Breaking the Spirit of Machismo in Bolivia
"It is one thing to know statistics about domestic abuse. It is quite another thing to talk to a woman whose face has been disfigured by her husband's fist. Thankfully, God is at work today to heal the deepest pain of Latin America's women."
(Bolivia)—In a commentary posted on the Global Prayer Network website, J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma, writes of his recent experience in Bolivia dealing with spousal abuse. "The typical indigenous woman in Bolivia quotes an odd saying that is well-known in her country," he says. "Speaking of her husband, she often says: 'The more he beats me, the more he loves me.' That might seem horrific to us, but in Bolivia, where seven out of every 10 women are victims of physical violence, abuse is just a way of life."
"It is one thing to know statistics about domestic abuse," adds Grady, "It is quite another thing to talk to a woman whose face has been disfigured by her husband's fist. Thankfully, God is at work today to heal the deepest pain of Latin America's women."
In the commentary, Grady goes on to explain how he agreed to appear on a TV program for women called Vaso Frágil (fragile vessel), and how afterwards, women from all over La Paz called in to share their stories about molestation, abandonment and neglect. (Photo: Arizona State University)
The next day, he says, "about 1,500 Bolivian men jammed into Ekklesia's main sanctuary to hear me address the issue of male domination. I reminded them that although I carry a United States passport, and they are Bolivian citizens, what I was sharing with them was not a cultural preference. In God's Kingdom, violence against women is a crime. Period. At one point I asked an actor dressed in a clown suit to enter from the rear of the auditorium. He was dressed as El Pepino, a popular figure in Bolivian folklore who represents the machismo culture. Every year at a festival, this clown runs around a park and hits women on the head with a stick while everyone laughs at his antics. He is then taken to a graveyard and 'buried,' but onlookers are reminded that he will come back from the dead each year. In our men's meeting I ordered El Pepino to come to the stage. I took the stick out of his hand and told the audience that his abuse is not funny. Then some pallbearers arrived with a coffin and they carried the clown away. Making a prophetic declaration in the name of Jesus, I told the crowd that El Pepino is not welcome back any more."
"You might assume the men would have been resistant to the idea of burying their male pride," added Grady, "but actually they cheered when El Pepino was carried away that night. Later, many of them came to the altar to repent of their abusive behavior and to receive forgiveness from Jesus for the cycle of violence that has afflicted Bolivian men for generations."
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