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Asian feminist theology arises out of the need for a theology relevant to women in Asia. Drawing upon themes from both liberation theology and feminist theology, it expands upon the two, contextualising it to the conditions and experiences of Asian women.

History
The first recognizable collective attempt to do Asian feminist theology can be traced to the late 1970s, which saw the formation of theological networks and centres that aimed to study the gendered dimension of both theology and society.

The Conference of Theologically Trained Women of Asia was founded in January 1981 followed by The Women’s Commission of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) in 1983. The first Asian women’s theological journal In God’s Image was founded in 1982 and helped form the Asian Women’s Resource Centre for Culture and Theology in 1988.

These organisations, networks and centres allowed Asian women theologians to discuss strategies for dealing with patriarchy in society, the church and theology, which they saw as unhelpfully dependent on the West.

Context
Although there was Asian theology being written during the 1960s, this waterbuffalo theology was written mostly by men who looked to traditional Asian culture and practices as sources for their theology. In doing so however, they neglected the experiences of women and tended to romanticise Asian traditions without properly critiquing its patriarchal elements. Chinese theologian Kwok Pui-lan writes ‘challenging the colonial legacy, these theologians sometimes were too eager to embrace the cultural traditions of Asia, without taking sufficient notice of their elitist and sexist components’

Problems were also found within Western feminist theology which was accused of:
 * 1) speaking from a tradition where Christianity was dominant, which was largely irrelevant for most Asian women
 * 2) a tendency to universalise Western experiences as representative
 * 3) not being radical enough – it failed to consider the axes of colonialism, cultural imperialism, religious pluralism and internalized colonialism
 * 4) some displayed racist or ethnocentric orientations that essentialized Asian women

Bible
Asian feminist theologians challenge traditional readings of the Bible, which tended to ignore women or downplay their contribution. Instead, they draw upon stories such as that of the Samaritan woman, the Syrophoenecian woman as well as the figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus who is seen as the first fully liberated human by Indonesian writer Marianne Katoppo.

God
Unlike some Western feminists, Asian feminist theologians have little problem with the language used to speak about God, or the gender of Jesus. Indeed, for some such as Fabella, the very fact that Jesus is male is advantageous. She writes ‘among Asian women, the maleness of Jesus has not been a problem for we see it as ‘accidental’ to the salvific process. His maleness was not essential but functional. By being male, Jesus could more repudiate more effectively the male definition of humanity and show the way to a right and just male-female relationship’

The Asian feminist understanding of God is holistic and ecological. This approach sees God in all life (Panentheism) and views God as the creative power that sustains life. There is an emphasis on relationality of humans, other life-forms and God. Chung states ‘Asian women emphasize the importance of community in their theologies because only in community can humanity reflect God and fulfil the image of God’’

It also moves away from the dualism of Western approaches that insist on a divide between mind/body, nature/culture, male/female. Instead, God is seen to easily possess both masculine and feminine qualities. Padma Gallup of India claims that Western Christianity has lost this inclusive understanding as it is too ‘wrapped in layers of ponderous patriarchy, Zoroastrian dualism, Greek philosophy, and the ethics of the marketplace and morality of the dominant male of the Puritan tradition’

Christology
For many Asian women, the images of Christ that were propagated during the colonial era are unhelpful. The notion of Jesus as Lord reinforced servility to colonial authorities, and the image of Jesus as the Suffering Servant encouraged passiveness and docility. Fabella writes ‘Asian women have been ‘lorded over’ for centuries and all the major religions including Christianity have contributed to this sinful situation.

Instead, they have understood Jesus as a liberator, who has come to set people free both spiritually and from their earthly bondage of socio-economic oppression. Asian feminists have emphasised how Jesus sought out the poor and marginalized within society, and noted his ministry with women - Mark 5:25-34; Mark 5:35-43; Luke 7:11-17; Luke 13:10-17; John 4:1–42; Matthew 15:21–28 as well as his female disciples - Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41, Luke 8:1-3, John 20:14-18

Other notions of Christ include a reworking of his suffering to mean that he is compassionate and deeply empathetic and understanding of the suffering faced by many Asian women; and an organic model of Christology as advocated by Kwok who looks at Jesus’ use of metaphors from nature (John 4:14; John 6:35; John 15:1-8)

Spirituality
Spirituality for many Asian feminist theologians involves both body and soul in harmony and focuses on the joyful celebration of life. Specifically, the female body is embraced and loved, reacting against traditions such as female infanticide and sex tourism that devalue female bodies. This spirituality is holistic and life-affirming, exhorting women’s procreative power and emphasizing interconnection with all living things.

Sexuality
Asian feminist theologians see sexuality is an important part of spirituality. For some such as Elizabeth Dominguez, sensuality and erotic love is to be embraced as God has intended it to be the purest form of human communion. Reacting against traditional church teachings that inhibit the eroticism of women, for Asian feminist theologians, a woman’s sensuality is something that is liberating and freeing, allowing them to feel deeply towards God and others.