Women and Contemporary African Religion

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to utilize land, it also entrenched barriers to their acquiring it...women are kept out of land management because of the division of labor that exists in traditional societies" (Ngangoue pg). Men produce cash crops, women produce food crops. Women in most traditional African societies have no right to inherit land but merely use the land of their husbands or families. Most religions work against values such as equity, justice and peace, but rather are used to legalize and "condone many types of violence and inequalities, to justify the oppression of women, child abuse and the persecution of minorities and dissidents within the communities of believers," says Professor Abdullahi An-Na'im of Emory University (Ngangoue pg). Traditional African religions tend to be very harsh and rigid regarding women, requiring submission to men and invalidating what legal rights they've gained through the law (Ngangoue pg).
While rural women are prevented from enjoying their rights due to the ...

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myths and lore (Are pg). Matembe is adamant that "woman was not extracted from Adam's foot to be trampled on but from his side as a sign of equality and companionship" (Are pg).
Theologians and dedicated lay persons have for roughly twenty years, shared the passion for an "African Christianity," which sparked Dr. Mercy Oduyoye's "Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Founded in 1989, in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, this organization promotes women's theological education throughout Africa, and encourages reflection on the "influence of religion and culture on the lives of women"(Evans pg). Their creed, a composition of the women theologians says, "We confess our failures, ...

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