Not Permitted To Speak: Women And The Practice Of Aya-Fifa In Cherubim And Seraphim Movement Church (Ayo Ni O) Lagos, Nigeria

The old tradition of believing that women are inferior to men is fading away. The increasing visibility of women in social and cultural life in Nigeria attests to the changing dynamics of gender relations in the country. Although Apostle Paul emphasized in 1 Corinthians 14:34- 35 that women should not be permitted to speak in the church, an injunction that is reflected in many church doctrines around the world, recent developments suggest a movement towards gender parity regarding how responsibilities are apportioned in the church. Focusing on four selected branches of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church (Ayo ni o), Lagos, Nigeria, and drawing on ethnographic research comprising interviews, and participant observation, the paper discusses the role of women as enabled by an increasingly inclusive doctrinal authority of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church (Ayo ni o). Preliminary findings suggest that several women in the church under study engage the evolving power dynamics of gender relations with a strong sense of responsibility and empowerment despite subsisting challenges.