Fulata Moyo

Last updated

Fulata Lusungu Mbano Moyo is a Malawian systematic and feminist theologian who is an advocate for gender justice. Moyo has written over twenty-eight journal articles.

Contents

Early life and education

Fulata Mbano was born in northern Malawi, a member of the Ngoni people from Mzimba District. [1] Her great grandfather, Songea, was a warrior chief. [2] Her name, Fulata, means she was born feet first. [3] Her father started his own church after he was not accepted in mainline churches due to his polygamy. [2]

Moyo is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. [4] [2] She grew up in a small village called Engcongolweni Lazaro Jere and went to school in the nearest town, Ekwendeni. [2] She attended a Roman Catholic high school, Marymount Girls Secondary School, before going on to study education at the University of Malawi, Chancellor College. [2]

Moyo completed a master's degree in Christian thought, systematic and feminist theology from the University of Zimbabwe in 1993, [1] [2] and earned a PhD from the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa in 2009, with a focus on ethics, gender and religion, [5] [6] including some work as a research fellow at Yale University's Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. [2] She has also trained as a mediator and studied Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy. [6]

Career

Moyo served as a teaching assistant in the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and then as a member of the faculty at the University of Malawi in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. [7] She was also involved in the Tamar Campaign, which sought to address violence against women and children using contextual study of the Bible. [7] She undertook ethnographic research in Malawi, hoping that the matrilineal system would "translate into something of a matriarchy", but was disappointed to see the pervasiveness of patriarchy due to Christianity. [2] During this time, the nation experienced the peak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which also shaped her research into gender and sexual justice. [2] She applied for ordination in the Presbyterian Church but was "silently refused." [2]

Moyo worked for the World Council of Churches as Program Executive for Women in Church and Society [5] from 2007 until 2019. [6] She was based in Geneva and oversaw the project "A Just Community of Women and Men". [8] She encouraged churches to adopt the "Thursdays in Black" campaign against rape and violence, which was inspired by the Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina who protested at the Plaza de Mayo on Thursdays, and Women in Black in Israel. [8]

For the 2016–2017 academic year, Moyo was a visiting lecturer on Women's Studies and African Religions at Harvard Divinity School, [5] where she developed an Ethic of Care to help religious communities respond to women who had survived sex trafficking. [8] She also worked with Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza on feminist hermeneutics. [2] In 2018, she was appointed to an independent expert panel to review UNAIDS policies and processes for addressing and preventing harassment. [9]

In 2020, Moyo founded "Stream", a US registered NGO that supports and mentors survivors of sex trafficking. [6]

Moyo is a member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, first participating in Nairobi and then restarting the Malawi chapter and serving as Secretary of the Board for Theological Studies in 1996 [1] She was General Coordinator from 2007 to 2013. [7] She is also a member of the Community Voices in Peace and Pluralism in Africa, and the Board of Life and Peace Institute in Sweden. [6] [8] She is the Vice President of the AfriAus iLEAC Board. [6]

Writing

Moyo has written more than 29 publications in five languages. [10] Her writings have predominantly addressed religious and cultural influences on gender construction and women's sexuality. [7] She argues that religious scripture must be interpreted in the context of women's experiences, which will help raise awareness of issues that dehumanize women. [11]

Moyo was a contributor to AfricaPraying : a handbook on HIV-AIDS sensitive sermon guidelines and liturgy, published in 2003. [12] She co-edited Women Writing Africa: Eastern African Region, published by Feminist Press in 2007. [5] She has been a guest editor for the Ecumenical Review in 2012 and the International Review of Mission in 2015. [5]

Award

Named a Human Rights Defender in 2013 in the Human Rights Defender Initiative, Carter Center USA. [13]

Selected publications

Journal articles

Book chapters

Personal life

Moyo was married to Solomon Moyo until his death from liver cancer in 1999. [14] She has written about her experience of forgiving his infidelity. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musimbi Kanyoro</span> Kenyan activist

Musimbi Kanyoro is a Kenyan human rights advocate who served as the CEO and President of the Global Fund for Women from 2011 until 2019, and currently serves as Chair of the International Board of the United World Colleges. She is a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, and was elected as the first coordinator of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians at the continental gathering in 1996, a post she held until 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serene Jones</span> American Protestant theologian and seminary president (born 1959)

Lynda Serene Jones is the President and Johnston Family Professor for Religion and Democracy at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. She was formerly the Titus Street Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and chair of gender, woman, and sexuality studies at Yale University.

Cluster Publications is a non-profit publishing enterprise of the Pietermaritzburg Cluster of Theological Institutions. The Cluster, founded in 1990, is an ecumenical partnership of the Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa, the School of Religion and Theology of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and St Joseph’s Theological Institute.

