by Anne Basye

Two groups of women stood in the sun one morning in Lima, Peru. One group of North and South Americans was boarding a bus. Across the plaza, the other group — all nurses, dressed in blue scrubs — was picketing the Ministry of Justice.

The North Americans on the bus regarded the sea of blue scrubs uncertainly. To us, a strike — especially by women — had a tinge of the impolite. Most of us were raised to believe that playing by the rules would take us farther than complaining.

Not necessarily true, the South Americans on the bus pointed out. When you’re employed by a government that limits your pay, a strike may be your only recourse. When no one else will speak on your behalf, you must lift your own voice.

That nurses’ strike was the first act of boldness the 24 women who traveled together in November 2004 would witness. But not the last. United by our companion synod relationships, we had come from seven U.S. states and seven South American countries to meet the women of Peru and Brazil. Every story we heard was bold.

Bold women in a macho culture
To North Americans, gender is a box we check on a form. But in male-dominant South America, we learned quickly that genero means paying attention to women’s voices and rights.

"The culture of machismo tells women they can’t leave the house," explained fellow traveler Matilda Ponce of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Peru (ILEP). Over the next two weeks, we heard more: about men who see women as property and make all the decisions about what they can and cannot do. About women who don’t have the birth certificates that entitle them to claim citizenship. And about the shrugged shoulders that greet women fleeing domestic violence.

In response, Lutheran church projects throughout Latin America are helping women stop seeing themselves as objects and start participating in society. "In ILEP, women discover their creative capacities and skills and develop as people who can do more than have kids and tend the house," said Ponce, who coordinates ILEP’s programs for women and families.

At Kairos, an ecumenical project in Peru supported by Women of the ELCA, we found men and women applying genero to the Scripture.

"As women, we often feel we don’t have any rights," spokeswoman Maria Elena Zelada told us. "And Christian women have developed theological reasons not to have rights. So we are dedicated to resolving a fundamental problem: how to convince women that there is equality with men by means of the Bible whose vision is patriarchal."

Boldness does not mean confrontation for this group. "That would close doors," Zelada says. "But as the consciousness of women has grown, they have been demanding greater participation."

Speaking out on working conditions
Chardita, 13, works as a housemaid for a wealthy family from 7:00 a.m. until noon and attends school from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Then she goes home and helps care for her siblings. "I have some difficulties with my studies as a result," she confessed.

At the Women and Family Association in Cajamarca, Peru, Chardita and her friends get help with homework, learn ways to prevent abuse by employers, and speak out on their situation through marches and presentations. "We are trying to raise public consciousness about child domestic workers, because we are being exploited," Chardita told us.

In Cajamarca, the voices of women were clamorous. Washerwomen explained how they had organized themselves to demand better pay and working conditions. Older women domestics told us how they resolve problems with deadbeat or abusive employers. And young single mothers described their efforts to prevent early pregnancies among their peers. "We go from door to door in pairs to explain to parents about the kind of communication they should have with their children because we know that failure of communication is the biggest factor in undesired pregnancy," Lucy Rojas Morales explained. "We also talk to teen mothers and their boyfriends about contraception methods."

Bold? Who, me?
Matilda, Chardita, and Lucy used their boldness to improve their own lives and those of their sisters. Their stories helped us North Americans begin to see how we could use our own boldness — as church and civic leaders in a society that usually honors women’s voices — to lift up women around the world.

Today, one traveler is studying Spanish to better understand her sisters. One sharpened her advocacy skills by attending the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days. Another used what she learned to draft a resolution on economic globalization that she will introduce at the Women of the ELCA Triennial Gathering in San Antonio, Texas, July 5–10.

"When women get together in community, miracles are possible," say the women of the Peruvian Lutheran Church. Our trip is over, but our miracles of acting boldly are just beginning.

Anne Basye was part of the ELCA women’s delegation to South America in November 2004.