Sr Dr Rose Uchem, MSHR, Spiritan International School of Theology, Attakwu, Enugu, Nigeria.
E-mail: ifendu@infoweb.com.ng

Gender Inequality as an Enduring Obstacle to Mission

There is a growing recognition among mission practitioners of the missionary mandate of Christ to the whole Church and to individual Christians as rooted in our common baptism. Consequently, collaborative ministry is increasingly becoming one of the current trends in mission practice. However, this is more evident in some parts of the world than in others. The experience of some Nigerian women missionaries who have previously engaged in cross-cultural mission elsewhere and are currently on mission in their home church reveals a lot of contrasts particularly in the area of collaborative ministry. In their home church, there is very little if any room to exercise the kind of ministerial and pastoral initiatives they once did in their adoptive mission countries. Collaboration in mission and ministry are greatly hampered by a certain theology of church, ministry and the human person, which sees ministry as the exclusive preserve of male clerical leaders. Others, especially women, including women missionaries, are viewed as ‘helpers’ and secondary members of the church.

This paper, “Gender Inequality as an Enduring Obstacle to Mission,” examines the ramifications of the biblical gender issue of ‘woman’ as a helpmate to ‘man.’ It sees this mistaken literal biblical notion as the root of gender inequality in the church. It sees this as militating against the realization of social and gender justice in the church as long as this notion remains in force. The paper argues that fidelity to Christ’s mission entails confronting the inherent gender biases in key biblical texts, such as the one under consideration and re-interpreting these texts so as to release the power of the Good News to transform our world. While pointing out the social and cultural manifestations of gender biases in the Igbo African context, the paper highlights the challenges faced by African women missionaries among their own people and suggests how these challenges can be surmounted.

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