relationship makes it possible for the male entrepreneur to access the spiritual world. Through these rituals, men with entrepreneurial wishes will be attempting to connect with and manipulate the spiritual world. The study concluded that mentally ill women have less choice over their sexual and reproductive lives. They are sexually exploited, yet they lack the capacity to disclose these heinous acts to the mainstream society. They are regarded by the patriarchal society as sexual preys where coercive sex and or rape are used for ritual purposes, with the intent of attaining socio-economic transformation.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"53 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141710479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Women in Pentecostal churches and mental wellbeing during the COVID- 19 pandemic: The case of the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe","authors":"Terence Mupangwa","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.412","url":null,"abstract":"Pentecostalism, to which the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe belongs, is one of the fastest growing brands of Christianity in Zimbabwe. Most Pentecostal churches promise divine health, deliverance, miracles and prosperity to their members. In the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe, women constitute the greater percentage of the church membership. Despite the fact that Pentecostal churches make promises of a good life, a church is generally expected to be a safe haven to its members. This paper wished to examine whether the Pentecostal church response to COVID-19 helped to build or destroy the mental health of its majority members, the women. The findings however show that the church mostly affected women’s mental health in a negative way as it grappled with the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article therefore contests the claim of providing a good life as done by some Pentecostal churches. This was a qualitative study and utilized findings from a sample of 15 members of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe who were selected using purposive sampling. The findings suggest that the women were stressed by the teachings on \u0000marriage and emphasis on collection of money, discrimination against single women, the prosperity gospel, and patriarchy.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"104 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141695906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Roles of a Pastor’s Wife in the Post-COVID 19 Pandemic Era in Reference to Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and the Salvation Army, Nigeria","authors":"Grace O Olajide, R. M. D. Olajide","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.420","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.420","url":null,"abstract":"The status of a pastor’s wife is an honourable position with huge responsibility. She holds a unique role in advising, encouraging, and cautioning the man who bears the responsibility of leading the church. Yet, the pastor’s wife is an often neglected discourse both in the academic and ministerial spaces. Churches like the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) adumbrate the role of the pastor’s wife both in liturgy and operations. There is a paucity of literature on the personality and role of a pastor’s wife. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the role of the pastor’s wife more cumbersome. Church life has not remained the same since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the eventual lockdown laws on social, public, and religious convergence. This study sought to determine the role that a pastor’s wife plays alongside her husband in the ministry. A descriptive approach was adopted as the basic methodology for this study with the research tool of structured interviews. The role of women in the early church is also briefly reconnoitred in order to demonstrate that women have a very important in a church, including the wives of ministers and preachers. The study recommended that churches like ECWA should give due attention to the status and role of pastors’ wives in their traditions and liturgy. \u0000Also, ECWA, like Salvation Army, should prepare and organize ongoing educational programmes to equip and empower pastors’ wives for optimum performance and fruitful results in church ministries. Likewise, pastors’ wives are enjoined to rise to their calling by giving necessary support to their spouses at home, church, and community spaces.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"87 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141695219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COVID-19, Christian Women and Mental Health: An African Interventionist Response","authors":"Anniegrace Mapangisana Hlatywayo (PhD)","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.46","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.46","url":null,"abstract":"Mental health is posited as a vital constituent of health and well-being. Good mental health is represented by a balance between the mind, body, spirit and context which should all be in tangent. Globally, it has been noted that mental disorders rank among the top ten leading causes of health encumbrance. This dire situation has been compounded by the novel COVID-19 pandemic outbreak which exacerbated the global number of mental disorders, with women carrying a higher risk due to their role as primary caregivers. Using a phenomenological study and drawing from Christian women in Harare, this study sought to explore the common risk factors that expose women to the possibility of developing mental health disorders. Research findings indicated varied stressors including gender-based roles, intimate partner violence, lower socio-economic status and household financial instability due to the COVID-19 induced economic recession during the COVID-19 lockdown period as triggers of mental health disorders. Religio-cultural factors, stigma and discrimination associated with mental health disorders were equally identified as inhibitors to women’s mental healthcare needs. Study participants also cited heightened reverence to God as well as the use of indigenous practices as coping mechanisms. Such a scenario brought to the fore a practice of religious syncretism among the research participants. The study therefore recommends gender-sensitive as well as culturally-sensitive mental health coping mechanisms and practices to mitigate the challenge of mental disorders, especially among women.