Decolonizing Patriarchy in East Africa: Insights from Two African Women Theologians (Teresia Hinga and Nasimiyu Wasike)

Abstract

Drawing insights from the work of two East African women theologians, Teresia Hinga and Nasimiyu Wasike, this article foregrounds how African women theologians are a formidable force in decolonizing patriarchy. Adopting a literature review approach, the article examines some of the literature produced by Hinga and Wasike, revealing how far they have gone in terms of breaking the thick walls of patriarchy which were fortified by Christianity, colonialism and modernity. In unison with these two giant East African women theologians, the article beckons all African women to resist the patriarchal injustices on their doorsteps. It raises a clarion call for them to reclaim their voices by refusing to be spoken for, spoken of, spoken about as if they were dead. Hence, it advocates for a resurgence of conversations around the decolonization of patriarchy. The article also suggests other possible interventions that can be implemented to enhance the attainment of gender parity.

1. Introduction

A renowned feminist theologian Rosemary Ruether states:

… all inherited culture has been male-biased and sexist, however, all significant works of culture have not only legitimised sexism. They have done something else. They have been responding to the fears of death, estrangement, oppression… and the liberation of humanity. Although they have articulated this response in male terms, women can discover this critical element in male culture and transform it, so that “it says things it has never said before”1 (Ruether and McLaughlin 1979, p. 39).

As if taking a cue from Ruether’s prophetic words presented in the above excerpt, East African women theologians do not mimic the voices of their male counterparts. Instead, they have broken the silence and demand to speak for themselves. Their voices result from a decolonization of male-dominated reality in an effort to reconstruct reality in East Africa in more human terms. This essay is a critical assessment of two East African women theologians’ critique of patriarchy and colonial heritage. These theologians are Teresia Hinga and Nasimiyu Wasike. For East African women, the urgency to confront patriarchy stemming from Christianity and Colonialism causes them to be more in tune with reality. Despite the numerous challenges and obstacles that face East African women theologians, they have “emerged” in the sense that they have broken the spell of inevitability cast from colonial history and patriarchy to speak for themselves and provide ways toward emancipation.

This article therefore discusses how these two East African women theologians have utilized their academic voices to wrestle with and to decolonize patriarchy. This undertaking is also the authors’ attempts to celebrate and eulogize these two academic giants who have since exited planet earth. Both were among the group of 70 matriarchs who met to lay the foundation of what is now famously known as the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, hereafter, (the Circle). Founded in September 1989 under the visionary leadership of Professor Mercy Amba Oduyoye, the Circle is a Pan-African women’s organization, dedicated towards unmuting African women’s prophetic voices. Together with other members of the Circle, Hinga and Wasike served as fearless prophetic voices, speaking out against the perpetuation of violence and exploitation targeted towards women and girls both in church and society. Their wisdom and feminist advocacy for positive change and transformation continue to guide, inspire and challenge those whom they have left behind.

2. Decolonizing Patriarchy

East African women theologians began utilizing feminist approaches only in the late eighties. A reason for this is the late entry into formal theological training of East African women. Ursula King stated that, “Feminist theology anywhere, whether in the First or the Third world, would never have come about without women’s full access to theological education up to the highest academic level” (King 1994, p. 5). Hence, the opening of doors of opportunity for East African women to access theological education was a major turning point for how they engage in theological discourse and reflection.

It is important to acknowledge that like other women from other parts of the Global South, feminist critique as undertaken by East African women was largely influenced by the wider feminist theology from the West. There has been a sharing and an interaction that has taken place and enabled East African women theologians to analyze women’s oppression in society and in the church among other things. However, it is worth noting that the feminist critique developed by western feminists is not one imposed upon East African women theologians. Rather they themselves stress the agency of their own struggle on their own terms. Accordingly, they share in the fact that academic Christian feminist theology incorporates feminist theories developed outside theological institutions (Clifford 2001, p. 5). Owing to the relation of feminist critique as presented by female theologians from the African continent and the feminist movement from the west, it is important to elaborate on feminism and feminist theology.

Although feminism did originate from the West, it is an illusion to think that its influence is limited to the west and that it remains alien to East Africa. This is because there continues to be academic interaction and sharing between women from the West and East Africa. Indeed, East Africa is not isolated nor in a vacuum from varieties of ideas and thoughts owing to the movement of people and the influence of technology. This is especially so in the current era of the fourth industrial revolution where the use of information and communication technology has taken the world by storm. Alluding to the fact that women and men in East Africa know their place is trying to ignore gender oppressions inherent in the call to revert to traditional values. In effect, this downplays the gender construction of the public and private divide in East African culture.

