Male headship and female submission in marriage among African Christians : a pastoral perspective

Abstract

Upon entering into a marital relationship, an African Christian couple is faced with both biblical and cultural perspectives regarding the patriarchal idea of male headship and female submission in marriage. This is because headship and submission are both cultural and biblical issues. The African culture, just as the Bible, defines the position and the role of males and females and this presents a challenge for the African Christian couple regarding practice. It is important for pastoral care givers to gain insight into influences on married couples understanding and practice of headship and submission and the implication this has for gender disparity as well as the consequences of gender disparity for the lives of people. The study aims to explore biblical and cultural ideas of headship and submission in order to develop an understanding of, describe and explain African Christians perceptions, attitudes and practices with regard to male headship and female submission in marriage. The context of the study is that of Shona culture in Zimbabwe. In order to gain an understanding of the issues on a grassroots level, 30 (15 males and 15 females) married Shona Christians from different churches in Zimbabwe were interviewed. The participants were selected by means of the random sampling and purposive sampling methods. Four main themes were identified and conceptualised. Data was analysed and discussed in dialogue with the theoretical underpinnings of the study in order to present a pastoral perspective.