ABSTRACT
In August 1988, Mercy Amba Oduyoye assembled a group of African women in the offices of the World Council of Churches in Geneva to strategize the formation of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (henceforth referred to as “the Circle”). Most of these women were academics in the field of religion and culture. All of them also belonged to the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT). The primary objective of the Circle was to investigate African women’s theologies, and to record and publish research in this regard. The Circle was officially launched in Ghana in 1989.2 Since then, it has had a profound influence on academic reflections in the discipline of theology, with particular reference to the dignity and role of women in the church and in society. However, the fact that the Circle came into being within an ecumenical environment has led to some allegations that it is Western in nature, and that it addresses issues pertaining to the West. This chapter argues that the Circle is definitely African and that its agenda in respect of African women’s liberation is consistent with African culture. Thus, the fact that the Circle was conceived in an ecumenical environment does not imply that it had a Western origin.
