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African Traditional Religion, Gender Equality, and Feminism

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Abstract

Gender inequality is one of the prevalent forms of societal problems hindering the progress of African societies and this is hinged on the rigid customs and traditions of the people. The intersection of culture, religion, and gender in the context of African philosophy has produced a clash between women’s right to non-discrimination and their right to freedom of religious practice because gender roles are primarily constructed through religion and culture. The central argument of this chapter is that gender relations from the standpoint of African traditional religion are complementary. This chapter aims to demystify gender stereotypes that convey African religion as strictly masculine and supports cultural practices that hinder women from participating fully in the development of contemporary Africa.

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Notes

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Johnson-Bashua, A. (2022). African Traditional Religion, Gender Equality, and Feminism. In: Aderibigbe, I.S., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Traditional Religion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89500-6_23

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