Speaker: Milly Erema Maturu, Bishop Tucker School of Divinity & Theology, Uganda Christian University - Academia.edu, ResearchGate

Abstract: »Western scholars assume that the practice of a woman giving her husband a maidservant to bear children occurred only in the Ancient Near East. In fact this practice has endured down through the centuries in traditional African societies until even today. I come from the Lugbara people in Uganda, and my people have done this even in my lifetime. Among the Lugbara, the taking of a maidservant as a secondary wife is common and the practice is completely legal. A woman can give her maid in marriage to her husband for different reasons, including childlessness, rewarding the maid for her service, or as a gift to her husband. For us, this is sometimes done when a woman has a maidservant that she loves because of her hard work and obedience. She will invite her to become a secondary wife to her husband. This makes her a permanent member of the family and increases the potential for family growth, which is a universal goal in traditional cultures. It also addresses the problem of childlessness, which is a cursed fate for a family. It is the greatest generosity a woman can offer to her maid, because she is making her almost equal to herself and putting herself in a vulnerable situation, if her husband decides to show more affection to the maid who has now become his wife. Feminist scholars often assume that Sarai told Abraham to rape Hagar, but this is not true. Hagar was promoted from maidservant to wife, according to Genesis 16:3. This is the highest status for a woman in Africa. In Africa, traditionally a woman can only own property through marriage and children, so all unmarried women are in a position of dependency and potential destitution. Sarai gives Hagar a place of honor even above herself, because she was unable to bear children. It could be said that she even acted as a redeemer, bringing Hagar out of servitude to the powerful status of wife and child-bearing mother. Hagar was expected to remain loyal and to treat Sarai with respect and gratitude. Yet the fact that she could immediately conceive when Sarai could not, made Hagar see herself as superior and treat her with contempt. In Africa and the ANE, barrenness was considered a sign of a defect, even divine disapproval. Hagar’s disrespect for Sarai fuels the conflict in Abram and Sarai’s family that leads to Hagar’s punishment and to the expulsion of herself and Ishmael later on. In feminist scholarship, Hagar is seen as an innocent victim of exploitation in every possible way. But in Africa, she is seen as least partially to blame for her ill treatment. Yet God intervenes and promises to compensate her for her suffering with the greatest imaginable prize, that her son Ishmael will become a great nation. This also makes sense in a communal African context, where being the founding mother of a powerful clan is success at its utmost, unlike in the West where individual self-determination is valued above all else.« (Source: Online Program)

Wikipedia: Ancient history: History of ancient Israel and Judah | Religious text: Hebrew Bible / Book of Genesis, Abraham, Hagar | Sex and the law: Rape / Rape in the Hebrew Bible