Modern Religious Movements as Panacea/Painkiller for African Women

Abstract

In African societies, the glaring gaps in policy, legal frameworks and investment opportunities make it difficult for women to perform to their full potential in social, economic and political spheres. The lack of support leads to their poor performance, lack of sustainability and perpetuates a culture of dependence in most pans of Africa. The constraints preventing African females from attaining socio-economic independence provide the context for an increasing attraction to strong religious commitment. This provides an expression of identity beyond the socio-cultural constraints of the traditional patriarchal African society. The central argument of this paper is that modern religions provide an expression of identity beyond the socio-cultural constraints of the traditional African society. The idea of this ethnographic and sociological work is to show how these religions have helped maximized the potentials of African women against the marginalization they experience in Africa's traditional society.