Laat ander die praatwerk doen

Abstract

Stories of the calling of female ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church played out over a period of approximately 107 years. The folk mother discourse, which silenced women’s voices in public, developed in the Afrikaner community during this period. It is evident that female ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church have generally not participated actively in the debate on the admission of women to specific offices. Most of the contributors to this study experience some discomfort with matters of gender and feminism. As in the folk mother discourse, they leave the talking to others. In this article the development of the folk mother discourse is examined and female ministers are asked to examine their experiences in this regard. The central question is: What can the church do to help women take co-responsibility in the gender debate.