Experiences of Exclusion: a Study Conducted Among Catholic Women in the Johannesburg Diocese1

AbstractMuch has been written to critique the Catholic church's position on the ordination of women based on arguments from scripture and tradition. However, there has been little local research on how South African women experience the consequences of this exclusion from ministry. In this article Ralphs and Kretzschmar set out, from an ethical and feminist theological position, to show the effects of this exclusion both on women and on the church. Through a study of the literature and interviews with 60 Catholic women from the diocese of Johannesburg, they attempt to explain what lies behind the Catholic church's position on women, and to describe it's negative consequences. The authors conclude that whilst many women are aware of the negative effects of exclusion, they are unable to name the structural forces which reinforce this exclusion, and that theological and pedagogical processes are required to shape a different consciousness among women.

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A re-reading of John 8:1–11 from a pastoral liberative perspective on South African women

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v66i2.838 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 66 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Elijah M. Baloyi

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Pastoral Care ◽

South African ◽

African Women ◽

Christian Community ◽

Gender Oppression ◽

Jewish Society ◽

South African Women ◽

The Church

The inception of democracy in South Africa faced the oppression of women as one of the challenges. The duty to improve women’s position in society is not the responsibility of a few people alone, but of everyone. According to the researcher, the church has not done enough pastorally in this regard. In denouncing the oppression of women, the Christian community should also support the victims of abuse. This article intends to unmask collusion with patriarchal societies including the Jewish society in Jesus’ time by mapping out the forms of harassment and embarrassment inflicted upon women. The study shows how pastoral care can help victims of oppression. A re-reading of John 8:1–11 will inform the, how can the verses above be used in counselling the victims of gender oppression. This study will formulate pastoral guidelines from Jesus’ response to the Pharisees, the Scribes and the woman.

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Androcentric language in 1 Thessalonians and its implications for South African women today

In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi ◽

10.4102/ids.v34i3.602 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

Author(s):

E.M. Cornelius

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

New Testament ◽

Modern Society ◽

Point Of View ◽

African Women ◽

Inclusive Language ◽

Patriarchal Culture ◽

The New Testament ◽

South African Women ◽

The Church

The focus of this article is the use of androcentric language in 1 Thessalonians. The questions asked in this regard are: does the author of 1 Thessalonians use sexist-exclusive language, thus gender-specific language or does he use gender-inclusive language as used within a patriarchal culture? And what are the implications of this situation for South African women today? In order to answer these questions, the background of ancient authors’ use of androcentric language is given as seen from a socio-historical point of view. Then the use of androcentric language by the author of 1 Thessalonians is evaluated. Against this background and in the light of this evaluation, the implications of this kind of language in 1 Thessalonians for contemporary South African women are discussed. It is found that Paul’s use of androcentric language in 1 Thessalonians is possibly a result of the prescriptions of the roles of a patriarchal culture and that the church needs to reconsider its prescriptions of the roles of women in the church. The question to be answered is whether the church prescribes the roles of women in church because of a Biblical view of women or because of its negligence to let God’s Word speak to women in societies. In the light of a changed attitude towards women in our modern society, translators of the New Testament need to consider a fresh interpretation and translation of 1 Thessalonians (and the rest of the New Testament) in which women are addressed and considered to be an active part of God’s church.

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Finding Peace, Claiming Place: Black South African Women Navigating the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Palgrave Handbook of Global Mormonism ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-52616-0_23 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 607-634

Author(s):

Caroline Kline

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Jesus Christ ◽

African Women ◽

Latter Day Saints ◽

Black South African ◽

South African Women ◽

The Church

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BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION AND CERVICAL (PAP) SMEAR TEST: ATTITUDES AND SELF-REPORTED PRACTICES AMONG SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.89.5.27-32 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 89 (5) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

KARL PELTZER

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Pap Smear ◽

African Women ◽

Breast Self Examination ◽

Pap Smear Test ◽

Smear Test ◽

South African Women ◽

Self Examination

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THE SINS OF THE FATHER: GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

Commonwealth Youth and Development ◽

10.25159/1727-7140/1798 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 57-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lyn Snodgrass

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Black Women ◽

South African ◽

African Women ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Political Issues ◽

Race And Gender ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender ◽

South African Women

This article explores the complexities of gender-based violence in post-apartheid South Africa and interrogates the socio-political issues at the intersection of class, ‘race’ and gender, which impact South African women. Gender equality is up against a powerful enemy in societies with strong patriarchal traditions such as South Africa, where women of all ‘races’ and cultures have been oppressed, exploited and kept in positions of subservience for generations. In South Africa, where sexism and racism intersect, black women as a group have suffered the major brunt of this discrimination and are at the receiving end of extreme violence. South Africa’s gender-based violence is fuelled historically by the ideologies of apartheid (racism) and patriarchy (sexism), which are symbiotically premised on systemic humiliation that devalues and debases whole groups of people and renders them inferior. It is further argued that the current neo-patriarchal backlash in South Africa foments and sustains the subjugation of women and casts them as both victims and perpetuators of pervasive patriarchal values.

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