Rahab Says Hello to Judith: A Decolonizing Feminist Reading

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“…45 Another perspective articulated by Alexandra Galbin is that social constructionism is primarily concerned with the artifacts (knowledge/concepts) that are created through social interactions of a group, and a reality constructed through a process of cultural consensus. 46 This is underpinned by Gergen's thesis that "the terms in which the world is understood are social artifacts, products of historically situated interchanges among people." 47 In the context of this paper, we employ Vivien Burr's theorising of social constructionism.…”

“…The refusal on the part of some African states to yield to this external demand has led to mischaracterisations such as homophobic Africa. 46 However, more important for this discussion is how local values regarding sexuality become directly involved with universal legal contests. Not only is the subjugation of the human body and sexuality a tool for maintaining state power in the Foucauldian sense, but through the politics of homosexuality, the state's normative legitimacy can and does become a stage for political manipulation.…”

“…State agents very often refer to social norms and values, which are references to traditional and religious values. Although such a simple deferral to religion is a result of the absence of a distinctive state position 46 Patrick Awondo, Peter Geschiere and Graeme Reid, " on same-sex marriage, the claim that religion functions as the foundational basis for certain legal and human rights actions and discourses in Ghana cannot be dismissed. Traditional and religious values influence individual actions and public debates and decisions in matters of national and universal significance.…”

“…45 Even the longstanding feminist focus on women's roles as both victims and liberation agents in texts, can create the impression that texts with no reference to women are irrelevant to the feminist search for justice, and neglect gender constructions' permeating social presence. 46 Key to gender studies is its undertaking of and commitment to an inclusive, broader, and critical approach, 47 which stresses intersectionality and warns against the anachronistic imposition of modern values and concerns. 48 A gender studies approach to 1 Timothy 2:8-15, deemed offensive by modern readers and by women in particular, begins by recognising how the text prescribes personal and public behaviour to Jesus followers and concludes that women, conditionally (depending on their or their children's behaviour), 49 will earn salvation through childbirth.…”

‘Give us a portion among our father's brothers’: The Daughters of Zelophehad, Land, and the Quest for Human Dignity

“…Moreover, postcolonial readings have been found wanting in that they do not always show sensitivity to issues of gender justice-something challenged by postcolonial feminist biblical interpreters such as Musa Dube, Katharine Sakenfeld, Judith McKinlay and Kwok Pui-lan. 30…”