“Work on boy child as well”: Nigerian Catholic Sister Calls for Balanced Approach in Addressing Gender Gaps

“When you tell a girl that her food is in the kitchen, and tell the boy that his is in the Parlor, they grow up like that,” Sr. Okure said, and added, “But when you try to get them to do the same kind of things growing up, the boy will serve the girl, and the girl will reciprocate.”

In the Church, the Nigerian Catholic Sister said, men need to be empowered with knowledge to be aware of what is right and what is wrong without “suppressing one side of the equation.”  

During the event that was realized under the theme: “Synodality in Action: Emerging Ecclesiologies, Vitality of Women and Discerning Leadership for the 21st Century,” the Inspirational Founder of the Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria (CABAN) called on men and women to walk together as proposed in the Synod on Synodality.

“We need to move in synodality,” Sr. Okure said, calling upon women in Africa to “liberate themselves from the shackles of culture, from the shackles of bad reading of the scriptures.”

She expressed optimism that with synodality, African women would be able to “rediscover themselves” not just in the Church but I the entire society.

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She called for clarity in communication concerning the Synod on Synodality which is in its implementation stage, noting that with synodality, women were given more opportunities to serve the Church.

Sabrine Amboka is a Kenyan journalist with a passion for Catholic church communication. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from St. Paul's University in Kenya.