The potential of rural women in promoting sustainable livelihoods supported by an appropriate theology of development in Katete Catholic Parish, Malawi.
Loading...
Date
2004
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
It is a duty of every person of good will in any given community and society to
promote freedom and development that enhances the potential of rural women and
women in general. One can only achieve this important task by firstly acknowledging
that women are persons fully created in the image of God and that they are part and
parcel of God's creation in all what is needed for human beings to value and appreciate
healthy livelihood in the world.
Once this duty is achieved, we will fully conclude that human beings need each other in
all social and economic development that helps to promote the potential that every
individual has in order to build sustainable livelihoods in a community. This is a big
task. This task could be facilitated if local resources, individual capacities, gifts, skills,
talents and dedicated people are available in the community.
This study has pursued the sustainable livelihoods of the rural women especially those
in Katete aiming at enhancing their potential. The major problem that this study has
focused is that the society and church in Katete is patriarchal and has failed to give
freedom to women so that they could utilize their capacities to participate in social and
economic development that would accord them healthy and sustainable livelihoods.
The methodology used in order to achieve these goals out of the women of Katete
Catholic Parish was through dialogue between the researcher and the women. Through
theological reflections, we discovered that the women of Katete have the potential to
contribute into the general livelihoods of the people of the area and the women in
general. From what the study gave us, we can freely say that women have natural gifts
imparted on them by God. The gifts that the women have can change the church and
the society's attitude bounded by patriarchal biases against women, which perceives
them as second-class citizens in participating fully in developmental agendas of the
society.
Description
Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.
Keywords
Church and social problems--Malawi., Malawi--Social conditions., Poverty--Malawi., Church work with the poor--Malawi., Women in development--Malawi., Sustainable development--Malawi., Theses--Theology.