Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy
by Second Half
In
chapter 6 of Daughters of Anowa,
Mercy Oduyoye says “The framework of patriarchy is constructed on many pillars.
Each requires scrutiny, but patriarchy itself is defective and must be torn
down” (153). Within the second half of her book, Oduyoye looks at several of
those pillars, including the impact of Western ideology’s influence upon patriarchy.
She says “ Traditional norms are enforced whenever they serve to silence women,
reduce or eliminate their voices. My observation is that these traditional
systems have been strengthened by Western patriarchal structures as national
governments and institutions have been formed” (151). The horrific irony of
this is exasperated by the prevalence of customary law and ambivalence to civil
law. Civil law, constructed from Western models, is limited by lack of
provision for important existing structures in Akan society, such as polygyny.
Marriage and inheritance for children are often adversely affected by
interference of misaligned civil law (161-162). Another angle of patriarchy are
the oppressive expectations on African women. Oduyoye says “To expect women to
uphold all that is humanizing in African culture and yet deny their
participation in the politics of family and nation is like asking them to make
bricks without straw (171).
The
essay "A Coming Home to Myself: The Childless Woman in teh West Africa Space" which is in the tribute to Letty Russell, is another example of the rich prose with
which Oduyoye writes. She shares her personal experience of internalized
oppression and shame of the familial and cultural expectations for childbearing
and most importantly her journey to acceptance and affirmation of God’s love
and call for her life, a call without biological children, but with great
potential for creative generation of life. Our reading of this article stems
from a question I asked in class about how to care pastorally for women within
such a communally driven identity. Dr. Mombo responded graciously, replying
that the individual’s experience of pain and suffering is always there and
suggested this article as an example. I’m looking forward to discussion in
class about this essay. Oduyoye describes thoroughly the despair and grief she
lived with during her reproductive years and shares her testimony of grace and
healing coming from God, from a specific experience as well as from her
theological construction. I wonder, then, what her advice to African ministers
and women elders who counsel women would be.
The
ambiguity of reproductive potential and reality of infertility are at odds
within a woman’s experience. Female autonomy means that we are told we choose
whether we want to have children or not. But, in a society that views the
choice of childlessness as abnormal, how much choice do we really have in our
desires? I envy my friends who have come to the decision to be childfree due to
a genuine desire to not have kids. My soul longs for that level of
confirmation. But, instead, I am left with fibroids, in a similar way as Mercy,
and thanks to access to more testing ability than the actual medical
understanding of what’s going on, I am aware of multiple chronic conditions
contributing to infertility and access to only vaguely understood interventions
that did not work. My passion for reproductive concerns stems from my own
experience… one that includes walking down state-assisted hallways with limited
access to care as well as walking down privatized hallways with access limited
only to your checkbook and your privileges in society. Both were hallways of
shame, fear, and grief.
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