Rev. Dr Marcia Blasi, LWF Program Executive for Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment leads a Gender Justice consultation in December 2024. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Gender justice is not simply a women’s issue, says Rev. Dr Marcia Blasi. It is about accountability and transformation
It has become part of my daily routine.
I wake up, prepare a cup of coffee, and reach for my phone to read the news.
“25-year-old woman killed by husband who did not accept the divorce.” “Woman disappears after going to her apartment building garage.” “13-year-old girl gang raped by seven men.”
Headlines like these are no longer an exception. They have become routine in many countries around the world. Violence against women has not disappeared. It is not a problem of the past. It is present. It is persistent. In many places, it is growing.
The strengthening of political and religious fundamentalism particularly targets women’s knowledge, leadership, and bodies. Control over women’s voices and autonomy remains high on the agenda.
There are many ways to kill a woman. Not all of them involve weapons. Some involve silence. Distrust. Overloading her with “important” tasks so she never has space to think, to study, to lead. Questioning her competence. Spiritualizing her submission.
Violence is not only physical. It is structural. Cultural. Theological.
Presence is not participation
As I conclude five years of service within The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), I carry many stories with me. Stories of transformation and courage. Stories of women who discovered their voices and claimed their place in leadership. But also stories of deep pain, exclusion, spiritual manipulation, harassment. Stories of women who were present in church spaces but never truly allowed to participate.
Women are present, but presence is not participation.
Having women in the room does not mean they shape decisions. Inviting women to the table does not mean they can influence the agenda. Having women in leadership positions does not mean patriarchy has been dismantled. Celebrating women’s ministries does not mean we have changed the structures that concentrate power in the hands of a few.
Every time I speak about violence against women or patriarchy, someone quickly responds: “Not all men are violent.” Someone else says, “Not me.” That is true. And it is good. But that is not the issue.
The main concern is a system that distributes power and privilege unevenly. Patriarchy concentrates authority primarily in the hands of men and is often legitimized by theological interpretations that present men as primary and women as secondary, as “helpers” rather than co-bearers of authority.
Patriarchy is not an insult. It is a description of reality.
Some argue that we should avoid the term because it sounds ideological or like jargon. Yet it is our theological responsibility to name what we experience. As Martin Luther wrote in the Heidelberg Disputation, a theologian of the cross “calls a thing what it is.”
We live in patriarchal societies. Naming patriarchy is our responsibility. Not naming it only masks the mechanisms that harm women and limit men.
Gender justice is not optional
As International Women’s Day approaches, we will hear much about “women’s issues.” But gender justice is not only a women’s issue. If we affirm that every human being is created in the image of God, then any system that diminishes women must be confronted.
If we proclaim the gospel of liberation while remaining silent about gender-based violence, our proclamation becomes hollow. If our ecclesiology excludes women from full participation, the body of Christ is incomplete.
International Women’s Day is not about roses or chocolates. Gender justice is not about women alone. It is about commitment, accountability, transformation.
It is about asking some hard questions:
Who holds decision-making power in our churches?
Who interprets Scripture?
Who benefits from silence?
Presence is not participation. Participation requires power-sharing, structural change, and bold theological courage. And that courage begins with naming reality and refusing to spiritualize injustice.
Gender justice is not optional. It is part of our calling.
