Zimpapers Logo

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter
AFTER she completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theology at the Theological College of Zimbabwe in 2003, Senior Pastor Phathisiwe Dube wanted to serve as a pastor and assume a leading role in Ministry.

Being in a mainline church, she could not realise her dream as that church, at the time, did not recognise female pastors.

For four years after completing her studies she had to shelve her dreams and endure patriarchal discrimination which she says existed in her church.

She said the main leadership roles within the church were a no-go area for women and she had to do with tasks that were allocated females like leading the children’s department.

This is the discrimination which some women still face within the religious fraternity.

While most of the population in churches comprises women, men assume the major leadership roles leaving lower ranks to women.

Snr Pastor Dube said her major breakthrough was in September 2007 when she and her husband Bishop Samaritan Dube co-founded the Tabernacle Ministries in Gwanda.

She said the journey has not been easy as she has had to deal with a lot of discrimination from the community and her male counterparts.

She said one male colleague once asked her: “Where in the bible did you read of God calling on a female to lead His people?
“I was able to fulfill my calling in Ministry when I and my husband co-founded the Tabernacle Ministries Church in Gwanda.

My husband allowed me to take a leading role in establishing our church. For me, establishing our own church marked an opportunity for me to break free from an oppressive church system.

The church should be protecting us as women but in some instances, it’s oppressing us and instilling stereotypes.

“I completed my studies in 2003 but the church I was with couldn’t allow me to practice as a pastor because I’m a female. Had I remained there then my ministry wouldn’t have blossomed.”

She said they had established four branches in Gwanda under the Tabernacle Ministries Church. Snr Pastor Dube said her husband mainly played an administrative role in the church while she was responsible for “evangelism and soul winning”.

She is studying for an Honours Degree in Theology and Religious Studies with the Midlands State University.

She is also a trainer in community development work under the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) and a counsellor under the Christian Aid Taskforce.

Snr Pastor Dube is also the vice-chairperson under the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Matabeleland South provincial peace committee and a pastoral peace ambassador under the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance where she has played a leading role in conflict resolution and management in Gwanda by establishing peace communities in the mining town.

She was also chairperson of the pastor’s fraternity in Gwanda from 2010 to 2015, leading 20 male counterparts.
Snr Pastor Dube said she owes her achievements to her supportive husband.

“When I was doing my training in theology, I was in a class which had 18 students and we were only two females.

From the training stage the sector has always been male dominated.

When I took a leading role in establishing our church people were saying that I was too forward as I was moving at a faster pace than my husband.

A male pastor once asked me whether I had seen any scripture in the bible where God had assigned a woman to lead His people,” she said.

“Some people, especially men are not forthcoming when they see me preaching as a woman.

Some of my colleagues don’t address me as ‘pastor’ but they instead refer to me as ‘Mrs Dube’ while they refer to male colleagues as ‘pastors’.”

She said there was still a lot which had to be done by the church fraternity in order to mainstream gender equality. She said women had to be recognised and assigned duties based on their gifts and not their gender.

Snr Pastor Dube said women should be allowed to assume key decision-making positions if they qualify to hold them.

“The church fraternity as a whole hasn’t recognised women fully.

People have to shift their mindset from linking certain roles within the church to women.

Women should be allowed to occupy key positions.

Another challenge is that if a woman and her husband are both church members then the woman is expected to shadow her husband and the men are assigned key duties.

In some cases, a woman might have more impact than her husband and given an opportunity her Ministry can have more impact,” she said.

Snr Pastor Dube said it was her desire to see more women become marriage officers, senior pastors, church elders and occupying other key positions.

She said while some churches had elevated women to become pastors, they were being left out of key ceremonies such as baptising new converts and officiating at weddings. — @DubeMatutu