RCCG bans trousers for women
I was sent this by email earlier today. On top of the recent stories in Lagos banning so-called 'indecent' dressing (and Funmi Iyanda's recent sorry story), it looks like the Christian fundamentalists are starting to borrow from their Islamist counterparts. Perhaps RCCG should order in some burkhas and force their female flock to wear? Better still, why not ban women from going to Church completely? They should perhaps stay in doors, with the lights turned off, with their Christianised burkhas on...
No More Trousers For Redeemed Ladies, Pastor Adeboye Orders
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Outlandish women who attend the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)
are in for trouble as the General Overseer of the Church, Pastor Enoch
Adeboye, has banned them from wearing trousers to church.
The man of God, popularly known as Daddy G.O., decided to shed his garb
of softness and impose punitive measures on female worshippers who
always wear skimpy dresses and tightfitting trousers to church.
Adeboye was said to have warned and threatened to sanction female
members who flout the order.
The General Overseer's riot act to female worshippers was published
in a recent bulletin of the church.
The enforcement may begin at the RCCG annual convention which is going
on at its Redemption Camp, Km 45, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where millions
of worshippers gather for the annual event.
Until recently, a large number of women who wore trousers to the church
were tolerated in their quest to attract male worshippers.
Unknown to these women in skimpy dresses, they had unwittingly divided
the RCCG into two camps: the conservative worshippers on the one hand
and the radical ones on the other. The radical ones are the modern day
worshippers who feel they could wear anything to church, no matter how
skimpy it is, while the conservatives are the old time Redeemers who
still keep to the standards in the Bible in their mode of dressing and
general comportment while in the church.
P.M.News gathered that it was in a bid to sanitise the RCCG that Daddy
G.O. decided to ban women from wearing trousers which is offensive to
other worshippers.
Adeboye's ban coincided with the ongoing onslaught by the police
against women who wear trousers and skimpy dresses on the streets of
Lagos.
The police onslaught is also to sanitise the state and discourage
prostitution and commercial sex workers who often habour criminals and
other anti-social elements.
Posts
31 comments:
Jeremy, I wish you would stop focusing on the dross that passes for journalism in the Nigerian press.
'Until recently, a large number of women who wore trousers to the church were tolerated in their quest to attract male worshippers.'
'The police onslaught is also to sanitise the state and discourage
prostitution and commercial sex workers who often habour criminals and other anti-social elements'
No editor in his/her right mind would ever sanction this. As for banning trousers, inappropriate dressing to church or any other religious institution ought to be rightly frowned upon but banning trousers?! That's taking it way too far.
I would've liked to see the bulletin myself. I'm clutching at straws, but perhaps the 'journalist' misjudged the trouser context?
cough cough jeremy, i think the what adeboye is trying to convey is that there should be decency in the house of the lord. i feel bad it only addresses women, as they are not the only distractions...what about those expensive cars on sunday morning. that being said, it was tight fitting trousers and skimpy dresses that were banned not just trousers. in some churches this can be a serious problem with women wearing all sorts of things and distracting people. i think that was the spirit of the ban but i dont think he should have banned it, but perhaps preached about it first and see if there is a change of heart. the problem is also not just with women as i said before...overwhelming displays of wealth in churches are distracting too, and its not only by wearing skimpy clothes that you distract someone, err what about your loud perfume.
With respect, I don't think this is on a par with the Bishop Oyedepo 'university' debacle or the ridiculous Lagos police rounding off 'indecently dressed' females.
I am of the view that RCCG's stance is of a different colouration. What I see is a church saying: "let's go back to basics" - rather than any oppression of women in the fundmentalist vein. I was raised in the CAC church, and in that congregation, I learned a lot about the humility of Christian life, which is in sharp constrast to the showiness of a lot of Pentecostal churches today. In the CAC church, women did not wear strong make up; lack of jewellery (for both males and females) was a cardinal rule. The CAC placed store in the simple life. And women didn't wear trousers, largely because in many communities back then, very few women wore trousers anyway. Those rules are no longer strictly applied, but I still value the simplicity of the CAC congregation, though I am a lapsed Christian these days. If I enter a CAC church where people are dressed extravagantly, I am saddened. Saddened, because there is something to be said for that simplicity, humility and modesty - in a place of worship at least.
