It does not matter if the subject centres on how to reign in raging adolescent hormones, or on a woman's rights over her unborn baby or the controversial opinions of a Catholic nun on women's reproductive health rights. The arguments for right and wrong, good or bad are endless.

Eunice Kamaara, from the department of religious studies at Moi University, who centred her discussion on situating women's human rights in the context of the church's social teachings on human rights, argued that the church had not given due attention to women's rights.

"Africans are a suffering lot because of human rights abuses and unequal power relations between women and men."

She added that although the church teaches that men and women are equal, it has not come out clearly on issues of gender justice that weigh heavily against women.

Explaining that the church drew its social teachings from two sources of authority, the Bible, which is believed to be the eternal and inerrant word of God and the oral traditions, derived from the universal teachings of the Pope and his bishops.

However, she noted that gender blindness and injustices are not necessarily deliberate but a consequence of history and development of the early church to the present time.

"The Pope and the bishops are humans and consequently, inalienable products of specific historical and socio-cultural environments," she explained.

The blame is placed on what Kamaara describes as the 'willing tool of patriarchy', as the instrument of oppression and exploitation of women. By conforming to the socio-cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity the contemporary church has not denounced the past contributions of the early church.

The argument being that the early church was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy as well as the writings of Augustine of Hippo, who is considered the greatest theologian of all times.

"The church remains silent and insensitive to the socio-cultural environment which denies women real humanity."

---