Human rights and the church in Uganda: Questioning testimonies and oppressive practices
One chilly sunday afternoon at a church in Kampala, a family went up to the podium to tell of God’s goodness in their lives. Testimony time it is called. Every one loves a good reality story with a happy ending. In church – it is victory over the enemy and an opportunity for theologians to practically illustrate God’s power in humanity in our day and time.
On this occasion though, I was taken a back by the insensitivity of the church to global public health concerns. This particular testimony hurt me deeply because of the many lives living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in our time and in that church too. Many vulnerable people
The family up the podium, narrated to us events including a time when they hired a lady to support them with domestic work. Several weeks into her employment they decided to subject her to a mandatory HIV/AIDs test since in their opinion they needed to ascertain her status to ‘ensure their children were safe’. It is my belief this family assumed that a ‘negative’ result guaranteed safety of the children. Unfortunately for them the young lady’s result came back Positive!
The congregation muttered in pain. The lady telling the story informed us they sent away the help and started tests and a treatment regimen for their little ones. The story wound with the triumphant news that the children were free and they were grateful to God for safeguarding their children in their absence. Applause and Hallelujahs followed!
I pictured women/girls with HIV/AIDs in the congregation and how they had received this testimony. I know many women and girls living with and or affected by HIV/AIDs and how often ostracized from community, by friends, at work places or even places we more often than not call ‘safe’ to open up become toxic places for them to associate because the larger majority of us refuse to educate ourselves on the basics of positive living.
You do not become HIV positive by merely employing a person with HIV. We do not exercise principles of love and non-discrimination by exorcising our sisters or even brothers living with HIV/AIDs. The church has a role to play in demystifying these issues and SHOULD stop acting as a conduit for stigma and discrimination.
Stigmatising and condoning discrimination drives the HIV epidemic underground. It stops people from sharing their status, makes them fail to seek treatment to the detriment of the broader body of Christ. Pastors and church leaders ought to be accountable by at the very minimum putting out correct information after such misleading divisive and abusive testimonies are shared. I do not think for one second Christ would act the way I saw the pastor and church react to the poor lady who lost a job simply because someone thought ‘she was a vice’ in her yard. The Church needs to be alive to human rights of their most vulnerable unspoken membership. We owe the least of our sisters and brothers some dignity! Its how Christ loves the best of us.
Now the issue of HIV and the church is really broad. Some pastors make their congregation to think that taking ARVs means you don't have faith in God. Healing should come automatically as long as you are a Christian. Hope your voice will be heard and stigma and discrimination stopped
ReplyDeleteThis is an eye opener to our society. A lot needs to be done in line with the human rights education and the church. Thanks for sharing this. Can't wait for the next article.
ReplyDeletePrimah, now this is about stigma. How about exploitation by Pastors? Now this is a true story I am gonna recount here. In December last year, I attended the burial of a sister-in-law to my young sister. The poor lady was taken advantage of by this Pastor who told her that he had powers to cure HIV/AIDS through Prayer. He made her believe in him, made her hate all other people including her relatives and own mother and would never even share a meal or room with them. That they were not worthy since they weren’t in this Pastor’s Church. The poor lady sold all her belongings and “sowed” in the Pastor. She abandoned her ARVs which she had been on for over a 2 decades and was doing relatively fine. She deteriorated and this when the faithfuls abandoned her in the hospital and invited her relatives to take over. She endured a whole 2 years of deteriorated health till she passed on. The Pastor even didn’t allow her body in his Church for prayers neither did he turn up for the Service but sent one of the other “faithfuls” to lead the burial prayers.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, you write beautifully. Two, you raise a critical concern. Should the pastors sieve the testimonies first? I think they have a duty to ensure that correct information is shared in their spaces.
ReplyDeleteWhat an unfortunate incident and yet common in society...as human beings we need to be more empathetic to one another than we are today...people are too selfish that we totally fail to empathize with those in pain. @Kwagala thanks for this thoughtful piece
ReplyDeleteThanks for this writeup. Well written. I happened to be among the fortunate children raised and taken care of by house helps who were HIV positive. Never at any one time did I see them stigmatised. They were the best we ever had as children and growing up with them was amazing. No mandatory test was done save for their ownew permission was sought and we were never told about their status until we had gained the knowledge and understanding of the disease. Today none of us contracted the diseas because it and I see that sending them away or forcing them for a mandatory test against their will is a total violation of their rights. Many a church ignore such small details not knowing their own faithfuls are victims and do feel sad hearing such testimonies.
ReplyDeleteMaybe its high time people believed and understood that people who serve in churches are all human like the rest of us and are not perfect. Maybe then will they stop holding them on a higher standard and taking their views and opinions regarding such critical matters in their entirety and without any grain of salt. I believe "churches" habour the most life hypocrites and its sad that we never question most of the things they do and rather let them continue in their ridicules just because they happen to quote the word of God in all they say and do.
ReplyDeleteGod have mercy on us and give the scientists wisdom to find a cure or effective vaccine for HIV.
ReplyDeleteYou're such a talented writer. Thank you. This testimony broke my heart, I hope more people educate themselves beyond useless doctrines and take humane responsibilities seriously. People are just people, their status in life doesn't make them better or worse. Thank you for sharing, Counsel ❤️
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