A Christian and African Ethic of Women's Political Participation

With exhaustive research, profound insight, and great compassion, Léocadie W. Lushombo exposes the root causes of the anthropological poverty of women in Africa and advocates a Christian/African ethic for the empowerment of women and their full participation in political life as well as a radical spiritual renewal based on the reimagining of biblical and African texts in the light of resurrection faith. This is a monumental work to be studied, pondered, and lived. -- Veronica Mary Rolf, author of Suddenly There is God
Léocadie Lushombo provides a stimulating proposal for women who have customarily been denied a role in African political life. In developing her ethical argument she draws upon both traditional African social thought and the tradition of Catholic social teaching. However, she is no uncritical reader of these moral traditions. Lushombo offers a piercing assessment of how these traditions have been compromised by their male-dominated worldviews and complicit in the oppression of women. Yet, her critical retrieval of these traditions shows they can be utilized for a more promising ethical vision for African women than heretofore experienced. -- Kenneth R. Himes, OFM, Boston College
By engaging the wonderfully rich platform of anthropological poverty, Lushombo captures the complexities that compromise women's agency in the struggle for equity in Africa. Rather than speak for them, she raises up living beings whose own voices we can hear and that summon us to listen to them with her and to recognize their right to be heard. A solid, engaging, liberating work by a theologian of great depth and humanity. -- James F. Keenan, S.J., Boston College
Honest, courageous, compelling and profound—Léocadie Lushombo’s manifesto gives voice and hope to cruelly burdened African women, while inspiring solidarity and action among their allies everywhere. Uniquely woven from women’s stories, African traditional cultures and religion, Scripture, African postcolonial theology, African women’s theology, liberation theology, and Catholic social teaching, this marvelous work is a scholarly tour de force. Its distinctively African call for resistance to the reality of women’s suffering in the name of resurrection life speaks across continents with eloquence and passion. -- Lisa Sowle Cahill, Boston College
Lushombo's book adeptly centers African political theology and ethics in conversation with European theologians while keeping the real lives of African women as the core agents in the argument. This book is a substantial contribution to developing Catholic social thought, providing a challenging companion to read alongside Fratelli tutti. * Journal Of Catholic Social Thought *