In protestant theological institutions: a critical appraisal of contextual challenges in kerala, india jessy jaison b b s., M d
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Women’s Concerns in the Context of Theological Education
- The Status Mystique of Women in Kerala
- Observations Connecting Background Literature to Empirical Data Theory
Women in Indian churches are now more aware of their status than ever before. While the Indian society is moving forward working in association with government and educational organizations for the emancipation of women, the Christian community seems to be more confined to its traditionally held agenda and views on women. The current status of this view needs to be assessed with the help of the empirical data, presented in the fifth chapter of this thesis. The section below explores the women’s concerns within theological education in India.
The concerns of women in theological education are receiving much more attention these days than ever before. This is probably due to the world’s growing awareness and interest on the topic in general. Abraham identifies some key issues in theological education today that are much in line with the feminist view of theological education. He talks about first, perspectival change (it has long been a clerical-elitist perspective; from which people develop insights for re-reading etcetera); secondly, the focus on the local; thirdly, the interdisciplinary character of the study; and, fourthly, epistemology and pedagogy.207 He recognizes the feminist assertion that whoever ‘makes the knowledge makes a difference’ and agrees that this ‘making of knowledge’ is a political act. ‘Our exclusive dependence on propositional and objective norms of knowledge in the academia often keeps us away from the experiential knowledge.’208 Gnanadason believes that the concerns of women should be brought to the heart of theologizing in India as she shares her experience, When I was working with church women in India, I was struck by the number of women who spoke to me of their longing to get more involved in various ministries of the church. Sometimes, they sounded idealistic and certainly unrealistic in a context where women’s ministries are not yet fully recognized. Most of them have no guarantee that they would find a place in the church, yet they are totally committed to gain theological qualifications. Some women feel betrayed by the church, and would yet continue to demand their place, even at tremendous personal cost.209 Appreciating the persistent commitment of women who endured in the field of theological education despite the difficulties, Gnanadason also recognizes the initiatives of the Senate of Serampore in this regard. Women are still not fully integrated into the theological world in India. It is still a man’s domain, into which women are expected to somehow fit. While ‘Women’s Studies’ is slowly being recognized as an important element of theology, it still remains peripheral to what is considered the “true core of theological studies.210 Issues of women take various forms: the outlook and content of theological education has more or less been pastoral ministry formation, which women have nothing to do with. The written exams or the reading assignment reports usually judge the capacity of the student, but are not always adequate to assess the formative aspects in ministry and personal commitment. Education has been largely text-oriented and more sadly, has been dominated by a preponderance of Western texts that do not resonate with the uniquely local issues of people in India. “Theological faculties in India and elsewhere have tended to emphasize the academic and regrettably a very Euro-centric perception of scholarship and have therefore failed to perceive in these critical voices a genuine love and commitment for the future of theology and of the church in India.”211 Kumari also strived to bring the feminist experience to the heart of the theological enterprise in India. For her, the ‘naming of the reality’ is the prophetic responsibility of theological persuasion. She criticized the Christian community that she asserts cannot be living in any better way than the Hindu community. For her, the churches and seminaries that preserve and nourish casteism, racism and sexism will need to have a paradigm shift in view of the immeasurable miseries in the lives of the vast majority. She named women as ‘the crucified people’, (a term used by Jon Sorbino, a Latin American theologian), in order to argue that their suffering should be the agenda of the church and theological schools.212 This process through which the feminist theologies take their form is ‘From a concrete experience of suffering, emerges a new theological perspective. Knowledge emerges from experience and from knowledge emerges paradigms.’213 Some see women’s experience as a cultural construct, that is, the way in which it has been informed by social, political, ecclesiastical and religious definitions of womanhood. Therefore, feminist theology demands that feminist critique be taken seriously and both the recorded and unrecorded experiences of past and present women be taken as source material for theological thought-that which Kumari terms “the uncompromisable norm.”214 Traditionally education had endeavoured to ground the subject in the self by developing the skills of autonomous rational analysis… Educators such as Paulo Freire have helped us to see that this process [education] should be available to all and in such a manner as to give power to all persons to name their world.215 Discussion and resolution regarding the concerns of women in theological education in India are not merely about solving daily issues but are deeply philosophical and all-encompassing in terms of transformative education. Now we will look at the specific context of this research, which is Kerala.
