Power and Periphery: Studies of Gender and Religion in Africa

Rosalind Hackett

Abstract

Considering the great cultural and religious diversity of the African continent and the dynamic role of religion at all levels of African life, Africa would seem to offer fertile ground ,for generating studies of gender and religion. However, such is not the case. In addition to the political, cultural, and academic marginalization of Africa, there are the familiar reasons adduced in other contexts--namely that several of the earlier, classic studies of African religions were conducted by European and African scholars for whom gender was not an analytical category--what Ursula King calls "sexism by omission" (King 1995: 2). This paper examines practical, as well as theoretical and methodological, problems and prospects in studies of gender and religion in the vast African context. It is an overview and reflection, rather than a systematic and comprehensive survey.