As for not women wearing trousers, this made a lot of sense to populations in the hinterland in those days, who by the nature of their existence didn't even know a woman could wear trousers. The widespread wearing of trousers in Nigeria is largely limited to big city, and the worldly aspiration to city life.
This for me is what it boils down to. A woman can dress a certain way when going to a club, but when going to a House of God, certain other rules may apply. It's about appropriateness, and a sense of occasion. Nothing wrong with that.
I have no issues with Islamists saying this is the dress code for men or women when in the mosque; it's the blanket stipulation again life outsdie the mosque, to the extent of requiring it of people who don't share their faith - that troubles me.
As I say, Pastor Adeboye is just setting some boundaries for when inside the church. I don't see it as an attack on civil liberties, and should not be lumped with other examples being cited here. And I say this as someone who's not a member of the Redeemed Church.
You know me and I know you, Jeremy - but I'd rather go Under-G on this one. You know how religious debates can get!
"Until recently, a large number of women who wore trousers to the church
were tolerated in their quest to attract male worshippers."
roflmao. They were "tolerated" were they? I'm sure their desire to attract men was the only reason they wore trousers. Those sinful women...
I saw a fantastic film on Mnet last night, it was frmo Mali, called Taafe Fanga (skirt power). The women of a Dogon village take over from the men, but soon the leaders of the revolt, who want to improve the people's lot, become dissolusioned because the women fall into the same drinking goodfornothingness as the men used to be.
http://spot.pcc.edu/~mdembrow/taafe_fanga.htm
Snowball effect.
First, Universities either ban attires outright or institute dress codes. Then IG of Police says skimpily/inappropriately dressed women are to blame in part for crime levels, and so must be arrested. Funmi Iyanda and her friends are stopped and harassed over what they are wearing, and why they are out late at night, if they are such responsible women (never mind that Funmi was wearing a long scarf and the other woman was with her husband).
Now a church has banned women from wearing trousers. And we the women siddon look abi? Any laws being enforced against rape, domestic violence, etc? But suddenly women and what they wear are to blame for everything! This is becoming ludicrous!
I hope Pastor Adeboye also bans all traders who are members from selling trousers to women, or doing business with trouser clad women. Then we'll know how serious this new "law" is...
I would not attend a church which had as its head something called a "General Overseer."
Mr Jeremy, i think it's a bit misleading to suggest that the 'directive' from the RCCG Pastor is an outright/blanket ban on women wearing trousers-given the colouration of the church, I'm not even sure that's a likelihood. The report emphasises the need to dress 'decently' within the premises of the church. That may seem a tad old fashioned but it's not exactly the grand attack on civil liberties your intro portrayed it to be.
What about the deadly traffic jams caused by that church? Did the, uh, overseer say something about it? Has he apologized yet for causing untold hardships to motorists (including kids) who happen to be on that road anytime they do these marathon praying?
Religion is nonsense! especially the Abrahamic ones (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism)! read this -
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/article-comments/36414-easter-product-called-jesus-3.html
Hi everyone,
I've occasionally read articles on here over the past year or so, some good, others rubbish, but I've never bothered to reply or comment on any subject or issue. This article has made me register and post a comment.
I live in a small village near Edinburgh, with one church (Church of Scotland, Known as Presbyterian in Nigeria) and a local vicar. The church of Scotland pioneered Christianity in Nigeria, they are the traditional church in Calabar where I was raised and spent most of my life. The church of Scotland sent Mary Slessor as a missionary to Calabar and helped build one of the oldest institutions of learning in Nigeria (Hope Waddle Training Institute) in the late 19th century, Just as the Church of England did in the Lagos area about the same time.
I shall get to the point. Christianity was created by people (people like you and me), to 'control' people (like you and me). There is no mystery in Christianity, no 'Miracle', no 'Rapture', no 'Son of God', no 'Hell', no 'Beast', no 'bottomless pit', no such nonsense. these are all the makings of people like you and me. I hope that you can 'reason' with people like Palamedes, forgive the way he comes across in his article, he is actually right, only he is not interested in making you understand why he is right, because he probably believes it is a waste of time to even try, and rightly so, as most have been told that Jesus is the son of God for so long, it is impossible for them to even think it through.