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"10 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141715527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Eco-Justice Incongruous with other Social ills: An African Theological Perspective and \u0000Indigenous Epistemology","authors":"Patricia Dudu Ngwena","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.422","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.422","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of the article is to uphold a methodological orientation that seeks a genuine appropriation amongst indigenous and other systems of knowledge with reference to ecology. Based on the ecological catastrophe, the global world cannot dwell on one stream of knowledge production for eternity. Indigenous epistemology ought not to be side-lined but systematically instituted in the pool of knowledge production instead of a miscalculated biased episteme by the global north. This has resulted in a confusing terrain of the theological stance underlying indigenes ecological life-worlds. This mishap further allows ideologically distorted forms of Christianity which harbours human alienation from the rest of the earth community and justifies Christian anthropocentrism in a world torn apart by inter-alia, injustice, oppression, war crimes, invasion, segregation, and land degradation. Are we the first crop to read this story with such a sombre understanding of the destruction with which it begins in \u0000(Genesis 6:5-7), and such a sharp awareness of the vital importance of the promise of God with which it ends (Genesis 9:8-17)? The same can be said for some of the forebodings of the early prophets and African indigenous people(s) who understood that living selfishly and alienating oneself from the natural world will ultimately result in an inevitable ecological catastrophe due to human induced catastrophic climate change and other social ills that manifest. This article develops a new methodology described as progressive ecological sensitive African and Christian ethics. It is progressive in the sense that it brings two ethical perspectives that are intertwined. The main purpose is to create a dialogue towards imagining and reconciling with African Indigenous knowledge life-worlds that are ecologically sensitive. As the earth community, it is imperative to inculcate a sense of moral responsibility through a multi-disciplinary approach across disciplines to enhance an episteme in the global south which is without prejudice. Addressing social ills such as eco-justice without a developed inclusive theoretical framework is a futile exercise. The researcher applied a desk research literature study drawing data from existing relevant literature including academic journals and books, and other relevant sources.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"2011 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141706835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A blessing in disguise? The socio-economic impact of Covid-19 on urban women in Zimbabwe","authors":"Takesure Taringana, Macloud Sipeyiye","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.419","url":null,"abstract":"The Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in 2019 was one of the largest epidemics in human history after the Spanish flu of 1918-1919 (Trilla, Trilla and Daer, 2008). Its spread across Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, shook economies and disrupted social structures, severely affecting the mental health of the populace. However, calamities like Covid-19 are hardly gender-neutral. While Covid-19 had negative psychosocial and economic impacts on all gender groups, women suffered disproportionately from the socio-economic and psychological toll of the epidemic. Using qualitative research methods based on interviews and observations in Harare Zimbabwe, this article explores the experiences of urban Zimbabwean women during the Covid-19 pandemic. The outbreak of covid-19 and the consequential lockdowns had a marked disruptive effect on urban formal and informal sources of livelihoods than it had on the largely subsistence rural economy. We, therefore, analyse the urban socio-cultural and economic contexts that shaped women's daily experiences in the context of Covid-19 and how this affected their economic and psychological situation. We aver that while Covid-19 made women 'beasts of burden' who had to provide for the household and family, it also served as a means of social reconstruction and provided opportunities for women's social and economic advancement and long-term psychological well-being. Covid-19 broke down and weakened the manipulative patriarchal socio-cultural norms that excluded women from economic and social advancement. Using the neo-dependency analytical framework, this article contends that while crises worsen conditions for vulnerable groups, there should also be space to celebrate the breaking of exploitative social structures that have kept women in subservient positions for centuries. By exposing the weaknesses of patriarchy, Covid-19 signalled the development of a new social order that recognises and celebrates women's courage, strengths, and resilience in times of crisis.