How can a theological understanding of liberation better inform and improve the development work of faith-based organisations and churches in Chin Sta

我的博士研究旨在从缅甸西北部钦邦Zomi妇女的角度来批判亚洲女权主义神学。这是一个跨学科的项目，我将民族志与神学结合起来，朝着构建Zomi女性神学的方向迈进。佐米人是缅甸钦邦的一个以基督教为主的少数民族，与缅甸联邦佛教国家存在着不稳定的紧张关系。约85%的佐米人是基督徒，使他们成为缅甸最大的基督教少数民族。中国的贫困率为73%，是中国最贫穷的地区。地形复杂，基础设施落后，民族宗教关系不稳定，进一步制约了该地区的发展。佐米族妇女在社会中处于二等地位，这种地位通过社会制度、规范和文化价值观得到加强。严格的性别角色将妇女限制在家务和照顾责任上，她们经常被排除在决策之外。女孩的受教育程度大大低于男孩，这揭示了一种优先考虑男性、限制女性的性别等级制度。虽然有些妇女确实从事职业，但社会期望意味着她们在从事有偿工作的同时还要承担所有家务劳动。不幸的是，这种性别不平等在教会的教学和实践中也得到了复制。亚洲女性主义神学阐明了基督教的思维方式，以解决亚洲女性面临的具体问题。亚洲女性主义神学家以语境性和解放性为目的，将亚洲女性的生活和经历作为其神学的基础。她们的故事与当地的实践以及对圣经和教义的新理解交织在一起，形成了一种独特的亚洲女性神学。占主导地位的亚洲女性主义神学家位于韩国、香港、菲律宾和印度，到目前为止，还没有从佐米的背景下出现亚洲女性主义神学。亚洲女权主义神学的高度语境化性质，使其难以在不同国家和文化之间轻易翻译。诸如韩国、菲律宾和缅甸等国之间显著的经济、社会和宗教差异等因素，揭示了Zomi女性神学的必要性。其他需要仔细分析的关键问题包括国家与佐米人之间的民族宗教紧张关系，以及中国的严重贫困，这些无疑都影响了佐米妇女与神的关系。我的研究将深入探讨基督教佐米妇女的神学和信仰生活。我感兴趣的是发现在这种背景下的生活如何塑造了他们理解和体验信仰的方式。我的项目将为亚洲女性主义神学提供建设性的建议，使其与佐米族女性的生活经历相结合，以使其对基督教亚洲女性来说仍然是令人振奋和解放的。由于缺乏关于这一主题的文献和Zomi文化中强大的口头传统，需要使用社会科学方法。我将在中国进行6-8个月的实地考察。通过参与观察、一对一访谈和小型焦点小组的结合，我旨在揭示Zomi妇女的神学反思，并了解她们的信仰如何帮助她们在缅甸最不发达地区度过生活。我在这一领域的发现将与亚洲女性主义神学家的作品进行对话，以评估亚洲主流女性主义神学与佐米背景的相关性和适用性。我的研究将是第一个将长期被忽视的贫穷、边缘化的Zomi女性的想法和故事赋予特权的研究。它还将有助于缅甸基督教和缅甸少数民族的学术研究，突出在民族宗教紧张、大规模贫困和不平等的背景下，信仰、民族主义和身份之间相互作用的性别本质。

My PhD research aims to critique Asian feminist theology from the standpoint of Zomi women in Chin State, north-west Myanmar. An interdisciplinary project, I combine ethnography with theology in order to move towards the construction of a Zomi women's theology.The Zomi are a predominantly Christian ethnic minority in Chin State, Myanmar, existing in precarious tension with the federal Burmese-Buddhist state. Approximately 85% of the Zomi identify as Christian, making them Myanmar's largest Christian ethnic minority. With a poverty rate of 73%, Chin State is also the poorest region in the country. Difficult terrain, poor infrastructure, and unstable ethnoreligious relations further inhibit the region's development. Zomi women occupy a second-class position in society, reinforced through social institutions, norms, and cultural values. Strict gender roles confine women to domestic and caring duties and they are often excluded from decision-making. Schooling levels for girls are substantially lower than boys, revealing a gender hierarchy that prioritises men and limits women. Although some women do pursue vocations, societal expectations mean they still undertake all domestic labour alongside their paid work. This gender inequality is also unfortunately replicated in the churches through teaching and practice. Asian feminist theology articulates Christian ways of thinking to address the specific issues faced by Asian women. Contextual in nature and liberative in aim, Asian feminist theologians privilege the lives and experiences of Asian women as foundational to their theology. Their stories are woven together with indigenous practices and new understandings of Scripture and doctrine, resulting in a theology uniquely for and from Asian women. The dominant Asian feminist theologians are situated in South Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines and India and, thus far, there is no Asian feminist theology from the Zomi context. The highly contextualised nature of Asian feminist theology prevents it from being easily translated across countries and cultures. Factors such as the significant economic, social and religious differences between countries like South Korea, the Philippines, and Myanmar, reveal the need for a Zomi women's theology. Other critical issues demanding close analysis include the ethnoreligious tensions between the state and the Zomi and the severe poverty in Chin State which all undoubtedly impact the way Zomi women relate to the divine. My research will explore in-depth the theologies and faith lives of Christian Zomi women. I am interested in discovering how life in this context has shaped the ways in which they understand and experience their faith. My project will offer constructive proposals for Asian feminist theology to be contextualised for the lived experiences of Zomi women in order that it remains uplifting and liberating for Christian Asian women.The absence of literature on the topic and the strong oral tradition in Zomi culture necessitate the use of social-scientific methodologies. I will undertake 6-8 months of fieldwork in Chin State. Using a combination of participant observation, one-to-one interviews and small focus groups, I aim to uncover the theological reflections of Zomi women and learn how their faith helps them navigate life in the most undeveloped region of Myanmar. My findings from the field will then be brought into conversation with the works of Asian feminist theologians in order to assess the relevance and applicability of mainstream Asian feminist theology to the Zomi context. My research will be the first to privilege the thoughts and stories of poor, marginalised Zomi women who have long been overlooked. It will also contribute to the scholarship on Christianity in Myanmar, and minority peoples in Myanmar, highlighting the gendered nature of the interplay between faith, nationalism, and identity within a context of ethnoreligious tension, mass poverty, and inequality.