Africa’s Mother

Mercy Amba-Oduoye is a true reformer; in fact in her native Ghana she embodies the phrase.

She is called the Mother of African Feminist Christian Theology and is globally recognised as the leader of a movement that has constantly challenged the male preconception of being ‘a good girl’ a phrase in Africa which means not questioning the established role and place of young women.

In the third programme in the special season on Heart and Soul focussing on reforming faith, Anne Soy travels to Accra, the Ghanaian capital, to meet Mercy to find out how she has channelled her faith to educate young Ghanaian women – and those in other parts of Africa - that many of the practices that have become part of life for women such as polygamy, marital rape or FGM have no theological basis.

Mercy, now well into her 80’s, will tell Anne that male-led faiths have allowed many of these practices to go unquestioned, and how she has given over her life to God to disrupt and challenge the deeply entrenched thinking and attitudes in countries where religious and spiritual leader have such an influence on society and culture

Presenter: Anne Soy Production: Anne Soy and Sulley Lansah

Image: Anne Soy