In the Gambia, the church is known as a stronghold of conservatism and patriarchy where, very little is known about the forces of women’s religious authority and leadership in the church. However, there were few women who participate in Gambia traditional religion as diviners, healers, priest in their locality. Seventeen years ago, women in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of The Gambia (ELCTG) were officially granted full clerical rights with the aim that women’s leadership will be included in all areas of equal responsibility to those of men. These roles included more traditional roles as leaders in missionary work and women’s groups, to congregational leaders in areas such as Christian education and pastoral ministry. However, despite these approved church constitutional policies in the ELCTG, the opportunities and experiences of ministry intended by both men and women in the church, remain far from equal.
In view of this problem, I performed qualitative interviews, collecting data from five women clerics in the Gambian Christian Council member ministries. Those interviewed included ten women serving in few positions in the various churches in The Gambia. My study illustrates how women’s religious authority both confronts and repeats the gendered constraints of the women in the Gambian context.
