African Women’s Liberating Philosophies, Theologies, and Ethics

This volume explores the ethical and philosophical paradigms presented by most of the influential Matriarchs of the Circle of African Women Theologians. It critically evaluates the effectiveness of their ethical and philosophical theories, models, and frameworks in pursuing justice and liberation for women in Africa and globally. The authors address critical questions: How have African women theologians reimagined existing ethical paradigms? What original ethical and philosophical ideas have they generated? How have their ethical frameworks influenced the theologies and interpretations they have developed? What purposes do their ethical and philosophical paradigms serve? How do these renderings intersect with various social categories, including gender, race, class, sexuality, capitalism, and colonialism? What liberating frameworks do they propose?

The volume further explores the dialogue between distinct African contexts and universal experiences and values. It explores how universal themes such as humanity, human dignity, rights, justice, motherhood, and more can coexist with communal African concepts and themes. It contemplates how embracing African approaches engages these themes more globally, bringing together particular African contexts of women and the universal ethical, philosophical, and theological theories, models, and frameworks to advance the cause of justice and liberation for African women and women worldwide into the future.

1. Introduction: Ethics and Philosophy, African Women’s Perspective.- Part I Ethics, African Philosophy and Liberation.- 2. Katie Geneva Cannon’s Cross-Cultural and Bridge-Building Womanist Ethics.- 3. “A Beautiful Black Pearl Bead”: Dube’s Poetics of Spiritual Esthetics of Dark Luminosity.- 4. Ethics and Values of Mercy A. Oduyoye’s Theology of Liberation.- 5. Social Motherhood and Masculinization of the Church in Bernadette Mbuy-Beya’s Ethics and Philosophical Anthropology.- 6.- The Ethics of Liberation of Rosemary Nkoyo Edet and Peggy Mulambya-Kabonde.- Part II Founding Matriarchs on African Communal Philosophy and Environmental Ethics.- 7. Beyond Isirika: Problematizing and Theorizing Musimbi Kanyoro’s Communal Ethics.- 8. Hannah Kinoti: African Religion, Community Consciousness, and Virtue Ethics.- 9. Ethics, Gender, and Philosophy of Puleng LenkaBula.- 10. Ethics and Philosophy of Anne Nasimiyu Wasike.- 11. Environmental Ethics of African Women Theologians.- Part III Ethics of Reading for Liberation and Biblical Interpretation.- 12. Unveiling Hidden Narratives: Musa Dube’s Postcolonial Feminist Lens on Biblical Studies.- 13. Bosadi Hermeneutics: Mapping Masenya’s Journey of Collisions and Relationships in Biblical Interpretation.- 14. Ethical Readings of Elna Mouton: Exploring Gender, Household Code, and Ethos in New Testament Writings.- 15. Afterword: A Flame Blazes in the Darkness!.

Beatrice Okyere-Manu is a Professor of Applied Ethics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Léocadie Lushombo is Assistant Professor in Theological Ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University and Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of the Congo.