Sacred Spaces and Disability: African Women Theology of Disability as Pastoral Praxis

Abstract

Generally, all religions in Africa including Christianity are numerically dominated by women, yet women experience exclusion and oppression in sacred spaces. This oppression and exclusion are worse for women and girls with disabilities due to the ableist theologies perpetuated in spaces of worship. This is enforced by the regulations that govern the physical structures and boundaries of spaces of faith. As a result, religious spatial politics is intertwined with how the body physically and spiritually conforms to the regulations of a certain religion. In conservative forms of Christianity, the regulations that govern the structures and boundaries are informed by the Mosaic law, in particular the Leviticus or holiness code that emphasises purity and holiness of the body. The naive hermeneutics of the holiness code is used to exclude a body with a disability from sacred spaces: the exclusion is visible for women and girls with disabilities, because of the feminisation of religion and ableist hermeneutics of religion. Written from an African women theology of disability approach, the aim of this article is to explore how women with disabilities negotiate their faith in ableist Christian spaces of worship and to describe African women theology of disability as a pastoral praxis that has a potential for promoting inclusion in Christian spaces.