Description

The chapters in this volume foreground the ambivalent role of religion and culture when it comes to African women’s health and well-being. Reflecting on the three major religions in Africa, i.e. African Indigenous Religions, Christianity, and Islam, the authors illustrate how religious beliefs and practices can either enhance or hinder women’s holistic progress and development. With a specific focus on Zimbabwean women’s experiences of religion and culture, the volume discusses how African Indigenous Religions, Christianity, and Islam tend to privilege men and understate the value of women in Africa. Adopting diverse theological, ideological, and political positions, contributors to this volume restate the fact that the key teachings of different religions, often suppressed due to patriarchal influences, are a potent resource in the quest for gender justice. In sync with the goals for gender justice and women empowerment envisioned in the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and Africa Agenda 2063, the contributors advocate for gender-inclusive and life-enhancing interpretations of religious and cultural traditions in Africa.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Women and Religion in Zimbabwe and the Role of Men
Ezra Chitando, Sophia Chirongoma, and Kudzai Biri

Chapter One
Harnessing Ndau Religious and Socio-Cultural Beliefs and Practices for Celebrating Women Power in Zimbabwe
Macloud Sipeyiye &Elias G. Konyana

Chapter Two
Rural Women Utilizing African Indigenous Religion(s) in Environmental Conservation: A Case of Mutasa Area in Mutare
Tracey Chirara

Chapter Three
Reconfiguring Lost African Religious Tradition: A Feminist Inquiry into Pre-colonial Gender Construction and Its Impact on Shona Society in Post-colonial Zimbabwe
Dudzirai Chimeri

Chapter Four
African Traditional Religious Women and Reproductive Health: The Case of Mutasa Rural in Mutare
Tracey Chirara & Tabona Shoko

Chapter Five
Woman thou art Cursed? The Case of SARE in Shona Culture
Mavis Muguti & Tawanda Mbewe

Chapter Six
Imagining a Church with Equal Opportunities among the Clergy: A Theological and Cultural Dilemma in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
Mart

Product details

Published Jul 07 2022
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 1
ISBN 9781978785519
Imprint Lexington Books
Illustrations 1 b/w photos; 3 tables;
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
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Related Titles

Environment: Staging