Mercy Amba Ewudziwa Oduyoye is a Ghanaian Methodist theologian known for her work in African women's theologies and theological anthropology. She is currently the Director of the Institute of African Women in Religion and Culture at Trinity Theological Seminary, Ghana. She founded the Circle of Concerned African Theologians in Ghana in 1987 to promote the visibility and publishing agenda of African women Theologians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Cannon</span> American theologian (1950–2018)

Katie Geneva Cannon was an American Christian theologian and ethicist associated with womanist theology and black theology. In 1974 she became the first African-American woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (USA).

Lucy Finch is a palliative nurse who has worked in several African countries and founded a hospice in Malawi – Ndi Moyo – "the place giving life".

The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians is a pan-African ecumenical organization supporting scholarly research of African women theologians. The Circle serves to mentor the next generation of African women theologians throughout their academic careers in order to counter the dearth of academic theological literature by African women. The Circle has chapters in more than a dozen countries across the African continent, as well as diaspora chapters in Europe and North America.

Sister Anne Nasimiyu Wasike, LSOSF was a Ugandan Catholic theologian, religious sister, and author of books and articles on education, ethics and the empowerment of the poor. She was also editor of several publications. She was a member of a Franciscan African Order of nuns called "The Little Sisters of St Francis."

Ruth E. Meena is a Tanzanian feminist activist and political scientist. She was a professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam.

Dr. Nyambura J. Njoroge is a Kenyan ecumenical leader and ordained Presbyterian minister and feminist Theologian. She was the first Kenyan woman to be ordained in the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.

Isabel Apawo Phiri is a Malawian theologian known for her work in gender justice, HIV/AIDS, and African theology. She has been a Deputy Secretary for the World Council of Churches since 2012.

Philomena Njeri Mwaura is a Kenyan theologian who is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Kenyatta University. She has written in the areas of African theology and mission.

Sarojini Nadar is a South African theologian and biblical scholar who is the Desmond Tutu Research Chair in Religion and Social Justice at the University of the Western Cape.

Teresia Mbari Hinga was a Kenyan Christian feminist theologian and a professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University in California. She was a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians.

Ezra Chitando is a Zimbabwean religion Academic. He is Professor of History and Phenomenology of Religion at the University of Zimbabwe, in Harare, Zimbabwe. He serves as Theology Consultant on HIV and AIDS with EHAIA, the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy, of the World Council of Churches. In this capacity, he has engaged in gender activism, specifically concerned with transforming socio-cultural and religious notions of masculinity.

Sa'diyya Shaikh is a South African scholar of Islam and feminist theory. She is a professor of religion at the University of Cape Town. Shaikh studies Sufism in relation to feminism and feminist theory. Shaikh is known for work on gender in Islam and 'Ibn Arabi.

Dr. Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé, formerly known as Elias Frajajé-Jones, was a queer theologian, AIDS activist, scholar, spiritual leader, academic and professor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theresa A. Yugar</span> Latina feminist liberation theologian

Theresa A. Yugar is a Latina feminist liberation theologian, notable for her work on the 17th-century nun, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

Fatima Seedat is a South African feminist, Islamic scholar and women's rights activist. She is known for her scholarly work on gender and Islamic law, and Islam and feminism.

Mary Getui is a Kenyan theologian and professor of religious studies at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. She is a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. In 2009, Getui was named a Moran of the Burning Spear. She was appointed as chair of the National Aids Control Council of Kenya that same year.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fiedler, NyaGondwe (2017). A History of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians 1989-2007. African Books Collective. ISBN   9789996045233.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "A Discussion with Fulata L. Moyo, World Council of Churches". Georgetown University. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "Dr. Fulata Moyo - Thursdays in Black, extended interview". Gör inte skillnad på människor. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "NoXcuses for Violence against Women: WCC programme executive Fulata Moyo". World Council of Churches.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fulata L. Moyo". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dr. Fulata Moyo". Harvard University.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Fulata Moyo". Ecclesio.com.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Fulata L. Moyo, Malawi – Mediator". Peace and Pluralism.
  9. ↑ "WCC former staff appointed to expert panel". World Council of Churches. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "Moyo, Fulata L." WorldCat Identities. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "Human Rights Defender: Fulata Moyo". The Carter Center.
  12. ↑ AfricaPraying : a handbook on HIV-AIDS sensitive sermon guidelines and liturgy. WorldCat Identities. OCLC   61740466.
  13. ↑ "Human Rights Defender: Fulata Moyo". The Carter Center. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  14. ↑ Moyo, Fulata Lusungu (2012). "Navigating Healing: A Narrative Theology of Eschatological Hopes Healing". In Isabel Apawo Phiri; Sarojini Nadar (eds.). African Women, Religion, and Health: Essays in Honor of Mercy Amba Ewudziwa Oduyoye. Wipf and Stock. pp. 243–256.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.