Today’s exclusive guest is Seblewengel Daniel (Ph.D.), a lecturer of Practical Theology. She is also currently serving as the Head of Academic Affairs (Dean of Studies) at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST). Prior to her current appointment as the Dean, she served as the Program Leader for PGD, MABTS and MTh. at EGST.
Besides her Master’s degree in Systematic Theology, Dr. Seblewengel received Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Ph.D. in Theology from Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology (ACI), Ghana. Before joining EGST in 2014, she served at the Evangelical Theological College (ETC) in various positions.
She also served as the Chair of Women and member of the National and Development Boards of the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church. Her areas of academic interest are Practical Theology and Ethiopian church and history. In addition to her role at EGST, she currently serves as member of the Advisory Board of Logia at the University of St. Andrews, and the Second Representative for Africa and board member in International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT).
Besides her research works, she authored a book entitled Perception and Identity: The Relationship between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Evangelical Churches in Ethiopia.
Dr. Seblewengel is also at the forefront of important social issues, particularly to safeguard the rights of women. Witnessing her contribution, EGST’s Former Director Dr. Desta Heliso says, “She has made significant strides in the area of campaigning against female genital mutilation in our country. She was the major voice behind the development of a declaration against it for the Evangelical Churches Fellowship of Ethiopia, which has since disseminated the declaration and even took time to read it aloud at their General Assembly. This is important work. It is making a difference.”
Realizing her commitment, The Ethiopian Herald approached her requesting her to suggest expertise solutions for the social consequences of COVID-19 and recent sexual violations against women. Excerpts:
Herald: A few months ago, The Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST) Research Team was conducting research that would address something like flourished life. What were the purpose of the research and specific problem it addressed? What do your findings tell us about the current psychological and emotional situation of our society? What solutions have been proposed?
Dr. Seblewengel: The purpose of the research was finding out the relationship between human flourishing and religious support among Evangelical Christians. The findings indicated that Evangelical church leaders had the least contribution for the psychosocial wellbeing of their congregants mostly because being healthy is usually related to spiritual dimensions. The understanding of the leaders about emotional and/or psychological wellbeing, therefore, is tangentially referred to, if not ignored altogether. The recommendation is that a holistic approach to the wellbeing of the congregants would result in their flourishing.
Herald: Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the government authorities ordered members of society to stay home. What would be the emotional consequences of restricting people at home? How could they be handled?
Dr. Seblewengel: The emotional consequences of the partial lock-down are yet to be studied. However, in the case of Ethiopia, schools were closed, but the essential public services were not halted. Physical movement outside of home was not restricted except in few neighborhoods in Addis Ababa. We were strongly encouraged to stay home as much as we could and maintain social distancing when outside of home. However, the emotional consequences of spread of COVID-19 cannot be ignored.
In a metropolitan like Addis Ababa, the number of people who live under one roof is many so staying at home can be really difficult. The fear of contracting the virus and putting one’s family members at risk is quite stressful and yet people must work outside of the house, lest they would have no food. For a religious society such as ours, not meeting together for worship, prayer and encouraging one another has not been easy. News reports also show that charities which support the elderly and the mentally ill are struggling to provide for the people they care for.
We also see that the poor who depend on the alms of people go without food. Many businesses are struggling. Needless to say, many people are already psychologically burdened because making the ends meet has always been very difficult. I think this is why our government did not introduce a complete lock-down on all parts of the country and this seems to have minimized the grave consequences.
Herald: Many people believe the recent staggering number of sexual assaults against women in the country is due to the emotional crises as a result of staying at home. Can staying at home have a direct relation to sexual violence? How?
Dr. Seblewengel: I am not sure if the two are related. We need to do a research and find out if that is the case. Like I said above, we are not under complete lock down so people can go out of the house. Moreover, given the kind of living condition the majority people have, staying at home would mean more people gather under one roof. How can we then explain the rise in sexual violence? Could it be that more acts of violence which in the past were covered up are now being reported? Could it be that the government systems of following up abuses are now more efficient?
The rise in report of abuse does not necessarily show that the abuse itself has increased. It might as well be that more girls and women are coming forward. It can also mean that more effective systems are put in place that victims are heard and taken seriously. On the other hand, it can also mean that the abuse has escalated. I think we should be concerned even if the abuse has not increased. We should never get used to the news of sexual or any kind of abuse.
Herald: What are the long-term effects the sexual violence can produce on the victims? What would be the consequences on the society and the nation in general?
Dr. Seblewengel: In her writing published by Panos Ethiopia, Sara Tadiwos points out four consequences of rape: Psychological, social, economic, and health related. I wish to focus on her elaboration of two of the four terrible consequences: psychological and social. Raped women and girls would feel worthless, harbour a great deal of guilt, anger, shame, hatred towards men, struggle to make decisions, be fearful and anxious. These feelings collectively can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts. Secondly, sexual violence has social consequences.
