Journeying with the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians on Contextuality (1989–2021)

Abstract

The author describes her journey with the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (the Circle) in the 25 years between 1996 and 2021. This is done in terms of the methodological values of autoethnography, a method to describe and critique cultural phenomena through the author’s own experiences; “cultural” referring here to the culture of doing theology from African women’s perspectives. The author describes her participation in five of the six Pan-African conferences of the Circle (the first in Accra, Ghana, 1989, is included in the discussion, but was not attended by the author). The article specifically notes developments in the foci of the conferences in general. The author’s journeys with the conferences in Nairobi, Kenya (1996); Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2002); Yaoundé, Cameroon (2006); Kempton Park, South Africa (2013); and Gaborone, Botswana (2019) are presented. The author evaluates the Circle’s ability to contextualise its theologies in terms of five questions, namely: 1) whether the Circle has been non-reductionist in establishing the causes of contextual patriarchy; 2) whether the Circle has been able to establish a multi-dimensional contra-culture vis-à-vis patriarchy; 3) whether the Circle has placed the binaries of male and female in dialogue with one another; 4) whether the Circle and its theologies have brought healing to a gendered society; and 5) whether the Circle has established partnerships outside its epistemological and social borders.