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"1 20","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141700902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COVID-19, mother-teachers and teen suicide-personality disorder: Exploring the synergies and readying for contingencies in Indigenous-Christian contexts","authors":"Godfrey Museka, Anniegrace M. Hlatywayo","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.413","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.413","url":null,"abstract":"The emergence of COVID-19 affected all facets of life. Lockdown restrictions, introduced in various countries, meant the majority of people had to stay home in the interests of social distancing. Schools and other learning institutions in Zimbabwe and elsewhere were closed and the phenomenon of home-schooling was introduced to ensure that learners do not lag behind. Home-schooling meant that in addition to the parenting role, parents- in particular mothers, had to become teachers. The impact of this sudden change of roles on the mental health of mothers and teen suicide, a form of borderline personality disorder, is yet to be studied. Is the growing scourge of teen suicide in Zimbabwe a result of COVID-19 inspired home-schooling experiences? Data solicited through face-to-face interviews and documents analyses and analysed through the lens of family systems theory seem to suggest that family disruptions and most mothers’ terrible experience with home-schooling was in part responsible for children’s (learners’) suicide ideation. To this end, we suggest that when teen education and child development catastrophe in the mould of COVID-19 occurs, manuals and toolkits on home-schooling should be developed to guide parents and children.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"20 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141715727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Covid-19, Women’s Mental Health, and Religion in Zimbabwe: Insights from Christian Women and Clergymen in Masvingo, Zimbabwe","authors":"E. Chireshe","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.45","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.45","url":null,"abstract":"The study sought to find out intersections of Covid-19, women’s mental health, and religion in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe, during the first 35 days of the lockdown. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from a purposefully selected sample of 15 Christian women and three clergymen in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe. Participation was voluntary and all participants gave their consent. Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained by not identifying participants by their real names. Data were thematically analysed. Findings show that while Covid-19 negatively affected all people in terms of mental health and psychological well-being, the burden weighed heavily on women on account of their caregiving role in the public and private spheres as well as their domestic responsibilities. The study also revealed that Covid-19 and its management were associated with heightened levels of anxiety and depression. Religion gave women hope. A sense of closeness to God gave the women resilience amidst the pandemic. Religious messages and prayers for the sick and bereaved, though at some point hampered by movement restrictions and digital challenges, were helpful mechanisms of stress reduction. It is recommended that the government and other stakeholders including faith communities adopt a gendered approach to provide psychosocial support and enhance women’s coping capacity.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"347 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141691507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Behind the ‘bruised male ego’ – negotiating women ‘pressures’ in the homes during COVID-19 lockdowns: Congolese and Zimbabwean men in focus","authors":"Martin Mukole, Canisius Mwandayi","doi":"10.46222/pharosjot.105.411","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.105.411","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic and the experiences of lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus led to a range of negative impacts on the mental health of human societies globally. Our societies were characterized by deteriorating mental health, high levels of stress as well as a sharp rise in abusive cases. In most cases of abuse, men have been fingered as culprits behind it all given the eroding of their male ego. Faced with the reality of their inability to provide, most males were stressed up and vented out their frustration on those near them, who in most cases were the vulnerable women and children. While it is indubitably true that women and children have been the most affected groups due to the lockdowns, this has resulted in the neglect of men themselves. In as much as studies have confirmed the violent attitude developed by most men towards women and children in homes during COVID-19 lockdowns, this paper argues that men were also victims in a number of cases due to the pressures coming from women and children to keep providing something on the table despite being barred from attending to their informal/formal jobs due to the imposed COVID-19 restrictions. This paper takes cognizance of the neglect of voices sympathizing with males in the narratives, thus, we argue that behind the ‘bruised male ego’ there is found a woman, hence the woman needs to be talked to as well instead of just seeing her as a victim of abuse in all the cases. The discussion in this paper is largely based on desktop research. This paper sympathizes with the neglected male voices during COVID-19 lockdowns, invites men to voice out their struggles for the wellbeing of their mental health, and invites African society to rethink some of the attributes given to men that condemn them to suffering in the name of masculinity.","PeriodicalId":32676,"journal":{"name":"Pharos Journal of Theology","volume":"2007 30","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141707128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}