The circle of concerned African women theologians: its contribution to ecumenical formation

Ecumenical Review, The, Jan, 2005 by Isabel Apawo Phiri

The Circle engendering theological education

While the Circle is happy to continue with the production of theological literature, the process of self-evaluation has begun. The Circle is aware that there are still many theological students in Africa who graduate without having been exposed to the theology that the Circle is producing. In some cases, the exposure is done as a sideline in half-hearted ways that provoke the students to be up in arms against engendered theology as not necessary for Africa. In fact, because the staff and students in African theological institutions are still predominantly male, and to a large extent the library is full of western theological books due to denominational ties with "mother churches", the theology being taught excludes the realities of Africa and the male experience is assumed to include the female experience when in reality it does not. This challenge is what motivated a call for mainstreaming gender as a tool of analysis in the theological curriculum. A gendered approach to theology refers to exposing the injustices that exist in the church, culture and the Bible in the relationship between men and women. It acknowledges that human beings construct culture; therefore, cultural practices in the Bible and in our own cultures should not be confused with the will of God. It highlights the importance of acknowledging that both men and women are created in the image of God. The process of change requires an analysis of the African worldview and how people's identities are constructed. (7) Musimbi Kanyoro explained it well when she said:

   The concepts and practices of equality and discrimination determined
   by social, economic, religious and cultural factors lie at the heart
   of a gender-sensitive perspective. Theological engagement with
   gender issues seeks to expose harm and injustices that are in the
   society and are extended to scripture and the teachings and
   practices of the church through culture. (8)

The need for mainstreaming gender in theological education is a global one and has been well articulated by a number of theological conferences and scholars as shown in the three quotations which are in the introduction of this paper. A few examples from the international conferences, seminars and working groups will suffice to show the global awareness of the problem. In 1997, I was part of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions in Indonesia where it was highlighted that there is male domination of the theological curriculum, staff, and student numbers, and that something must be done to redress the situation. I was also present when this was echoed at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) global consultation on theological education in Rome in 1999 and at the WCC consultation on "Viability of theological education and ministerial formation in Africa" in Kuruman, South Africa in 1995. (9) The LWF took the lead at a global level to begin the process of engendering theological education by organizing a consultation on "Engendering theological education for transformation" in Montreux, Switzerland, 4-8 November 2001. The report of this consultation has been widely circulated to stimulate further discussions on engendering theological education.