If you tell my local Church of Scotland vicar that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he died for our sins and that he is coming back some day to take us to heaven - He will smile at you and tell you that it is not true, if you insist, he will recommend that you see a psychiatrist.
I will refer anyone who cares to find out about the First Council of Nicaea, and the First Council of Constantinople, I will refer you to the works of Thomas Aquinas, so that you can understand how this faith that you proclaim has been shaped across the centuries. Nigeria has 17million Anglicans, that is 17million people who are members of the Church of England, who profess the faith and who will not be shaken, but how many of these 17million people know that before the Anglican church came to our shores in the late 19th century to set up schools and churches, the Anglican church had come for Slaves? yes the Anglican church owned slaves! they owned slaves and slave plantations, they called Africans animals and the Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 18th century and early 19th century referred to sick or injured Africans in his possession as 'Refuse Niggers'! How many of these Anglicans know that their church was only formed because Henry VIII (King of England) wanted a divorce but the pope would not grant him one, so he decided to create his own church and give himself a divorce?
This is the reality of your faith, the same goes for Roman catholicism, Emperor Constantine I declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire (of which Britain was a member), that is why we all are Christians, because one man said so. Jesus Christ never wrote any book in the Bible, or did you not know that too? did you not know that the bible was compiled over two hundred years AD? did you not know that the content of the bible as we know it today was subjected to voting? which writings should we put in and which should we not? Did you not know that the books of the bible are not actually written by the people to which they are attributed?
How an intelligent adult can wake up and say that a man (Jesus of Nazareth) is the son of God, is beyond belief. Jesus Christ was a man, perhaps the greatest man that ever lived, he was a revolutionary, he was not a Christian, he was a Jew, a Jew who himself did not believe the dogma that he had been fed by prophets (pastors) and his parents, and elders in his community, he was a man who decided to 'reason', and because he reasoned those who never used their brains (reasoned) called him the son of God, and those who saw an opportunity sold this story to Gullible Billions, the most uncomfortable thing about Christianity is that, Europeans - who are the custodians of Christianity, who spread Christianity across the world, who wrote the bible, who brought it to us, who invented the Trinity, who invented and just last year abolished purgatory (yes, last year purgatory was officially pronounced no longer 'gospel' by the Vatican), who created churches, they, Europeans can not understand why in 2007 humans still believe in this nonsense.
When I was two years old, my dad took me for an initiation into the EKPE, a long running tradition in my family and in the Calabar area, the Ekpe is without doubt the most fascinating part of my Culture, it is beautiful, it makes me proud, the Ekpe was used as a form of government in pre-colonial Calabar and most of southern Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, the rulers at the time made people believe that the Ekpe had mystical powers so as to keep the society in check, today the Ekpe is only ceremonial, but the churches in that area do not tolerate it, they have warned that none of their members celebrate this beautiful part of our culture, that it is a celebration of the devil, and that Jesus does not tolerate it, What a load of rubbish. It almost brought tears to my eyes. What have we become as a people? Christianity in my family does not go back more than 3 generations. My great grand father was not a Christian nor was any member of my ancestry before him, If i believe in Christianity that will mean that all those members of my family are burning in hell, and the same goes for the rest of you.
The most intelligent people in our country know this, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Fela Kuti, Palamedes, and the rest who know, the most intelligent people in the Christian world know this, and more importantly, we are not alone on earth, why then are we so simple and narrow minded? of the 6 billion people on earth how many actually believe in this nonsense? most of the 1.3 billion people in China are not Christians and don't believe in Jesus and the son of God and all that nonsense, 1 billion in India, 280million in Indonesia, 114 million in Russia, 500 million in the EU, 150million in Pakistan, 70million in Iran, 70million in Egypt, 150m in Bangladesh, 118m in Japan, the list goes on and on, yet they are prosperous, I dare say they are more honest and they love their neighbours as themselves. So is it the the fanatics in Nigeria and in some parts of the Americas and Africa, who by the way are new to Christianity that are right?
