Abstract:
The paper is concerned with the ordained women in the Presbyterian Church
of Ghana (PCG) and how gender prescribes roles in their marriages and in the
PCG. Gender refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with
male and female and their relationships are socially constructed,
context/time specific. Christianity prescribes to women the role they must
play in their matrimonial homes. Women played major roles in the history of
the Basel Mission in the then Gold Coast. However, they are portrayed as
wives of missionaries. More precisely, they were seen as mission brides and
wives, thus representing virtually the collective property of the Mission. In
combining the traditional and contemporary roles, many women find
themselves playing the roles as wives, mothers and reverend ministers. The
PCG put strong emphasis on family life and the issue of relocation has greatly
influenced some of the PCG's member's attitude to couple ministry. Thus
another traditional practice where women do not take leadership positions
when men are around. The study examines the theory of gender discourse as
a theoretical frame using historical analysis method. The existing structures
within both the church and society are patriarchal and the structures turn to
focus more on men than on women in the various sectors of life. In the field
work, the researcher came across an ordained couple where the wife was
ordained first, went into the ministry first, in terms of educational
qualification she is more qualified than the husband and they were put in the
same district but the husband was rather appointed by the PCG as the district
minister for the wife to be his subordinate. The African culture assigns
women in the family to the domestic domain denying them from decision
making positions in the church but women and men should act inpartnership.
