A journey on the path of an African feminist theologian and pioneer, Mercy Amba Oduyoye : continuing the pursuit for justice in the church and in society

Abstract

The central thrust of this article is a review of Mercy Amba Oduyoye’s contribution to African feminist theologies in her pursuit of justice in the church and in society, particularly with regard to gender justice. The article studies the context in which African feminist theologies emerged and some of the thematic areas that stimulated their “eruption” in the African church and academia. It also explores their implications for the church and society. This article suggests that it is imperative that African feminist theologies, especially those which have been adopted by the members of the Circle of Concerned Women Theologians, be used to expand the theological methods and lenses of doing theology beyond cultural hermeneutics in order to attend to the ecological, economic and social struggles that impact life in Africa. The affirmation of the relevance of cultural hermeneutics, it is suggested, ought not to exclude the possibilities of expanding the contours of analyses or using other hermeneutical approaches such as ecological, economic and social analyses − particularly in Africa where most people are hindered from experiencing fullness of life because of ecological degradation, economic exploitation and social power struggles in local and international politics.