In terms of the culture-religion interaction on women’s issues, the question of what influences what has been a complex one in Kerala. During the ‘Sangam Age’, the first five centuries AD, there were less social evils prevailed against women. “The society was organized on the basis of social freedom and equality… There was a high level of literacy among women as they enjoyed the right to full education.”216 History has recorded that with the Aryan invasion (still a much disputed topic) came many undesirable changes in the social status of women.217 Manavalan also concurs that the lasting influence of the Aryan culture and caste divisions left many women uneducated, poor and disadvantaged.218 Women were forced to disappear into household activities without access to the social and intellectual world around them. The matrilineal system of tracing the family lineage via the mother, who owns the property, came into vogue in the eleventh century and that doubtlessly ensured women were honoured and valued. However, having studied this in detail, Woodcock referred to another historian Kunjanpillai, who stated that the Brahmin men, who claimed to be God, worked against the honourable position of women in family and society by dominating women through the practice of ‘sambandam’ (marriage), after which men took over the property and their sons after them.219 This reprehensible fate of women to become mere objects to satisfy the abundant personal and sexual needs of the Brahmin men continued to Venad Rule in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Portuguese rule in 1498 AD initially appeared to be eradicating atrocities against women. But the hope faded away later as the Portuguese men sexually abused the local women which resulted in further decline in the status of women.220 There are historical records that the pre-colonial Kerala was a mixture of Dravidian-Brahminic cultures and many religions.221 Buddhists, Jains and even perhaps Jews appear to have arrived sometime in the third and fourth centuries B C.222 Among the new comers were not only Christians but also Muslims and Parsees.223 In terms of the culture-religion interaction on women’s issues, the question of what influences what has been a complex one in Kerala as each new arrival of culture and religion deeply affected the socio-cultural equilibrium of the society. This was further disturbed by the arrival of Portuguese, then the Dutch and eventually the British. However, the decline in the status of women cannot be associated just to one such factor, as Singh224 suggests that such socio-cultural, economic and religious-related phenomena involve subtle factors that require in-depth analysis. With regard to the subject in hand, we therefore will need a comprehensive investigation. On women concerns in the context of Kerala, church traditions played a crucial role. The Catholic Church’s paradoxical practice of drawing three fourths of its social service power from their women and nunneries and simultaneously providing their women with very low participation in official bodies has been a factor that marginalized women. The androcentric pattern of function in the Syrian Orthodox-Jacobite Christian tradition and the extremely prescriptive style of other church traditions on the role of women in church-all have played their part in not only promoting the oppressive structures that enslave women but also sustaining them. Uprooting this attitudinal bias from church structures seems to be only a long term dream. Yet, even when the status of women was in decline, Kerala always had incorporated an opposite social atmosphere by ascribing women an honoured status as was ascribed to goddesses and the divine, noble, sacrificial figure of mother. However, according to Raj, “Most of the time most men ascribe her [woman] only an instrumental value. The noble virtues the man may ascribe to her are mostly in the realm of fiction, myth, religion and festival sentiments.”225 It is, therefore, an extremely difficult task, if not impossible, to determine the causal factors of the irony of women’s status with its polarizations in Kerala. The incongruity in the status of women has its foundations not just on religious traditions and beliefs, but also the socio-cultural and economic factors closely intertwined to them. The confusing result of this is expressed by Dietrich as she says, “In reality, even in the fully literate state of Kerala, the marriage age is going down because dowry is going up.”226
Kerala is proud to be known as the birth place of Christianity in India. According to the 2001 census Christians constitute 19%,227 which is significant in comparison with many other states. In addition, Even before independence, Kerala had been in the forefront in the matter of literacy and it retains this rank even now. Today Kerala is the most literate state in India. Kerala achieved the highest literacy rate of 90.92% among the states in India. The female literacy rate was 87.86% and its male literacy rate was 94.20% in 2001.In the sector of education in Kerala the accent is on improving quality.228 As to the record of Yesudas, to the missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS) goes the credit of having taken the tangible step towards the introduction of English education in Kerala, which was then known as ‘Travancore’. “Before their [LMS Missionaries’] arrival in the early years of the nineteenth century practically no education was given to women in Travancore.”229 Later, women started holding high positions in various strata of