The South African Women’s Theological Project: Practices of Solidarity and Degrees of Separation in the Context of the HIV Epidemic

Abstract

It has previously been argued that the HIV epidemic is the new kairos in South Africa. The Circle of African Women Theologians has been at the forefront of theologising this crisis, particularly as it affects viiomen. This article seeks to analyse the HIV work of six South African Circle writers namely, Denise Ackermann, Christina Landman, Madipoane Masenya, Sarojini Nadar, Miranda Pillay and Beverley Haddad. The focus of this analysis revolves around the "degrees of separation and practices of solidarity" inherent in their work. The first part of the article deals with each theologian in turn. It then identifies common threads and differences in their work employing the methodological framework of African women's theology as outlined by Sarojini Nadar and Isabel Phiri. The article concludes with a discussion of the particularities of the South African women's theological project and argues that the work of these six women does not deal sufficiently with 'difference" or "solidarity" thus limiting their influence on the political HIV project

Doing urban public theology in South Africa: Introducing a new agenda

“…Ackermann 1996;Haddad 2013;Hankela 2014;Van Schalkwyk 1994Vellem 2012Vellem , 2014), which we argue should also apply very concretely to the city and in particular the city in its vulnerability. As such, it is through the potential assistance of particularistic theologies that public theology would be better able to meet the fundamental challenge of identifying appropriate 'urban interlocutors', a 'community of interlocutors' -that is, different, often silent, sometimes vocal voices that need to be retrieved, or invited, or encouraged, to participate in and accompany processes of prophetic discernment.…”

“…From our point of view, it is through such 'locatedness' or 'embeddedness' that particularistic theologies -notably, such as black and feminist theologies -present an important 'corrective' to the practice of public theology more generally (cf. Ackermann 1996;Chimhanda 2010;Haddad 2013;Tshaka & Makofane 2010;Tshaka & Mogashoa 2010;Van Schalkwyk 1994, but also more specifically where such practice would seek to construct an urban public theological discourse (cf. De Beer 1998Hankela 2014;Maluleke 1995;Manala 2010;Vellem 2014).…”

Re-framing women’s agency in #Blessed sex: Intersectional dilemmas for African women’s theologies

“…Read online: (Haddad 2013). This article too stands in this Circle tradition of self-critique and reflection, a process that is important to ensure that the work of the Circle continues to make a relevant theological contribution to pressing issues of the day facing African women.…”

LGBT/Queer Hermeneutics and the Hebrew Bible

“…In this regard, he is especially critical of West’s article (2001) not discussing connections of HIV/AIDS to race, class and gender. However, since 2001 the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (Haddad 2013: 2-3) and other African interpreters have precisely turned the HIV/AIDS interpretative focus to what West missed (Ackermann 2007; Akoto 2004; Dube 2004, 2008, 2012; Muneja 2012; Nadar 2006).…”

“…In 2010, 5.6 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa alone, and women accounted for seventy percent of all new infections. It is, Haddad writes, ‘the new kairos for our theological work in South Africa’ (2013: 2-3).…”