Zimbabwean Churches in Dilemma over Condom Use
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Source: Times of Zambia, 29 September 1997
The intensity of the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic is gradually breaking
down Zimbabwean churches' high moral ground on sexual abstinence un-
til marriage.
One of them, the Baptist church, has joined the once taboo area of
"Safe sex" through provision of contraceptives to its members, an un-
precedented move in the history of the church.
Imagine walking into a pastor's office to get contraceptives. Sounds
out of this world, but controversial Reverend Noah Pashapa shocked
the media, during a recent youth and sexuality seminar, when he re-
vealed that he kept condoms in his office for needy couples and sexu-
ally active youth.
This is the dilemma the Zimbabwean church finds itself in as thou-
sands of its faithfuls, least suspected of risky behaviour, succumb
to the disease which health experts say now claims 500 people every
week.
"I do make condoms available in my own office. I have couples which
need to use them. There are very obvious cases of young people that
lead lives which place them at serious risk," Pashapa told a stunned
audience.
The revelation, while being applauded in some sections of society,
immediately attracted criticism from the church establishment which
said promotion and reliance on condoms wax out and that emphasis
should be on abstinence.
Husbands, whose wives attend the church, also doubted Rev Pashapa's
good intentions because in traditional African society use of condoms
is a sign of promoting promiscuity.
The church leaders argue that while Rev Pashapa's efforts may control
sexually transmitted diseases and reduce unwanted pregnancies, cardi-
nal virtues should take precedence to discourage peer pressure.
Equally controversial social communications secretary of the Zimbabwe
Catholic Bishops conference, Oscar Wermter, grudgingly admits that
the use of condoms is a lesser evil which arises from society's weak-
ness to have sex outside marriage.
While he fully supports use of marriage, Wermter says the fact that
young people just do not give up sex should not be a licence for
churches to legalise it.
"While I sympathise with Rev Pashapa, I cannot quite follow him
there. We cannot say because they have failed to listen to us and to
keep the 10 commandments so it does not pay. This is not supply and
demand. I am sorry we cannot scrap the rules and offer them something
else," he says.
"We cannot give up the fight. Even if there was no AIDS epidemic, we
would still say sexual relations or intercourse is for husband and
wife. These are basics morals given by god and it is the task of the
church to teach them and not change them, even one don't," he adds.
But Rev Pashapa is now convinced condoms are a necessary evil which
has saved lives and marriages. He says the problem is growing mainly
because church leaders' messages are inconsistent. He adds that dis-
tribution of condoms should be accompanied by useful information that
promotes responsibility and informed choices among the youths.
"There are even cases where some couples, especially women, who come
and say they want to use condoms in a marriage because the husband
has been leading a promiscuous life.
"We have to adapt a sense of pragmatism towards the issue. Almost
everyone knows about the disease and has at one point seen a relative
or friend suffering, but people are not listening. We all know that
condoms are not full proof from diseases, and this is a big problem
that we have on our hands. There really is no need for us to shy away
when we talk about morals and sexuality," he adds.
Rev Pashapa, popularly known for his radio youth programmes, says
that his church would still emphasise moral values, self discipline
and faithfulness. He says society has accepted four basic sexual mod-
els, with sex within a marriage or a stable relationship as the first
one. The second is safe sex using condoms, followed by commercial and
unsafe contacts without condoms.
"Abstinence and faithfulness is the safest model, but most people ar-
gue that it is an unachievable ideal. Very often people in this model
end up being marginalised and disenfranchised," he says.
But Wermter insists that it may be frustrating for church leaders to
note that people understand the consequences of risky behaviour, but
do not want to change.
"But we cannot say we have to go along with what they are saying.
People break laws but do we abolish them?" Do we legalise stealing or
do away with the police force who maintain law and order because peo-
ple continue to steal," he asks.
A Harare mother, Esther Tsvarai, says while abstinence is ideal, it
may be equally necessary to alert youths of other alternatives.
"While AIDS continues to seize headlines, other STDs create their own
devastation. Lets face it. I cannot let my children die. I actually
put condoms in their drawers and clothes," she told the seminar.
--
Joost Hoppenbrouwer
Associate Professional Officer
World Health Organization
Zambia National AIDS/STD/TB/Leprosy Programme (NASTLP)
P.O. Box 32346
Lusaka 10101
ZAMBIA
Tel +260-1-26.40.42 (home)
Tel +260-1-22.32.51 (work)
Fax +260-1-22.32.09 (work)
mailto:joost@zamnet.zm
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