Browsing by Author "Marx, Danya"

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    Warrior Girls: violence against women and gender-based activism in a Pentecostal-Charismatic church in Stellenbosch
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Marx, Danya; Van Wyk, Ilana; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa are unacceptably high, and manifest in a social context marked by patriarchal forms of power, authority, family organisation, and religion (Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, 2016: 8). Gender-justice movements, particularly in response to violence against women (VAW), have become increasingly vocal both nationally and globally. In a country where a large majority of South Africans identify as Christian, a faith that is often described as patriarchal (Robbins, 2004: 132-133), some churches have joined these movements. This study looks at how a South African Pentecostal-Charismatic church, Hillsong Stellenbosch, alongside other local branches of the church, reacted to the issue through its women-centred development and VAW-justice programmes. These programmes were Hillsong’s Sisterhood women’s ministry, their Shine Women women’s development course, and the WAR (War Against Rape) campaign. I used participant observation to explore and gain insight into how these Hillsongers understood gender-based activism through a faith that is viewed as restrictively patriarchal. Activism at Hillsong was overtly spiritual, a fact that shaped the church’s perceptions of what women’s empowerment and VAW activism looked like. Hillsongers believed that God could change the world, but that they also had a role to play in the process. Towards this end, Hillsongers focussed on strengthening Christians in order to partake in spiritual “warfare” through transforming themselves. This transformation was often gendered, with the church’s programmes highlighting specific ideals regarding the role of women, as well as men, in the Christian mission of healing the world and ultimately bringing God’s Kingdom down to Earth. The ways in which these Hillsongers used words and physical space to “confess” prosperity and dominion also played an important role in the creation of this new world. Through this phenomenological study, I aim to provide secular activists with a deeper understanding of Pentecostal-Charismatics’ gender-related activism in the hope of expanding the conversation about VAW activism between both religious and non-religious groups. In this way, I hope to further extend the space in which both forms of activism can exist as different ways in which differently-situated women react to VAW.