Though there are many definitions of feminism, for this essay the definition that is used is the one articulated by Joann Wolski Conn (1996), in which feminism is described as both a set of coordinated ideas and a practical plan of action rooted in a critical awareness by women of how a culture controlled in meaning and action by men, for their advantage oppresses women and dehumanizes men.

Below, we proceed to chronicle the academic cum gender advocacy heritage bequeathed to us by Hinga and Wasike. The main thrust of the discussion is on their unrelenting commitment towards decolonizing patriarchy and transform society into a gender equitable space.

3. Teresia Hinga’s Critique of Patriarchy and Colonial Heritage

The late Teresia Mbari Hinga (1955–2023) was an associate professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University in Chicago, U.S.A, specializing in African religions, Feminist theologies and Religion and contemporary moral issues. She held a Doctorate from the University of Lancaster U.K. Her doctoral dissertation titled Women, Power and Liberation in An African Church: A Theological Case Study of the Legio Maria Church in Kenya discussed the ‘Legio Maria’, a Kenyan African Independent Church which came out of the Roman Catholic Church, and which is particularly inspired by Marian devotion. Her contribution to deconstructing patriarchy and the colonial past can be gleaned from her many publications.

Hinga’s paper titled “Inculturation and the Otherness of African: Some Reflections”, foregrounds the importance of inculturation if the gospel should serve as an important and relevant resource for liberation in African people’s lives. Thus, inculturation, instead of dignifying the need to abide with the otherness of Africans, rather, it must provide a pathway for embracing and respecting the African people’s humanity, dignity and self-naming. It calls for a willingness to open safe spaces for African people to unapologetically self-name, whilst refraining at all times from saying to them ‘you are that’. This entails being intentional about respectfully listening to and empathetically acknowledging their refusal of terminologies and tags imposed upon them through various deliberate processes of ‘othering’, which has been troublesome to Africans all through history.

It is Hinga’s contention that the history of African people is indelibly etched in the process of colonization which profoundly transformed their lives. Hence, in her view, it is inconceivable for African women theologians to reflect on African culture without deliberating on how colonialism impacted their lived realities. Since Christianity came hand in glove with colonization, when interrogating Christianity’s impact on their lives, it is inevitable for them to review how it baptized all other ‘isms’ that came on the same bandwagon. Top on the list is colonialism, racism and sexism. Whilst critiquing the various ways in which Christianity has been manipulated and used to endorse several negative practices, policies and attitudes towards not only African women, but humanity in general, African women of faith have remained committed to upholding the liberative motif embedded in the good news of the biblical text, which is the foundation of Christianity (Hinga 1996, p. 31).

In the context of East African women’s search for liberation, Hinga notes that Christ encounters people in various contexts. Her starting point is a description of the Christology that found expression in missionary praxis, where she observes that two images of Christ were expressed. The first prevailing image of Christ was that of Christ the conqueror who legitimized the subjugation of the African race during the period of colonial and imperial expansionism.

Hinga expounds in detail that within the colonial matrix, Jesus was the King in whose name new territories both physical and spiritual, were fought for, annexed and conquered. An imperial Christianity thus had an imperial Christ to match where winning Africa for Christ was a major motivating factor. To colonialists, Africa was the treasure to be looted for Christ. Cultural and spiritual imperialism of the missionary effort had some dire consequences, for instance, the welfare of African women in polygamous marriages was not taken into consideration. A stark example is whereby upon conversion, in order to become a fully fledged member, a polygamous man was required to choose only one out of the several wives and send away the rest. Failure of which, he would not be eligible for baptism. This brought untold suffering to those women and children who were sent away.

Hinga highlights that both Christianity and the colonial culture contributed to legitimizing patriarchy in Africa. Patriarchy articulates dualisms and validates relations of domination and subordination; consequently, societies are ordered hierarchically and give power to men. Hinga concurs with Dube (1998), who in her introduction to post-colonial theories, she states that “studies of imperialism show three main factors that have motivated and justified imperialism: God, glory and gold. Some may term these as power, moral responsibility and economic interests” (Dube 2000, p. 47). Hence, Hinga shows that to achieve these goals, colonial governments collaborated with the missionaries and there was a propagation and maintenance of imperial violence. In so doing, they maintained a form of exploitation. According to Musa Dube, this exploitation denied (African) women and men their political, cultural and economic autonomy by imposing its systems of power for its own benefit (Dube 2000, p. 29). Hence, instead of Christianity coming to improve the status of African women, its continuing to rigidly impose Western cultural values and practices, whilst working alongside the colonial regime, ended up causing further harm. It took away their economic independence and made them susceptible to various forms of violence and exploitation perpetrated by the colonial regime.

