Gender Struggles and Female Leadership in the Old Testament and African Instituted Churches (AICs) in Nigeria

Abstract

The concept of bringing honour to the family used in valuing women in ancient Israel and African traditions has led to women being painted with belittling remarks in comparison to men. Yet, women admirably subsist in both cultures and are treated with esteem in social climbing (mobility) of economic status and ascendancy of positions of power. This paper employs a socio-historical, socio-literary, and comparative cultural interpretation of gender roles between the Israelites and selected African Instituted Churches (AICs) at Ile-Ife, Nigeria. It considers equality of both sexes in the creation theology and Israelite patriarchal patrimony. Ten female church founders among the AICs are purposively selected for this study. The study finds gender independence and equality depend on economic dominance of the system of kinship and household interdependence in both cultures. The Old Testament creation theology elevates roles of the female gender as people capable of economic and commercial independence in spite of being placed under the household care where male leaders are saddled with provision of welfare and protection to their clans. The female founders of the AICs commend equality of gender roles in their churches where disapproval remarks that the book of Judges and Prophetic literature pass on women (depicting Yahweh as the faithful (male) husband against Israel as the unfaithful (female) wife) continue to pose hermeneutical threat to theological interpretation of female ascendancy into AICs leadership in Nigeria.