Religion is the Opium of the masses - Karl Marx. Religion is nothing more than a creation of man to fulfill that need for direction and authority. There is nothing wrong with being a Christian, I am one, my parents are too, but don't be dogmatic, the Bible is 'Not the word of God', it is just a book, Jesus is 'Not the son of God', he was just a man, the fish did not swallow Jonah and vice versa, Moses did not divide the red sea, Moses did not write the first five books of the Bible, because if he did, he would not have included his own death in it, and explained how he died and how no one ever knew where he was buried, Mathew Mark Luke and John did not see Jesus ascend into heaven, if they did they would not have given four different and contradictory accounts, oh did you not know that too? Lets be humans and reason, don't be scared to think for yourself, that is exactly what Jesus did, that is why he is the greatest man that ever lived, if indeed he lived!
I'm hungry.
sorry... I think you'll find his correct title is "Daddy G.O."
bend over and worship him.
@under g. what are the basics? Our forefathers and foremothers walked around with only fabrc for covering and there was nothing indecent about that. If you go to many rural areas, it is not an uncommon site to see elderly women sitting in front of their houses with their bosoms exposed.
Having borrowed the supressive and hypocritical, puritanistic views of the caucasians and faced with the realities of our climate and changing society, everyone is now seeking a definition for what is appropriate for us as a people.
Why do most women ban trouses? because as we go about our day to da activities, especially in the work place, we cannot be hindered by cumbersome fabrics and heat. It is not our fault that we are plagued with a society that is ridden with men who have no control over their thoughts and actions.
Pastor Adeboye is out of line. You cannot dictate who comes to God's house to seek him. You cannot dictate how one has a relationship with God, when you do, it is no longer a spiritual path, it is a religious organisations and out of organisations is born fanatic fundamentalism as each person tries to prove that they are more loyal to the "religious cause" than others by putting sanctions on the behaviour of the followers.
I am extremely irritated by all this. Disgusting and unbefitting of God's children.
err msmak
did you read the actual story?
na wah oh
I'm not even going to get into this banning of trouser debate. As someone who wears his hair in cornrows, I'll be clapped in the stocks in Nigeria.
When people realise that even the middle classes in Nigeria have no protection, they'll realise the depths to which the country has sunk.
***SIGH*****
Jeremy u seemed to be in support on the attack on 'indecently' dressed women by the police on your previous post.Now you are so hating a pastor for telling his members not to wear trousers.not that i support him, its just the way u guys go about beefing christians that is so annoying.
Any body is free to stay or leave the church if they are no longer comfortable with the rules. but are we going to run away from our country because some government officials chose to chase women in trousers? thats what you guys should be ranting about and not pastor Adeboye
pls edit the Funmi Iyanda hyperlink! Had to add a "H" to it to open!
Thx
Bottomline in this case, Jeremy, is this:
Any woman - or man - who objects to the rules (if that is indeed the case) - can choose not to worship in the RCCG.
That is the crucial element here, and it's called:
Choice.
Now there is a surprise!!!
I will keep my peace and not express my views about these ‘churches’.
Mofi sweetie, tho we're kinda, on the same page, what about a man, sorry, a dad in a tight shirt revealing his manboobs? shouldnt that be banned?( especially, if HE thinks they're sexy pecs). (I say "dad" not just "man" to suggest, he is a). Married, and b). a Procreator, ie, has folowed God's edict and is not just having sex with frivolous intent .. as opposed to a single man, whose tight shirt and hopefully better developed pecs in a tight shirt might be intended to attract a partner/ or wife, (but never other female worshippers, since we african women do not share the same urges as our male counterparts. Riii-ight.) That said, perhaps Church not aware of how hot a man who takes care of his body looks in a (loose?) well fitted suit! By the time we're all banned, we'll all be home Sundays... it's hard enough finding clothes that are suitable for both church, and (immediately after), the pool in this our HOT (heat, not sex) abuja-- and considering God,(Bless) really cares more about our souls than what we wear, errrr... guess which sunday activity will win?