Hinga explores the second image in missionary praxis, being that of Christ the liberator. The mission stations established by missionaries in the African interior served as orphanages and shelters. Many East African women found shelter in the mission stations in their attempts to be free from unsatisfactory marriages, female genital mutilation, forced and early marriages or harsh parental control. For Hinga, the Christ of the missionary enterprise was therefore an ambivalent one, a conqueror legitimizing subjugation and also a liberator.

According to Hinga, “women’s experiences are so diverse that to speak of a monolithic feminist theology is seemingly absurd” (Hinga 1996, p. 27). She further expounds that globally, women have reached a unanimous agreement on the diversity and uniqueness of their experiences. Hence, Hinga (2002) notes that such a realization has necessitated the emergence of diverse feminist theologies, to serve as a springboard for analyzing the impact of sexism on women’s experiences in their different socio- political, economic and historical contexts. (East) African women who are oppressed often internalize myths, created by the oppressors who circulate them in an attempt to justify and legitimize the oppression. They can internalize these myths until they agree to oppressive circumstances as normal. Furthermore, Hinga (1999) proffers that the consciousness-raising of East African women as a subjugated group provides an arena not only for women’s liberation, but the liberation of the whole human race.

Resultantly she tenders that society or [a community] is one where there is an eradication or correction of patriarchy which often leads to women being discriminated against, oppressed and exploited because of their sex. In a society or community, there needs to be an unmasking of sexual injustices and their subsequent elimination in order to bring about the liberation of women… It is with legitimation that women should take up the challenge of social transformation, unmasking and eradicating social injustices to pave the way for the eschatological community that the bible looks forward to (Hinga 1999, p. 43).

But according to Hinga, to correct sexual injustices in society and community, East African women cannot be liberated by outsiders. They have to partake in their own liberation. She aptly puts it across as follows:

The task of self-liberation therefore involves dialogue rather than war with the oppressor. This however, does not mean that women as the oppressed turn a blind eye to oppressive relationships. In fact, it is their task to unmask, name and denounce all aspects that they find oppressive to human relationships… liberation is not only a privilege to be enjoyed by the oppressed women, but it is also a task to be done. Women therefore are called not only to be recipients of liberation to enjoy the privilege of liberation, but also to be challenged to become subjects, by actively undertaking the task of liberating, transforming, not only themselves but also society to ensure a more humane and egalitarian future (Hinga 1999, pp. 44, 45).

In sum, Hinga brings to our sharp focus the need for agency. Certain themes predominate in feminist discourse, one of which is the construction of personal agency (Maseno 2023). From a feminist perspective, the pervasive influence of this is related to the emphasis on individualism at the expense of context within traditional psychological models.2 Although Hinga desires East African women’s liberation to be attained through their active participation, what she does not address are the overlaps that female agency has at individual and at societal levels.

Hinga is oblivious of how an East African woman can both demonstrate a capacity for individualized choice and action. According to Sharon Krause (2011), agency in feminist theory is proceeding along uncoupling the notions of agency and autonomy. She therefore defines agency as resilience in the face of coercion, oppression, and systematic marginalization.3 According to Krause (2011), it is important to consider agency as a capacity for meaningful action rather than an unfettered individual choice. This interpretation takes into cognizance the structural inequality and injustice experienced by East African women but acknowledges that the women do not see this inequality or injustice as an insurmountable obstacle to agency. Hence, agency is possible, no matter how oppressed humans are or how attached to subordinating relations. At the same time, East African women can demonstrate agency, regardless of personal privilege.

Furthermore, in her academic and theological explorations, Hinga seems to have overlooked the agency and resistance exhibited by individual women from East Africa, which is sometimes not equivalent to an autonomous choice in her context. According to Madhok et al. (2013), agency is to be seen as a mode of reflection. “It is a way of taking responsibility for one’s location in the world, a location that is not only or fully knowable by the subject.”4

Hinga’s academic contributions towards the decolonization of patriarchy and her unwavering championing for the active participation of women in unfettering the patriarchal chains is a feat that was echoed by Wasike. Below, we turn to reflect on how Wasike’s gender activist work and her tenacious fervour for unbinding the fetters dovetails with that of Hinga.

