African Culture, Women and Religion

It is a common practice for Africans in Christianity to mix their culture with the religion. There are some practices women become subjected to when cultural ideologies are mixed with religion. These practices are claimed to be biblical, but if really examined, we will find they are convenient additions that perfectly suits a male dominated society.

Women have constantly fallen victims of many cultural based religious practices that are set to marginalize them. Do we really think that God’s vision for women is to slave away in a man’s house, or that women’s education should become secondary to that of their male counterparts? or that women should have no opinions or voice, or that they should never express themselves, or that they should always dress like they are in mourning? There is an endless list of things women have been subjected to under the guise of religion.

Focusing on Christianity and Africans or even more specifically Nigerians, these are some questions that could be raised:

What purpose does it serve men if women are unadorned? By unadorned, I mean no makeup, no jewelries, shapeless dresses, strictly long skirts, no pants, etc. (I think we get the picture).

Second question is, does God really care whether women wear jewelries, put attachment on their hair, or wear makeup?

Third question is why are preachers misinterpreting the bible? And this goes back to the first question, what purpose does it serve men if women dress in an unflattering manner?

The answer is insecurity. Sounds too simplistic, but it boils down to that. Some religious African men are threatened by the mere hint of women  having an advantage over them, so they do everything to control women, and religion is a powerful weapon of control. Sadly, a lot of African churches are experts at doing this. If a preacher tells a woman not to wear revealing or tight outfits to church, then that’s understandable. But it’s a different ballgame altogether when women are told not to wear jewelries, makeup, pants, put attachment in their hair, or do anything that beautifies them. Is God really in agreement with this?

The church should be on the forefront, leading the equality movement between men and women, teaching people how we ought  to relate with each other in honor and respect, instead of objectifying women. This may sound a bit too radical, but have we noticed that there are more women than men in every church and yet some churches refuse to make a woman a pastor! I was listening to Joyce Meyer’s story about the oppositions she faced when God called her, simply because she is a woman. There are other many women out there still being withheld from fulfilling their God-given purpose all because of a male dominated culture carefully branded as Christianity. Sexism was never God’s idea.

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