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The case of African women theologians in the 1990s1
Introduction
Research into women's experiences in Africa has been established as an area of academic study by The Institute of African Women in Religion and Culture, inaugurated by the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (hereafter `the Circle') in Accra, Ghana in 1989. The Institute was formed out of a realisation that there is very little literature written by African women about themselves. This is particularly true for African women doing theology.
As a result of this shortage of literature by African women theologians, issues that pertain to African women in religion and culture have either been misplaced or ignored. Studies in Third World Feminist theology have often combined African-American Womanist theology with African women's theology. But while African and African American women theologians may share the same skin colour, the contexts within which they do their theology are very different.2
The concerns of African women are also marginalised in academic departments-even those who feature women's studies. As Mercy Amba Oduyoye observes, many scholars do not realise that African culture and religion are difficult to separate. Certain cultural factors that are rooted in traditional religious beliefs and practices hinder women's participation in development projects. Ignoring this link between religion and culture in Africa has important implications for the formation of public policy for African women. This is all the more important for African countries which, like South Africa, are going through political transformation.
Although African theology emphasises the contextualisation of the Christian gospel within African culture, it has neglected African women's issues.4 Women's experiences of God are assumed to be the same as those of men. This is not the case. As Oduyoye has argued, it is now the responsibility of African women to make it clear that although we live on the same continent, the experiences of women in religion and culture are different from those of men. It is therefore no longer acceptable to claim that when African men are writing African theology, they are speaking on behalf of all Africans.
Gerdien Verstraelen-Gilhuis' research into certain church leadership surveys undertaken in the 1960s provides another example of the marginalisation of African women's issues.5 The author chronicles projects sponsored by the Theological Education Fund...