Navigating Disability, HIV, Relationships and Abuse for Christian Women in Nigeria

Jessie Ini Fubara-Manuel is the Pastoral Assistant with Edinburgh Northwest Kirk (Cramond and Pennywell), Church of Scotland, Edinburgh, and Adjunct Lecturer with Essien Ukpabio Presbyterian Theological College, Itu, Nigeria. She holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, UK, with research interests in faith, gender, disability and HIV.

• Chapter 1: Introduction – Setting the Scene Chapter 2: Understanding the Triple Minoritisation of Gender, Disability, and HIV Chapter 3: Women’s Stories from the Field Chapter 4: Responses of the Women with Disabilities to Sexual Abuse Chapter 5: Conclusion

This book is a deeply moving and essential look at the lives of women who are navigating the immense challenges of living with disabilities and HIV. What makes this book so special is the way it honours their voices, turning what could be another academic study into powerful, real-life stories. By focusing on lived theology, the author shows us that faith is beyond doctrine—it’s about the incredible resilience and sisterhood these women find in each other. Fatih is the heart of human survival and hope.- Affiong Etim, Member, Board of Trustees, Bold Hearts Initiative for Beautiful Outstanding Ladies with Disabilities (Bold Hearts), NigeriaIni’s long term pastoral accompaniment of women with disabilities in Nigeria as a Presbyterian Church Elder, Minister’s spouse, Minister and theologian, as illustrated in this book provokes us to listen meticulously to women with disabilities (including albinism) who are rendered vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence with adverse consequences of being sexually infected with HIV. With passion and compassion, her well-researched resources and indepth interviews amplify these women’s everyday life survival tactics and silent resistance against patriarchal structures and rape culture, which beseech critical attention in church pastoral ministry.- Rev Dr Nyambura J. Njoroge, Theologian and Ecumenical Leader, and Founding Member of the Circle of Concerned African Women TheologiansJessie Fubara-Manuel has written an insightful and hopeful account of women living with disabilities and HIV in Nigeria. Fubara-Manuel does not flinch from the pain and trauma of women’s lives, nor does she underplay their resilience and their faith. Drawing on feminist theological traditions, she balances her investigation of patriarchal forms of Christianity that promote women’s abuse with women’s own stories of Christian belief and communities that undergird their lives and relationships. The result is a clear-sighted and compassionate voicing of marginalised but bold women.- Emma Wild-Wood, Professor, African Religions and World Christianity, New College, University of Edinburgh