Bøker av Catherine Mwihia

The continent of Africa is currently undergoing sociopolitical and economic crisis. Researches have shown that women and children are the most affected whenever problems arise. This book looks at the way proverbs on women, from the biblical book of Proverbs, have been applied to the lives of women. In some cases one approach has been used to interpret these proverbs; therefore the message passed to women is less effective, distorted, and sometimes meaningless to them. Therefore the question raised is ¿In what ways can women in the book of Proverbs be understood in order to bring an effective and relevant meaning to African women?¿ It reveals the nature and situation of women in ancient Israel and surrounding nations as it focuses on women in wisdom literature. Literal approach to proverbs about women addresses only a few women. Today, African women require a pragmatic message that is life giving, healing, liberative and reconstructive. The book has discussed the use of different approaches in attempting to unveil the problem, that is: historical critical, canonical and the feminist approach that helps Church and Society to meet the challenges of women and the entire community.

This book sets on the premise that there is a need for a new cultural hermeneutics that will move towards the deconstruction of the wrong attitudes against African women; that are experienced through some (African) proverbs. Certainly, a change of attitude is necessary in order to redeem Africa from the typecasts that do harm to the society. It is ironical that 'society' includes the African church. Change of attitude will help in upholding, creating positive proverbs and in dismantling the old ones, which are designed to distort a woman's image. It is recommended that African women scholars and theologians, together with "concerned" men should publish books that will put to public domain the "newly" reconstituted and/or redesigned proverbs and reach out to those who cannot read or write through seminars and in their respective places. In addition, it is urged that we should, make it a habit to severally quote the "new" proverbs in our speeches and in our ongoing publications - in our endeavour to usher in a new community of men and women where the lion and the goat will sit together at a Kamukunji (dialogue table) of interaction and genuine friendliness.