Despite the notable progress throughout the whole planet, the sexism that has existed for centuries remains one of the most painful problems for society. Plenty of scientists and writers were concerned with this phenomenon all over the world and especially in African countries where cases of women’s discrimination still exist. Mercy Amba Oduyoye (1995), the prominent African Methodist theologian, is aware of the problem of sexism and she wrote a couple of books on the topic. “Daughters of Anowa” combines the description of a situation in the 90s and predictions, expectations, beliefs in the future. Indeed, “some women are struggling to be free from this compulsory attachment to the male; they want the right to be fully human, whether or not they choose to be attached to men” (Oduyoye, 1995, p.14).
Oduyoye (1995) defines authentic traditions with the connection to religion as the major point of her work. As the author of the book is a theologian, her research is mostly based on religion and Christianity. Africa is still one of the worst developed continents and the lifestyle of tribes where profane rites prevail even nowadays preserves the power of men over women. The process of liquidation of sexism is considerably slow and monotonous, only some parts of the continent spread Christianity, the religion where men and women have almost equal rights.
The theologian gives examples of women’s sixth sense in difficult situations, their ability to survive by using the image of Anowa, the ancestress of African women who are called her daughters. They patiently cope with their problems throughout centuries, are responsible for the family, and take care of their husbands and children.
However, the dynamism of the development of African culture is noted, and it essentially made an impact on African women. The process of colonization and other historical events influenced the continent significantly. After the establishment of Christianity, African people began to get used to Christian rites that are of great religious morals and humanism. It helps women to build their families based on love and mutual respect.
The reading can be applied to the practice of care for persons by motivating people to be involved in the problem of sex discrimination. People should be of equal rights, despite sex, and the problem has to be solved. Sexism is still not liquidated completely. Every day some number of African teenage girls are forced to marry. They are only about 8-16 years old. Certainly, these cases are considered inadmissible in modern society. Using her knowledge of theology and religion and implying myths and folktales, Oduyoye (1995) demonstrates how “folktalk alienates women from power, discourages individuality” (Oduyoye, 1995, p.14).
Old traditions and myths cannot be forgotten; however, the modern world demands development, further movement, the power of an individual. Nowadays, women have seats in parliaments, drive cars, work in technical spheres, set off on journeys to outer space, and, eventually, become the leaders of their native countries. Using myths and folktales, the author of the book implies that women should begin to forget about such a notion as the spirit of submission.
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that modern society is mostly out of sexism or strives to avoid and eliminate it. Although, developing countries (Africa, for instance) preserve some unpleasant ancient traditions, perhaps, automatically because they got used to keeping them up. It is generally accepted that it happens because of a rather slow process of cultural development and continent acclimatization.
Furthermore, there appears a new topic for research. It means cooperation between developed and developing countries. The population should try to cooperate with poor countries, strive to help them in their process of cultural study. Humanism is the point and potentially the most effective way out, regardless of a person’s sex, the color of skin, race, and other factors that frequently become a controversial issue.
References
Oduyoye, M. (1995). Daughters of Anowa: African women and patriarchy (1st ed.). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.