the society: ‘With a long coastline open to foreign influences, Kerala has evolved a unique culture. Women in Kerala enjoy a high social status, thanks to its historic matrilineal system.’230 Though by education women are gaining higher positions, the values of the culture-dominated society contribute to make them subordinate persons, who are more valued as non-questioning and obedient, promoting society’s ends. Kerala’s rather unusual development includes a fertility rate at replacement level, India’s lowest birth rate, lowest infant mortality, highest age of marriage, longest lifespan and furthermore, a literacy rate over 90%. These factors, among others, point to a unique development that has been studied by economists, environmentalists and political scientists. The Kerala Model was cited by Al Gore in a recent book as an example of environment-friendly development.231 While Kerala tends to provide good education to its daughters, at the same time Kerala’s culture forces them into various sorts of seclusion in the family and wider society, where women can only remain economically and politically dependent and vulnerable. Consequently, what Kerala’s unusual development means for its women is a heavily debated topic. Andrix concludes his study by observing that, ’Kerala may be a model, but it is a model in flux. Caste and gender in Kerala are still assessed, praised and criticized in equal measure.’ In a similar vein Watkins asserts that Evidence from India confirms that female literacy has a far stronger effect on child welfare than a general increase in living standards among the poor or a rise in male literacy while Kerala has a slightly higher average income that Uttar Pradesh, its social indicators are far better than other states - such as Andhra Pradesh and Punjab - which have far higher levels of income.232 The contradictions are observable as the Oxfam report notes, though education generates important benefits for human development, the relation between education and empowerment is complex. The system of education is ineffective when it restricts initiative and creativity. A study of the contradictions in social development of Kerala with special reference to ‘demystifying the high status of women in Kerala’, sponsored by the Indian Institute of Social Studies (ISST), New Delhi in 2000, was held under the Gender Planning Network Project funded by the IRDC, Canada. The report suggests, However, there is a growing uneasiness with Kerala’s social development outcomes linked to non-conventional indicators as in the rising visibility of gender based violence, mental ill health among women and the rapid growth and spread of dowry and related crimes… Alongside, women’s education and employment have not played the transformative role so generally expected of them.233 Mridul Eapen and Michael Tharakan’s research on the status of women in Kerala, sponsored by the Institute of Social Studies Trust, New Delhi addressed the ‘high social status’ of women in the ‘enigmatic region’ of Kerala with its matrilineal heritage and widespread social movements and the developmental indicators of literacy, health and fertility. However, the research focus was the growing evidence of increasing violence against women, wide spread tradition of dowry requirements, high incidence of suicides and increasing orientation to domesticity and the question being asked was whether the conventional indicators can be a basis for considering Kerala women to be empowered. Eapen criticizes the conceptualization of domesticity that enhances the dependence of women and suggests a ‘voluntary’ withdrawal from the labour force which makes them economically vulnerable. The state boasts of the high(est) female literacy rates among all states of India; yet as recent studies have shown it scores poorly in terms of what are termed as non-conventional indicators attempting to capture power and subordination.234 With this sociological scenario in mind, this research moves into the analysis of the situation of women in theological education in Kerala. Due to the lack of written contributions on any of its related aspects, the study depends largely on the empirical data for further exploration. The arrival of women into theological education has been phenomenal in Kerala despite the obvious difficulties intrinsic to the culture of church and society. While churches do not oppose women pursuing theological education, many churches are not keen to take financial or ministry placement risks for their women. Most churches remain habitually conservative regarding the role of women in decision-making, preaching in corporate services and leading the congregation in worship. In general, ‘feminism’ is not a topic of common interest, because it is counted as an evil force that destroys the indispensable structure on which society functions. The supportive attitude of the society towards women’s theological education changes very much at the question of their access to the ministry of the church later on. In most cases a woman theological graduate cannot expect the same level of welcome or opportunities that a male theological graduate from the same church environment enjoys. This broad depiction, however, needs to be investigated through the primary source data of this project gathered directly from the context. Theological education in Kerala today requires a self-critical debate about the nature and purpose of the enterprise. This research could be one means to shift the gender and theological education discourse to the public domain.