4. Nasimiyu Wasike Critique of Patriarchy and Colonial Heritage

The late Nasimiyu Wasike (1949–2018) was an associate professor of systematic theology in the Religious Studies Department at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. She was a member of the Religious Institute of Little Sisters of St. Francis, where she set at the leadership helm from 1992 to 1998 as the General Superior. She held a Doctorate from the United States of America, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. Her doctoral dissertation on Problems raised in the process of inculturation and the impact of Vatican II, related Catholic theology to traditional African religion and culture.

Wasike critiques the seemingly exploitative and manipulative tendencies exhibited by the male-bloated military leadership during the struggle for reclaiming political independence in Africa. She particularly highlights their hypocrisy whereby they made it to appear as if gender equity had been embraced as African men and women forged a united front and took up arms to fight against the colonial oppressors. Wasike further contends that whilst they were on the battlefront, the fighters for African liberation preached the message of equality and women were made to believe that upon the attainment of independence, they would equally enjoy the fruits of their labours and sacrifices. Regrettably, no sooner than independence was ushered in, women were excluded from reaping the rewards that came with the era of independence. Women’s needs, hopes and aspirations were pushed to the margins. The same gender disparities that existed during the colonial era were reinstated, and in some cases, the gap between men and women was further widened. Consequently, women in East Africa endure a multi-tiered form of marginalization, subjugation and manipulation on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity and social class (Nasimiyu-Wasike 2001, p. 50). For her, the Church in Africa inadvertently inherited the European Church’s misogynist stance, which assigned women a marginal status, treating them as temptresses to be kept in check. Wasike illustrates this point by noting the case of Uganda where missionaries exhibited their mistrust for African women by imposing a rule which forbade women from walking nearby the priest’s residence beyond 16:00 p.m. (Wasike 1989, p. 130). This goes to show the extent to which missionaries mistrusted women, treating them as sources of temptation and harbingers of sexual immorality.

Alert to the historical injustices perpetrated by the twin connections between the colonial trajectory and missionary Christianity in Africa, in an article titled, “Is Mutuality Possible,” Wasike observes that:

The injustices of colonialism in Africa are well documented. Colonial powers found cheap labour, raw materials and rich natural minerals for their industries back home… Africa was divided among the European powers without any consideration of the indigenous peoples… The ethnic differences were highlighted by the colonial powers, and this has resulted in bitter strife in several countries… It is unfortunate that during the colonizing period, the Christian Churches went along with and even sometimes participated in the process… Missionaries in their colonial context misinterpreted and misrepresented African cultures and traditional religions… The missionaries were unable to penetrate the African worldview and therefore they limited themselves to the misinterpretation of the African worldview… They concentrated on the details of traditions that they could not join in one unity… Mutuality is an interplay, a two-way traffic or reciprocation. This can happen only in a healthy, open relationship… Mutuality cannot take place unless the past cultural misconceptions are uprooted… As long as the West continues to view its culture as superior and cannot allow itself to “bend low”, authentic genuine mutuality cannot be embarked on (Nasimiyu-Wasike 2001, pp. 45, 46, 48).

As clearly stated in the above citation, colonial expansion in East Africa left many exposed to harm and danger. The looting of East Africa’s wealth to enrich Western nations was the logic of the colonial masters. They made sure that ethnicity was magnified, and this continues to date, where people in East Africa are often reminded of their ethnic backgrounds, which engender strife and disconnect instead of harmony.

For Wasike, if mutuality is to be possible, there must be an end to the divisions that exist today between women and men, north and south, poor and rich, so that humanity is reconciled to itself. Mutuality calls for a genuine conversion that gives rise to a new spirit of interpersonal relationships.

Wasike (1989) outlines the multi-faceted factors which influence the status of women both at the individual and national level. She notes that one’s social location has a huge bearing on how women differently experience gender disparities. For example, those who come from wealthy families are usually better cushioned than those from poorer families. Likewise, those who reside in communities that are endowed with vast natural resources, with leadership that uphold the rights of women and girls will be better positioned to enjoy an elevated social status than those coming from communities with limited resources. To illustrate the pertaining gender disparities, Wasike highlights that most women from East Africa experience major constraints when it comes to accessing basic needs. This is mainly because the patriarchal society assigns men the position of power and authority such that when it comes to land ownership and other natural resources, these are a male preserve. Hence, women are often treated as second class citizens. This is particularly so in the rural areas where agriculture is the basic form of sustenance for most families. Bereft of the right to own land, they are still expected to provide most of the back-breaking labour in the fields during the farming season. However, after the harvest season, it is the male head of the family who decides on how the proceeds from the agricultural produce is utilized. In some cases, the men blow off all the money on their selfish interests whilst neglecting the needs of women and girls. Besides working in the fields, women also have to juggle other household chores including cooking, cleaning the homestead, walking long distances to look for water and firewood, childcare, and caregiving for the sick and the elderly. For those who are either formally or informally employed, the societal expectation is that they should fulfil all household chores even after completing a full day’s work at their place of employment.

