A historical and cultural analysis of the position of Abaluyia Women in Kenyan Quaker Christianity: 1902-1979

The Society of Friends has always declared the equality of women and men. The way in which it has practised this equality has often been influenced by the attitudes surrounding society and culture. This thesis examines and interprets the status, roles and experiences of Abaluyia women in the East Africa Yearly Meeting of Friends (EAYM). The thesis argues that the Abaluyia culture and philosophy prescribed a largely marginal role for women and in turn was absorbed into and dominated the thinking of EAYM. Second the thesis recaptures the story of the women concernedmaking them primary rather than secondary voices in their own history.The thesis begins by analysing how the concept of engoko determined the place and role of women in Abaluyia society. It then examines the American cultural, social and religious context out of which the Friends missionaries came and which invariably shaped their ways of understanding reality and organising their work in Kenya. The arrival of the first Friends missionaries in Kenya in 1902 aimed at raising the spiritual and living standards of the Abaluyia people, especially the women. Their experiences of Abaluyia culture and perceptions of the people is assessed, as well as the move to establish EAYM in 1946. A closer look is taken at the complex and interconnected issues of marriage (especially polygyny) and bride wealth. Missionary inability to grasp the issues involved allowed the Quaker elders to make policies which often reflected the patriarchal views of Abaluyia society. The thesis also examines the nature of mission work among Abaluyia women, and argues that much of the mission discussion about women was prescriptive, confining the ideal Abaluyia woman to her function as mother and homemaker. The discussion shows how missionaries assumed an ideal universal understanding of womanhood and how this affected Abaluyia women's roles in the church and in the wider society.The way in which Abaluyia women experienced and responded to Quaker Christianity is also assessed, especially how they formed separate groups which developed into a Women's Yearly Meeting. From their marginal position women emerged strongly to contribute to the work of a growing church. The thesis then proceeds to discuss the place of women in the organisational structure of EAYM.Using the cases of Maria Atiamuga and Keran Nyamusi Alfayo, the thesis argues that women have been sidelined from the leadership of EAYM because it reflects a traditional pattern of clan leadership which is exclusively male. Finally the thesis assesses the role of women in pastoral ministry by discussing the nature of training at Friends Bible Institute (FBI) and the type of ministry open to women. Using Rasoah Mutua, the first woman graduate from FBI, the thesis shows that the traditional Friends championing of spiritual equality for men and women in the church has not been realised in EAYM.The thesis concludes with a reflection on this disparity due to the persistence of engoko, and proposes a rediscovery of a Friends teaching in this respect, and the formulation of a new ethos in accordance with it to replace engoko

Deconstructing Gendered vumilia (perseverance) Theology in times of the Gender-based Violence Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of gender-based violence (GBV) dramatically increased. While the Kenyan governmental bodies are held responsible for their inadequate response to this “national disaster of GBV”, the role of the Kenyan churches is hardly criticized. The churches neither spoke out against this prevalent injustice, nor did they openly support the victims of GBV. Furthermore, it could be argued that churches, through their patriarchal structures and cultural and doctrinal teachings, have contributed to this disaster. This article is written from a woman’s perspective and focused on the notion of vumilia, or perseverance, an important notion in the lived faith of women. Vumilia is the Kiswahili word for “persevere” or “endure.” It appears that a gendered vumilia theology applied to gender relations, prevents churches from adequately addressing gender-based violence. Unless and until this vumilia theology is deconstructed and balanced with a liberation theology, the church’s response to gender-based violence will be superficial and insufficient. In this article, the narrative method is used to bring about the ideas and experiences of women in two Kenyan churches, the Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA) and the African Israel Nineveh Church (AINC), related to vumilia and its cultural and theological underpinnings. The article discusses the teachings of vumilia theology in these churches and their effects on women who suffer from gender-based violence. The paper also traces the resistance of church women, indicating the contours of a woman-affirming Christ-centered theology and spirituality

Disability, Society and Theology : Voices from Africa

Disability, Society and Theology: Voices from Africa is the result of a workshop which brought together African theologians, persons with disabilities and disability expertise in the Region to prepare resource materials to enrich the disability study process in the context of the Africa region. The book is in six parts and includes contributions from scholars across the continent. The parts are: Disability Theology: Issue to Debate; The Able Disabled and the Disabled Church: The Church's Response to Disability; Disability and Society; Disability Theology: Some Interfaces; Disability and Caregiving; and Disability in the African Experience

The early preclinical and clinical development of cipargamin (KAE609), a novel antimalarial compound

Background: Cipargamin (KAE609) is a novel spiroindolone class drug for the treatment of malaria, currently undergoing phase 2 clinical development. This review provides an overview and interpretation of the pre-clinical and clinical data of this possible next-generation antimalarial drug published to date. Methods: We systematically searched the literature for studies on the preclinical and clinical development of cipargamin. PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched using the terms ‘cipargamin’, ‘KAE609ʹ or ‘NITD609’ in the English language; one additional article was identified during revision. Nineteen of these in total 43 papers identified reported original studies; 13 of those articles were on pre-clinical studies and 6 reported clinical trials. Results: A total of 20 studies addressing its preclinical and clinical development have been published on this compound at the time of writing. Cipargamin acts on the PfATP4, which is a P-type Na + ATPase disrupting the Na + homeostasis in the parasite. Cipargamin is a very fast-acting antimalarial, it is active against all intra-erythrocytic stages of the malaria parasite and exerts gametocytocidal activity, with transmission-blocking potential. It is currently undergoing phase 2 clinical trial to assess safety and efficacy, with a special focus on hepatic safety. Conclusion: In the search for novel antimalarial drugs, cipargamin exhibits promising properties, exerting activity against multiple intra-erythrocytic stages of plasmodia, including gametocytes. It exhibits a favourable pharmacokinetic profile, possibly allowing for single-dose treatment with a suitable combination partner. According to the clinical results of the first studies in Asian malaria patients, a possible safety concern is hepatotoxicity

“In the Image of God”: Reconstructing and Developing a Grassroots African Queer Theology from Urban Zambia

This article is a contribution towards the development of queer theologies in contemporary African contexts. Based on fieldwork in the gay community in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, the article explores the significance of the theological notion of the Imago Dei, the Image of God, in the self-understanding of Zambian gay men as being gay and Christian. Bringing this incipient grassroots theology into conversation with broader theological discourses, in particular African theology (including African women’s theology) and queer theology, we interrogate current understandings of the Imago Dei that either ignore sexuality or exclude same-sex loving people (in African theology) or that conceptualize queerness from white Western privileged perspectives (in queer theology). Hence we develop the notion of the Imago Dei as a stepping stone towards an African queer theology