Women's anthropological poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: challengs to the preferential opion for the poor Author: Léocadie Lushombo Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108876 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2020 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. WOMEN’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: CHALLENGES TO THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of LICENTIATE IN SACRED THEOLOGY (STL) by Léocadie Lushombo, IT Co-Mentors: Rev. Prof. Richard Lennan Prof. Lisa Sowle Cahill Prof. James Keenan, S.J. Prof. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M. Boston College School of Theology and Ministry April 2020 © Copyright 2020 Léocadie Lushombo ii WOMEN’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: CHALLENGES TO THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR By Léocadie Lushombo, I.T. Mentor: Rev. Prof. Richard Lennan; Co-mentor: Prof. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., Prof. Lisa Sowle Cahill, and Prof. James Keenan, S.J. ABSTRACT The thesis draws upon African and Christian ethics as well as on African women's experiences of resistance to violations of their human dignity and womanhood. It takes a theological approach drawing on post-colonial theory, African feminist theologians, and political theology for Africa, especially Emmanuel Katongole. The thesis suggests a rearticulated preferential option for the poor in light of the singularity of the poverty of women in general and that of the anthropological poverty of women in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular. An important lens for diagnosing the problems faced by women in Sub-Saharan Africa is Engelbert Mveng’s concept of “anthropological poverty.” This concept refers to the multiple aspects of the loss of dignity resulting from slavery and colonialism; a basic argument of this thesis is that anthropological poverty affects women in unique ways. It is exacerbated by religious and cultural histories of oppression of women. While anthropological poverty is rooted in the history of slavery and colonization of African nations, it continues to be worsened by an intermingling of androcentric Christian views with the cultural patriarchal gender biases which significantly shape women's identity and their roles in society. Another factor that aggravates women's anthropological poverty is sexual violence, especially rape used as a weapon of war. Women have been subjected to rape throughout history, both in war-zones as well as in peaceful industrialized countries. The poverty of women in modern contexts of conflict of Sub-Saharan Africa mirrors that of women beyond the African continent. The thesis’ main argument is that the preferential option for the poor in Church’s teaching overlooks the ways gender biases and sexual violence doubly impoverish women in contemporary society. The teaching lacks an adequate analysis of women's specific poverty. The thesis advocates for an interplay between the sacredness of life of every individual that is a salient principle of Christian ethics, and the collective consciousness of solidarity, distinctive of African philosophical ethics. The thesis concludes by assessing the extent to which the preeminence of the option for the poor that is grounded in Jesus’ poverty is displayed in Sub- Saharan African women’s poverty, suffering, and solidaristic anger in facing the grave abuses of womanhood. The Church is called to the same solidaristic anger with the many faces of poverty of women of Sub-Saharan Africa and those of impoverished women of the world. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................... III INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS ..........................................................................................................................................4 CHAPTER ONE: COLONIAL POWER AND WESTERN CHRISTIANITY AS THE ROOT OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ............................................................................................................ 6 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................6 SECTION ONE: THE SCOPE OF MVENG’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAUPERIZATION AS ROOTED IN THE SLAVE TRADE ...............................................................................................................7 SECTION TWO: ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY AND THE COLLUSION OF WESTERN CHRISTIANITY- COLONIAL POWER. ..................................................................................................................................... 17 SECTION THREE: ON THE CRITIQUES OF MVENG’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY ................................. 29 CHAPTER TWO: POSTCOLONIAL THEORY AND WOMEN’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY ............................ 33 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 33 SECTION ONE: WOMEN’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY DURING SLAVERY AND COLONIAL PERIOD ................................................................................................................................... 35 II.1.1. Women’s Anthropological Poverty and the Slave Trade ............................................................... 35 II.1.2. Women’s Anthropological Poverty and Colonial-Western Christianity ....................................... 38 SECTION TWO: WOMEN’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY IN THE POSTCOLONIAL PERIOD. ....................... 45 II.2.1. The Continued Extraverti Educational System. ............................................................................. 45 II.2.2. The Perception of Black African Women as Inferior. ................................................................... 49 CHAPTER THREE: CHALLENGES TO AFRICAN RELIGION AND AFRICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS IN SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA .................................................................................................................................... 53 SECTION ONE: AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION AND WOMEN’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL POVERTY ...................................................................................................................................................... 53 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 53 III.1.1. The Idealization of African Religion Furthers the Subjugation of African Women.................. 55 III.1.2. Proverbs Within the Moral/Ethical Systems of African Religion. ............................................... 60 II.1.3. DR Congo’s Proverbs and Women’s Impoverishment .................................................................. 62 II.1.4. Magesa’s and Mbiti’s Idealization of African Religion ................................................................ 71 SECTION TWO: WOMEN WITHIN THE COMMUNAL VIEW OF AFRICAN ETHICS.................. 76 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 76 II.2.1. Communal (Harmonious Relationship) View of African Ethics .................................................. 77 II.2.2. Sub-Saharan African Women’s Poverty—Challenges to the African Communal-Harmonious View ............................................................................................................................................................. 82 II.2.3. Rape with Extreme Violence (REV) in the DR Congo—Challenges to the African Communal- Harmonious View ....................................................................................................................................... 84 CONCLUSION—IMPLICATIONS OF WOMEN’S POVERTY FOR THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR IN CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING.................................................................................................................... 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................ 101 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not have been completed without the help and encouragement of the following people to whom I owe my deepest gratitude: To my Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) mentor, Richard Lennan – for his thoughtful guidance and mentorship which have shepherded me throughout the last three semesters and Summer 2019 of the STL course work which have culminated in the writing of this thesis. This work owes much as well to the Dean and Associate Dean Thomas Stegman SJ and Dr Jennifer Bader of the School of Theology and Ministry for their approval allowing me to register in the STL program. A very special thanks to Sr. Meg Guider and Francine Cardman for their attention and accompaniment which helped me go through this program while finishing a Ph.D. program in theological ethics at the same time. I am grateful for their thoroughness and careful rigor in guiding me every time I needed advice. A special thanks for my brother and friend Carlo Calleja for his spiritual support through this program. I am also grateful to the Theology Department at Boston