And 2ndly, to Wordsbody...your comment is on point. and i'm afraid,EXACTLY what anyone with any world/ life experience should say, and really, our greatest gift from God- Freewill. ALAS, we are all bound by so many different codes;Religion, What Others Think, that "choice" is generally seen to be a luxury for intellectuals,and loose women. And i'm sure you know exactly what i'm talking about.
Btw, i'm anglican. A little lapsed perhaps, and still always amused when i visit Mummy's church to hear the mixed Nigerian congregation singing hymns containing verses nostalgic for the snows of England. Oh, and we ladies
definitely don't wear trousers there!
Another Taliban?? I thought we had other pressing issues..
Ok i suggest the women change church or form their own. Its a free world no?
I'm not sure it's as simple as saying it is simply about choice- there's the question of what the wider effects are- are the Funmi Iyanda incidents, the arrest of boys who wear cornrows and this unrelated? Or symptomatic of a wider malaise?
Uknaija,
I am not sure we can easily lumber it all together. If Adeboye were to say women shouldn't wear trousers anywhere, then we could talk about the wider implications.
I know people who don't go to the Celestial Church of Christ (popularly known as "Cele") because they don't want to be swathed head to toe in white. They chose to go elsewhere.
When it comes to non-forcible religions/denominations, people can vote with their feet, and take their prayers elsewhere.
I swear am tired with naija and all its BS,they just want us(women) walking around in fear,soon they make laws prohibit women from thinking.
like wordsbody said, it all boils down to choice,choose to worship there or not.
about the indecent dress code thingie,shall we let this continue,liedown and take it or do sumthing about it.
Because as a young woman living in Lagos,I live in fear already, fear that as I commute I won't be robbed or kidnapped,fear of being raped, fear of sexual and physical abuse,fear of the unknown, now I have to add to this miserable long list fear of someone telling me how live, dress and maybe eat.
It is sad and sickening.
Welcome to the new wave of the Christian Taliban in Nigeria.It makes me shudder.fanaticism in any religion is dangerous and when will Nigerians learn that one can't impose or legalise morality...this is the very reason why we are one of the most hypocritical nations EVER.
@ Mofi:
Er, yes i did read the actual story. And your point is?
In case you missed mine, i was just noting that in the last few months the issue of women's dressing/outfits has been in the news quite a bit. First the educational institutions, then the police, and now, it seems, a church.
I agree with Wordsbody; I am a Christian and i will choose where i want to worship. But how much choice is available in Naija if one does not agree with a University's dress code? And if a policeman stops me because he thinks i am indecently dressed (and he thinks he has the approval of his I.G., and Church General Overseer to boot), will i have much of a choice as to whether or not i go to jail (unless i am famous of course)?
I just want you to think how this could easily morph into something else. And how we need to demand of our leaders (V.C's, I.G's, G.O's, Govs, etc) that they face the bigger and more pressing issues(cultism and poor funding,armed robbery, materialism in the church, deteriorating infrastructure, etc) instead of blaming women and their clothes for everything.
Peace.
Three points come to mind: 1) Wordsbody makes a good point about choice. Taking it a step further, it fascinates me how we can be very critical of rules set up by churches but stay mute when the same rules are set up in places such as courtrooms. Courtrooms highly regulate the way people dress yet we don't get pissed off that our freedom of expression and the ability to wear what we want to wear is violated. An organization such as a church gives you the FREEDOM to take it or leave it. Courts you almost have to take it becuse if you refuse to dress in teh accepted mode, you could be found in contempt of court, fined or placed in custody, especially if you are parties in a litigatious manner. 2)anonymous from Calabar/Akwa Ibom on the whole religion narrative--indeed points well taken and most Christians are not educated on the history of Christianity and that religion is often used and made into a political thing--I belong to a denomination [Seventh Day Adventist] that frequently engages the mind and also informs about some of the history you mentioned, especially Catholicism. I, however, think inspite of the politics, one can still "reason" and come to the conclusion and belief that Christianity, being Christ like, works and makes sense. 3)Finally, last point as to "indecent" dressing. So much to say on it. I touched on these points in my blog entry here. http://ladybrille.blogspot.com/2007/08/ladybrille-african-fashion-news-21_09.html Intersting post Jeremy. I have been AWOL for a minute on your blog. Need to check in or subscribe so I don't miss out on some interesting talks from your readers!