The literature review shows that in spite of all practical uncertainties and challenges, India has been striving harder than ever in its endeavour for gender equality in social, economic and political life. Educational initiatives in the secular sector are worked out through Governmental policies to ensure far reaching effects on the status of women, but still leaving the majority of rural population disadvantaged. Intentionally or not, theological seminaries too are forced to admit a large number of women who substantially fulfil the admission requirements and who claim and prove definite commitment for Christian ministry. The churches’ apathetic and sometimes subtly negative approach to women’s ministry has been raising several internal challenges in seminaries. As noted earlier, women entering seminary raise a number of issues including those concerning pedagogical and ministry formation patterns traditionally followed. A re-evaluation of classroom exercises, the concept of ministry as conceived by seminaries, effectiveness of curriculum and the expected outcomes of theological education become key concerns for discussion with regard to women in seminaries. However, it is of no great value to evaluate the situation of women in theological education without taking into account the culture of the church and the society where seminaries function. The sharp distinctions prevailing in the church-society-seminary context in the distinctive situation in Kerala make the issue more complex in terms of the theological and sociological assessments in this study. It is useful to reflect more comprehensively on the review of literature above. The major concerns of women in theological education could be classified into structural (social, ecclesiastical, institutional), discriminatory and vocational/reality-rootedness issues. Substantial discussions are held in India with a lag of approximately twenty years from similar discussions in the West. However, this time frame is not absolute as it varies greatly between the rural and urban contexts of India. The current research speaks more in terms of the middle class/rural people, who represent the considerable majority in theological education in Kerala. Women’s status is changing relatively faster in the high class urban contexts in various ways. But further examination of this is not attempted as the task is beyond the scope of this research. The concerns in the Western context and in India are more or less the same except for the varying emphases on certain aspects as specified below. Concerning the movement of women in theological education in India the basic appeal is against patriarchal structures of oppression, alienation, an imposed theology of suffering and the church’s discriminatory practices and attitudes. To make a few more observations from the review of background literature: First of all, the Indian discussions place considerable stress on the patriarchal structures of the church and the society while discussions on feminist epistemological issues are still not developed to the same extent as in the US where feminist practices of theological education are far more advanced. Discussions on feminist concerns in theological education as held up to twenty years before in the US are now gradually gaining attention in India. Indian churches in general, which seem to be conservers of social values, are understandably slow to affirm a movement that espouses change in their traditional practices and attitudes to women. This has made much impact on the seminary settings. As seen in the review of literature, there are challenges regarding the pattern of theological education and the concept of ministry as traditionally understood by the church. Moreover, the Western discussions, in general, move towards equality in a radical sense, whereas Indian literature does not reveal uniformity in asserting its specific standpoints in terms of what is meant by ‘equality’. Indian talks rather attempt to explore the nature of discriminatory practices against women. There are those advocating ‘absolute equality’ and ‘power sharing’ and others that are still centred on the task of stimulating the conversation about women’s issues. One of the reasons could be that India suffers not just from sexism, but also casteism and economic divisions-all influential in making life difficult for women, as reflected in the literature. Bringing this issue to the public domain seems to be an enormous task in India. Yet, some seminaries that are more open to the cause of women, have already introduced Women’s Studies programmes and produced a few writings on women’s concerns. However, Kerala has not shown any interest in this topic to date in either theological debates or writings. Thirdly, though the general issues are the same in the literature in the West and in India, the positional level of argument on these issues differs much in these contexts. Women in the West enjoy much more social freedom when compared to the status of women in India. This basic difference of status is reflected in the literature as well. The Western settings, in general, have had advanced discussions on the perspectives of women with regard to employment, reproductive practices, the concept of family and sexual practices in relation to the status and freedom of women, while Indian literature still has much further to go in that direction. Likewise, there is the different level of status women enjoy in church contexts in the West in comparison to India. However, it is important to recognise that these are only observations and not generalizable facts as there are churches that hold to extreme, traditional, hierarchical patterns in Western countries and churches that are actually open to the ministry of women in India. This noted, when it comes to the discussions on feminist practices in theological education, the general picture is that the Indian context shows a fragmented situation and is still engaged in the initial struggle of taking this whole issue to the notice of theological education community and the church. Fourthly, the literature from the West, specifically from the US context, deals with various phases of the concerns of women in theological education, such as women as faculty, students, principals and administrators. Such precision is not obvious in Indian literature. It is also perceptible in the literature that there is still no substantial discussion taking place for the cause of women students. It seems India needs to gain the preliminary information of the women student constituency, their distinctive aspirations and needs, and the knowledge of what is said to have been done and what actually is done for women in theological education. The Indian discussions obviously lack clarity and uniformity on the purpose and content of theological education as far as the women students are concerned. At least two perspectives are prominent in the discussions: one that seeks full measure of equality for women to stand on par with men in all walks of life and leadership, and a second that seeks equality of worth and for a mutual cooperative effectiveness in life and functioning. It will be part of the end task of this research to explore the discussion on perspectives appropriate to the context of Kerala and the reasons for it in order to make final recommendations to seminaries. Theological education of women in Kerala seems to be a complex scenario, due to various reasons as listed below (and which are to be investigated in the empirical research):
The social status of women in seminaries has been much lower to that of men as the case studies of Jaison reported in 1999.235 The research highlighted the disturbing picture of discriminatory practices in seminaries in the academic, social and ministry dimensions of training. The current task is to throw light into the root causes of these aspects of concern and would be a signpost for the future development of the subject. In light of the primary data, the final recommendation either for a separate trail for the training of women students or a total reconsideration of the existing pattern of theological education in Kerala might be suggested. Therefore, to initiate a transformation in such a social setting, the research holds a position to listen to both men and women in the field of theological education to facilitate a co-operative effort of transformation. However, first, the study has to reflect on the existing Christian feminist thinking, not to make a comprehensive analysis but to judge in the forthcoming discussion how the cultural and educational concerns of women in the given setting and the Christian feminist perspectives impact on each other. This is the objective of the following chapter. Yüklə 1,36 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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