Proceedings of The 6th Global Conference on Women’s Studies
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Gender Politics In The ‘House Of God’- Comparing Islam And Traditional Religions In West Africa
Habibat Oladosu-Uthman
ABSTRACT:
Comparative studies on gender among Muslims and traditional worshippers in West Africa are largely limited. This is probably based on the assumption that adequate account of the deprivation that women experience in their attempt to affirm their agency and subjectivity even in the “House of God” could always be given through the study of the individual religions they are affiliated with. This project proposes a radical shift in the field. It furnishes a new direction in gender studies which sees gender politics as a ‘universal’ reality within which the “Crescent” (Islam), the “Sėkplóndo” (Vodun) and the “Lightening” (Sàngό) find patronage. It is evident in the final analysis that as far as gender politics is concerned, religion is a tool in the hands of the patriarchal entities with which they strive to put women ‘where they belong’. The project makes use of a combination of social sciences and humanistic research instruments.
keywords: Women; Patriarchy; Vodun; Sango; Crescent