Victims would struggle to mingle in social activities because of the stigma that surrounds being sexually violated which includes not finding a husband. Therefore, they alienate themselves from others and suffer alone. This affects the society as well because their productivity will be decreased.
Herald: Though sexual abuse produces very traumatic results in the victims’ lives, they usually feel like they can’t tell anyone when it happens to them. What impedes them from sharing their feeling?
Dr. Seblewengel: As mentioned above, the society attaches a great deal of shame with sexual violence especially on the woman who is defiled. I think the following four reasons might impede women from sharing their story. First, women fear being stigmatized and even blamed for what has happened to them. Who would believe them? It is not uncommon to witness the society blaming the woman as flirting with, or acting in a way which sexually arouses the man.
Secondly, women fear bringing shame on their family. Even though it might not be as intense as it is in other parts of the world, we have a culture characterized with shame/honor. When girls/women are raped by a close family member or a friend, therefore, pressing charges against the attacker can be taken as bringing shame on the family. Furthermore, sexual violence against girls and women is not always taken seriously by the culture. Marriage by abduction and the concomitant raping is common in some parts of the country.
Thirdly, even if women muster enough courage and report the man who sexually abused them, there is little guarantee that he would not be granted the right to bail and come back, so women might fear for their life. Fourthly, if the family is economically dependent on the person who committed the crime, or if a parent works for the family of the perpetrator, women might choose to suffer silently fearing that they would cause their family to lose its livelihood.
Herald: What should be done to help women and girls who have sexually been assaulted? Do we have well-trained individuals, groups, or organizations that can deal with such deep emotional problems?
Dr. Seblewengel: Sexual assault is so traumatic and it can take a long time to heal. It has physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual consequences. It, therefore, needs all rounded support. A UN report which was published in 2016 indicated that there were estimates of 12 shelters which served women from all regions of the nation. I am not sure if the number of shelters has now increased.
Herald: In the midst of the pandemic, the government tried to give attention to spiritual needs by allowing spiritual programs on public media while the psychological aspect is lacking consideration. What should be done to mitigate the current psychological crises and create an emotionally resilient society?
Dr. Seblewengel: The majority of the Ethiopian population is religious. First and for most, we should talk about the kind of violence girls and women suffer with. I think the effort to stop violence or any harmful tradition, for that matter; can only bear fruit when religious institutions are engaged. We should break our silence. We should talk about it. Religious institutions should be intentional about addressing the violence within and outside of their structures.
They should teach against it, renounce it and hold perpetrators accountable. This evil act can lose its power partly when we bring it to light. Darkness gets power as it is hidden, covered, denied or lied about, but when we bring it to light, it loses its power. So we should talk about it even though it is painful.
Secondly, we should act as our sister’s and brother’s keeper. We have the responsibility to ensure the safety of our neighbor. We should keep our eyes and ears open at all times. One of the challenges I see as our cities expand is that we do not know our neighbors. I think we should intentionally work to maintain and expand our good traditions and values of communal living and holding one another accountable. We should make an effort to get to know our neighbors and strengthen the social bond so that we can use traditional support structures both to protect the vulnerable and promote moral values. Thirdly, parents, guardians, and schools should join hands to educate and cultivate values in children in their pre-school years.
One way of cultivating good values is stopping the use of proverbs which demean girls, women or any member of the society. We should model equality at home and in the school by teaching children values in words, treating girls and boys equally and by treating one another respectfully as adults so that today’s boys and girls would grow to be respectful and law abiding citizens. Finally, tougher measures should be taken against those who sexually abuse and take the life of girls and women away from them.
Herald: Lastly, any message you would like to convey?
Dr. Seblewengel: It is easier to treat this topic as distant from us. As long as we are not perpetrators, why should it apply to us? However, if we are silent, we are allowing it to happen. How are those who see evil and do nothing better than the ones who commit it? Ask yourself: what is going on? Am I contributing to it in any way? I strongly believe that we have to put in place support structures as we insist that women should report rape or abuse of any kind. As long as they have nowhere to go, unless we give them a safe place to stay in upon reporting an abuse, as long as the attacker has the right for bail and come back home, it is hypocritical to demand that women report abuse and blame them for suffering silently.
When we hear horrifying stories we make a lot of noise, but it is so painful that we wish to put it behind us and move on. I urge you not to silence your mind. I urge you to allow yourself to feel the pain. Imagine it was your daughter, son, sister, or friend. Would you go on with life as usual? No! You would make stopping the crime your business. Now, pause and feel the pain! Imagine the pain a young girl or boy feel when raped. Now, hear them crying out to you! Won’t you come for their rescue? When you will to feel their pain and let it create indignation within you, you would abhor sexual violence and relentlessly work to put an end to it.
The Ethiopian Herald June 23/2020
BY WAKUMA KUDAMA