I like women in tight trousers.
Or out of them. :)
I have always thought it interesting that modern Christians are taught to divide their lives into the secular and the religious. What exactly is the point in banning inappropriate clothing in a building, when all one has to do is step outside the door of the building to see people wearing them? The house of the Lord has never and will never be a building. It has no walls. The Christian is one, seven days a week, in and out of church amongst those dressed appropriately and inappropriately. What is the use of sanctioning people's clothing for one day of the week? If Churches believe they can somehow protect decent dressers minds from falling in the gutter by banning so called inappropriate dressing, they have got their priorities wrong. The Christian needs to learn to control his mind in the midst of appropriate and inappropriate dressing.
If people cannot view a naked body without thinking "inappropriate thoughts" is it the body's fault?
The church is a place of worship and order.I have gone through the comments of some individuals, and discerned that most of the comments are rooted from a carnally minded realm, who Jesus once spoke of them as dirty within and cleaner,accomadating and civic outside.
It pains me much when I see christians who know the truth and use modernity as a cover-up,Is Deuteronomy22:5 Unbiblical?. Are we not told to be submissive to those in authority?. Will suggestive and provocative dressing mark a difference between you and the children of the world?.Has God change the oldland marks Ephesians 2:2,3;4:22 1pet3;2-4 ?.
Etuk Akaniyene
Could you please help me pass this message across to the General Oversear, Pastor E. A. Adeboye. Pls tell him the following: -
Visit: www.spirit-lessons.com
The pastors should emphasize more on this, eg the message from the seven (7) Columbia Youth about Heaven and Hell is a real touching message, so also Mary Baxter Heaven and hell, etc. They are all powerful messages.
Pls pass the message across. I love to hear more of messages that will melt the heart of a sinner and gives salvation, messages that will mould you, help you daily on your heavenly race, remind you often about the reality of your eternity. Make you to live everyday with the fear of God and fear of judgement throne so as to stay away from sin.
I love Pastor Adeboye and his wife and I know God is with him, I love the modest dressing of his wife, I am using this medium to beg him to please tell the women in the church (set a standard on women dressing as mandatory to all female ministers and workers) to dress like his wife (not perming or jerry curl their hair, not putting attachement on the hair, no wig or weavon, no earring, chains, rings, women putting on trousers, slit/split skirt, perforated or transparent clothes, short or mini skirt, bleaching of skin, bleaching of hair, keeping of long nails and painting it also painting of faces and lips ), also the men should emulate him so that both Pastor and his wife can help the members which they also love as themselves appreciate the work of God on them and also help them make heaven, because the fire that burn in hell is real
Could you please help me pass this message across to the General Oversear, Pastor E. A. Adeboye. Pls tell him the following: -
Visit the website www.spirit-lessons.com
The pastors should emphasize more on this, eg the message from the seven (7) Columbia Youth about Heaven and Hell is a real touching message, so also Mary Baxter Heaven and hell, etc. They are all powerful messages.
Pls pass the message across. I love to hear more of messages that will melt the heart of a sinner and gives salvation, messages that will mould you, help you daily on your heavenly race, remind you often about the reality of your eternity. Make you to live everyday with the fear of God and fear of judgement throne so as to stay away from sin.
I love Pastor Adeboye and his wife and I know God is with him, I love the modest dressing of his wife, I am using this medium to beg him to please tell the women in the church (set a standard on women dressing as mandatory to all female ministers and workers) to dress like his wife (not perming or jerry curl their hair, not putting attachement on the hair, no wig or weavon, no earring, chains, rings, women putting on trousers, slit/split skirt, perforated or transparent clothes, short or mini skirt, bleaching of skin, bleaching of hair, keeping of long nails and painting it also painting of faces and lips ), also the men should emulate him so that both Pastor and his wife can help the members which they also love as themselves appreciate the work of God on them and also help them make heaven, because the fire that burn in hell is real
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