The textbook definition of describes聽 it as 鈥渁 socio-political movement and ideology that advocates for the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.鈥 In other words, feminists believe women deserve equal rights and that restrictions should not be placed on their lives simply because they are women.聽
Now, where does religion and spirituality come in?
A lot of feminists have argued about the intersection between feminism, spirituality, and religion. Some believe that religion is harmful to the feminist movement and that to truly be a feminist, one must divest from and denounce religious practices. Others, however, believe their religion and spirituality should not, and do not, affect their feminism.
We sat down with a few women, some of whom identify as feminists and some who do not, and listened to what they had to say about feminism, religion, and spirituality.
鈥淩eligion never felt real to me鈥 – Anjola*, 20
I started questioning religion when I was 15, and it鈥檚 been downhill ever since.
Every time I tried to be religious, it felt like a performance that everyone else seemed good at except me. The speaking in tongues, the long hours of prayer, etc. I could never get into it. Religion never felt real to me. It didn鈥檛 help that most of the Christians I knew were hypocrites.
Realising I was also played a role. I couldn鈥檛 rationalise homophobia, and it didn鈥檛 feel right to participate in a religion that stood against who I was. The same thing happened with feminism. There was so much casual misogyny in the Bible. Lots of 鈥淢en are the head鈥 conversations while women suffered and were treated as afterthoughts. I don鈥檛 think I can fully participate in religion with a clean heart while being queer and a feminist.聽
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鈥淚 think a huge part of my hesitancy to accept feminism is a result of my religion鈥 – Christiana*, 23
I believe women should have equal rights with men, but not in every aspect. The Bible and my religion make that very clear. I have never called myself a feminist because I don鈥檛 see myself as one. Feminism encourages women to be the head of the family and to not be submissive. But submission in itself isn鈥檛 bad; it鈥檚 just a sign of respect to your husband. Sure, you can be a feminist and a Christian, but I think my hesitancy to accept feminism is a result of my religion. If I wasn鈥檛 a Christian, I don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 care so much about what the Bible says about submission, but I am, so I do.聽
鈥淚 am not blinded by faith to look the other way when something is misogynistic鈥 – Blessing*, 18
I鈥檓 religious because I don鈥檛 believe human beings just spawned; I believe we were created with purpose and that there is a God. I鈥檝e had certain experiences in my life that I don鈥檛 believe were just coincidences. I believe in something beyond myself. However, I am not blinded by faith to ignore misogyny, even if it鈥檚 in the Bible. I know it sounds contradictory, but that鈥檚 how I make it work. People will call it cherry-picking, but I focus on Jesus and His teachings, not what any other man in the Bible says. I am aware that even though a lot of the men mentioned in the Bible were influential figures in the church, they still had their biases.
鈥淲hat does Christianity have to do with equality?鈥 – Ose, 66
Feminism is why I was able to go to school when I did. It is why I can read, write, own property, and save money. I was born in a time when people said things like, 鈥淲hy will I send a girl to school?鈥 and 鈥淗ow person go just born girl, wetin you go use am do?鈥 and other demeaning things, and no one batted an eye. Sure, some of those things are still being said today, but at least now people can publicly stand up for girls being denied education.
I鈥檝e been Catholic all my life, and that is not going to change. I believe in God the Father, the Trinity, and the Holy Catholic Church. I also believe God ordained different roles for us. A man being ordained to lead a home should have nothing to do with whether a woman can become the General Manager of a company or be paid equally. What does Christianity have to do with equality?
鈥淲hen people tell me they鈥檙e religious and feminist, it feels like a joke鈥 – Elizabeth, 19
I wasn鈥檛 always irreligious, but to be fair, I never really felt the connection to religion like others did. Church and prayer always felt like a chore. I didn鈥檛 peg that I was an atheist at first, but I called myself a feminist from secondary school. Still, I used to excuse a lot of bad behaviour with, 鈥淥h, the Bible says,鈥 even when it felt wrong. Ever since I left religion completely, it felt like the scales fell from my eyes. There鈥檚 no longer any bias or excuse for misogyny.
When people say they鈥檙e both religious and feminist, it feels like a joke to me. Something would suffer for it. But I don鈥檛 t say it out loud because I know people have different relationships with religion, and they hold on for whatever reasons.
鈥淚f I ever had to pick between identifying as a Muslim or a feminist, I鈥檇 pick feminist鈥 – Aisha, 32
Most days, I think I鈥檓 Muslim because there鈥檚 nothing else for me to be. My father, his father, and all the fathers before them were Alhajis, Imams, and clerics. To be anything else feels like disobedience to an entire generation. Does that mean I always agree with what the clerics teach or what the Qur’an says? No. Do I agree that a lot of men used Islam as a means to control and subjugate women? Yes, I do. Do I also think that some women have found solace and peace in the religion? Yes, there鈥檚 that as well.
Still, I saw how Islam was used to punish my grandmother. I also saw how my mother and sisters fought for me to have peace and comfort. If I ever had to choose between Islam and feminism, I鈥檇 pick feminism. I know what my grandma endured at the hands of my grandfather, and I know it was feminism that saved her. If I ever find myself in her position, feminism will save me, too. It would be an insult to the women who risked their lives for me to deny that.
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鈥淚 am tired of people assuming I鈥檓 a feminist because I say I don鈥檛 believe in the existence of any god鈥 – Fola, 28
Whenever I tell people I am an atheist, they automatically assume I鈥檓 a feminist or that I support the LGBTQ+ community. While I don鈥檛 care what a gay person does with their time or body, I鈥檓 tired of people assuming I鈥檓 a feminist because I say I don鈥檛 believe in the existence of any god.
Sure, I think women should go to school and have rights, but I don鈥檛 believe we can ever be equal. Based on biological and social factors, men are just better suited to leading society, and honestly, let them. I don鈥檛 want to have to worry about money or a 9-to-5 job. I want to marry a good man who鈥檒l take care of me, so I can focus on raising our children and building a home. That鈥檚 what I believe women were biologically made to do, and it鈥檚 the life I want.
鈥淚f some women need to hold on to religion to keep living and they can square off the contradictions, then by all means, they should go for it鈥 – Amaka*, 24
I think I鈥檝e always been a feminist, I just didn鈥檛 have the word for it. I was raised by a single mother, and while it wasn鈥檛 easy, it was obvious to me from really early on that a woman can do anything a man can do. Sure, there was a lot of internalised misogyny I had to unlearn. Phrases like 鈥淎 woman is the neck and a man is the head,鈥 stuck because my mum said them when my sisters got married. Plus, it sounded catchy, so it stuck. But it wasn鈥檛 until I started my journey of discovery that I started unlearning all of those things.
I grew up Christian, but I remember a friend who lost his sister and father within a few years. I tried to comfort him the way I knew how, with the typical 鈥淕od knows best,鈥 but when he sat in the hospital crying and praying, he concluded that if he lost yet another person after everything, it was either God was callous or didn鈥檛 exist. That was the beginning of my journey into spirituality. I just stopped caring. I thought the worst thing that could happen would be I鈥檇 die and go to Christian hell, and I was okay with that. If I died and God was real, I鈥檇 make Him answer for the convoluted and messy system he created before I went down to hell.
Now, I鈥檝e gotten to a point in my life where I can say boldly that I am spiritual. There鈥檚 so much about being a human being that we can never understand. I think we live in a largely disinterested universe, and but I also believe in things only the spiritual can touch: love, kindness, music, connection, art.
At the end of the day, religion has morphed depending on what the times look like. If some women need to hold on to religion to keep living, and they can square off the contradictions, then by all means, they should go for it. Who am I to take that away from them?
