Panel 117: Women, Religion and Media in Africa: A Comparative Overview of the Role of Women in Christian and Muslim Movements

Since the beginning of the 1990s, religion has acquired a new visibility through the increase of places of worship, religious associations, non-governmental organisations and media. This new dynamic has intensified thanks to processes of greater political openness in Africa which have allowed for the growth of religious media. In this context, women claim more clearly their place in the public sphere. On the one hand, studies highlight the liberalization of the media, the deep involvement of Christian and Pentecostal movements in the public sphere and in the media, as well as the spiritual mediatization of some Muslim leaders through the broadcasting of their sermons on audiotape. On the other hand, the literature stresses the Islamic activism of women in the past few years. Women are active in local associations; they show that they take responsibility for their faith; follow personal paths at the junction between modernity, local cultural traditions and religious belonging; participate in public and national debates about secularism, women's rights and Family Code. This panel proposes to make a comparative overview of the role of religion as a constitutive element of the public sphere, the process of feminization of this space, and women‟s strategic use of the media to build social networks between women and in order to build a new identity recognizing their capacity to become primary religious actors in spaces where male presence is hegemonic.