ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the formidable challenge posed by religion, culture, and ethnicity to the correct positioning of gender in the quest for development in Africa and African Diaspora communities. Gender refers to female and male roles that are demarcated by society. The situation of religion and culture in Africa predicates the dialogic model; proscription of gender in religion is a product of the template supplied by a particular culture. Issues of religion, culture, ethnicity, and race are components of the experiences of Africans in the Diaspora, which have been analysed by scholars and activists. African culture is sustained by the people, but Africans need to harness their cultural heritage of mutual gender relations before culture contact. The challenges posed by religion, culture, and ethnicity to development in Africa and the African Diaspora are deeply rooted in the people's identity construction but susceptible to change with commitment.