Furthermore, Wasike bemoans the trivialization of East African women’s contribution both at the domestic and societal level. She points out that this comes out clearly in both rural and urban communities, where women’s socio-economic contribution towards societal growth is often undermined. She further explains that at the top of oppression, we find some of the categories of (East) African women namely, the petty traders, house girls and women in polygamous unions (Wasike 1989, p. 132).

According to Wasike, polygamy is a form of oppression against women, and the church should stand in solidarity with women to reject this form of oppression. It is Wasike’s assertion that African women have always rejected polygamy, but instead of critiquing the men, they tend to project their rejection onto their co-wives. Thus, co-wives became targets of women’s hatred for polygamy, as seen in many African poems where there is envy and squabbles between co-wives. She further contends that polygamy reflects the brokenness of our humanity and is not to be accommodated. Its main purpose is to serve the man’s socio-economic and emotional needs to the detriment of the women involved in this oft dehumanizing, animosity filled relationship, causing a lot of unnecessarily unhealthy competition. Hence, Wasike proposes that it is important to participate in the mission of God to criticize degrading and segregating systems in our cultures that legitimize the exploitation of some while preserving the advantaged status and power of others. She therefore concludes that polygamy legitimizes the inferiority and subordination of women to men (Wasike 1992b, pp. 111–15).

Wasike (1992b, pp. 105–6) observes cultural hardships endured by African women. Their struggles are exacerbated by being denied a voice both on the domestic and societal front. The prevalence of domestic violence in many African communities is another factor which causes women undue pain and suffering. What makes it even worse is the tendency for many traditional societies to condone physical violence targeted towards women and girls as a method of disciplining and controlling them. This includes spousal assault and the assault of female family members by either their fathers or other male members of the family. To illustrate how domestic violence is deeply embedded, Wasike mentions how it was common for some men to be given a whip as a wedding present, signifying that whipping his wife as a disciplinary measure was part of the marriage contract. Procreation is another aspect which heaves intense pressure on most African women, particularly if they fail to produce offspring after getting married. Society tends to shift the blame of infertility on women, her social status is often tied to her ability to produce progeny, especially bearing several sons (Wasike 1992a, p. 42). In becoming a mother, a woman renounces her personality or personal identity, she is simply referred to as ‘the wife of—’or the ‘mother of--’. She belongs to her husband and is thus possessed by him (Wasike 1997, p. 176).

A closer look at Wasike’s analysis of East African women’s oppression and subjugation shows the power dynamic that makes East African women’s labour, just like other African women’s labour unaccounted for, and makes them victims of unpaid work or labour (Maseno and Chirongoma 2024). Gender inequality in East Africa has continued to be displayed (Maseno 2025). However, Wasike has not unpacked the components of power, hierarchy and competition that are the bedrock of patriarchal organization in African cultures.

5. Conclusions

An assumption and critique of women’s subordination has been the traditional point of departure for feminist theology. However, subordination may be regarded as an essentialist notion that infers a permanent ‘ordination’ under somebody. In many patriarchal societies, it is women who take this place, under the male folk. Thus, subordination cannot take place without there being power relations. Attesting to the place of women in East Africa, these two women theologians have described the situation of women in these terms in these areas. They have shown the subordinate place of women in the power dynamic, and that women experience diminished control over their lives.

For East African women, we propose taking into full account individual and group agency by women that takes the context and location in the world seriously. Women are to be conscientized on their self-worth and their rights and affirmed in their various capacities. For many women, unpaid care work weighs them down and they are unable to make themselves better. For gender parity in East Africa, legislation and policy should be crafted to encourage women to flourish at all levels. With the recent spate of femicide in East Africa, security will have to be enhanced to secure the lives of many innocent women. A clear understanding on the types of oppression that women in East Africa undergo and solutions toward their emancipation is also the right direction to take. In all the intrinsic value of all creation, women, children, men should be emphasized in order to attain gender parity.