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Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu - Career (2) - Nairaland

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Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by imitateMe(m): 9:13am On Apr 17, 2018
skarlett:
No matter the level of exposure, Nigeria is still largely patriarchal which is why after decades, the nation's development is neither here nor there. It's archaic to even think that instead of addressing the issues in court, a judge is more interested in knowing the marital status of the female lawyer when the same cannot be done to the males. That's gender discrimination of the highest order and it has got to stop.
Women are so weak, they see insult instead of fun. Mtchew!!!
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 9:26am On Apr 17, 2018
PDPGuy:
As an intern attached to a court in Nigeria, I witnessed how female counsel were mandated by judges to indicate their marital status while announcing appearance as opposed to their male counterparts.

The most painful part is the manner Judges ask the question and the derision (sure, from the male folks in courtroom). If the female counsel tries to evade the apparent embarrassment; the presiding Judge who often attempts to justify the practice would further ask ‘Miss or Mrs or would you prefer to be referred to as an Esquire?’ or ‘please let us know when you are available or off market, you never can tell there could be a prospective suitor …’. Expectedly the male counterparts are thrilled and always show gratitude by prolonging such conversation in a manner that massages their ego. Little wonder, some men expect women’s education to end in kitchen and the infamous “the other room”.

Years have passed and I still wear the shoes, I must have grown a thick skin to stand such discriminatory environment. Every morning, I announce appearance in court, ensuring that I mutter the suffix Miss after mentioning my name thus: J. I. Ugwu ‘MISS’. This is to prevent drama or the court being torn in two like I witnessed in some situations where female lawyers fruitlessly attempted to go against such discriminatory and debasing legal tradition. Slowly, culture and sentimental attachments to titles have made way to confuse the legal system. One wonders the essence of a female lawyer announcing appearance in court with ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’ titles or worst with ‘Esquire’, this is not applicable to the male counterparts as only ‘Mr.’ in exclusion of ‘Master’ is used, also male lawyers are not addressed with any feminine title as is the case when women are addressed as ‘Esquire’ (a male title).

Why can’t I for instance announce appearance as J. I. Ugwu with no title (esquire, miss or mrs)? If there is need to state such titles as Mr./Miss/Mrs, why don’t we use Mr. and Ms respectively as both are neutral terms for each gender, and usually don’t arouse any sense of stereotype. For instance, there are many lawyers who are advanced in their biological age but remain unmarried by choice or circumstance, it may appear demeaning when only the female counterparts in such instance are consequently and constantly reminded of their marital status by the use of Miss or Mrs in an open court. A divorced female lawyer once left the courtroom feeling embarrassed after she literally made a public announcement of a failed marriage when she announced appearance. Immediately announcing her appearance, many colleagues passed notes across to her while others sent messages to her, asking ‘what happened?’

Today, women in positions of authority in the profession whether as law professors, practicing lawyers , senior advocates , or judges, are still comparatively small in numbers; and the issue of whether as women they have any real power remains a moot point. For example, how many women called to Nigerian Bar each year are in courtroom practice? How many of those in active practice are partners in a firm? How many women have become Attorney General of States and the Federation? How many are Senior Advocates of Nigeria? How many of the elected executives of Nigerian Bar Association at the state and national levels are women? During my research, it was appalling to find that there has been only one female National chairman/president of the association since its inception which dates back to 1900, the case of poor female representation equally affects the association at state level. Out of over 475 Senior Advocates it’s worrisome to state that the women amongst them are approximately 20. Is it truly a man’s world? Womanity have come of age in the world career and Nigerian Bar Association should not be left behind. There is call on rethinking the role of women in Nigeria for a sane, less corrupt and lawful society.

The law perhaps has the foundation of discrimination. This is because women’s active participation in law making over the centuries has been comparatively low. The absence of women as active participants in institutions of the law means that women’s perceptions, women’s consciousness and women’s ideas about their reality have played a very little part in the creation of the systems and ideas of the law or in the view of the world reflected in the artifacts of the legal system’s decided cases. Dorothy Smith poignantly described the effect of women’s exclusion from the institutions that create our culture, including the institutions of the law and of politics as being one where the perspectives, concerns, interests of only one sex, one class and one race are represented as general.

Impressively, female law students and lawyers in the profession this century have received the same professional education and training as men. The success at qualifying and working as professionals has depended on her ability to manipulate the concepts and the processes of the system to “think like a lawyer”. Sadly, ‘thinking like lawyers also means thinking like men’. This has sometimes even been explicitly (if not unwittingly) acknowledged by those responsible for our education; a male professor once bestowed on a female student what he considered to be the ultimate compliment for her. “You think more like a man than any woman I have ever taught”. Women often fall victims of such discriminatory compliments, not just at the level of law school, but throughout her professional career.

A woman’s success in the profession still depends to a great extent on her excellence at using the male idioms. It is simply because the male idiom is still by and large the only one in which legal discourse is conducted. Such thoroughgoing socialization in the male norms of the profession has for years, made it unlikely that a woman could be highly successful in it by its term and also be an avowed feminist.
http://thenigerialawyer.com/women-lawyering-in-a-mans-world-by-jennifer-ifunanya-ugwu/

Madame or miss, I hope ur not a feminist
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 9:36am On Apr 17, 2018
imitateMe:

Women are so weak, they see insult instead of fun. Mtchew!!!

You and your ilk trading such jokes are sadistic, the women obviously do not enjoy such fun at their expense but you think it's funny. You're actually a weak bully

1 Like

Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by tamalo: 11:41am On Apr 17, 2018
PDPGuy:
As an intern attached to a court in Nigeria, I witnessed how female counsel were mandated by judges to indicate their marital status while announcing appearance as opposed to their male counterparts.

The most painful part is the manner Judges ask the question and the derision (sure, from the male folks in courtroom). If the female counsel tries to evade the apparent embarrassment; the presiding Judge who often attempts to justify the practice would further ask ‘Miss or Mrs or would you prefer to be referred to as an Esquire?’ or ‘please let us know when you are available or off market, you never can tell there could be a prospective suitor …’. Expectedly the male counterparts are thrilled and always show gratitude by prolonging such conversation in a manner that massages their ego. Little wonder, some men expect women’s education to end in kitchen and the infamous “the other room”.

Years have passed and I still wear the shoes, I must have grown a thick skin to stand such discriminatory environment. Every morning, I announce appearance in court, ensuring that I mutter the suffix Miss after mentioning my name thus: J. I. Ugwu ‘MISS’. This is to prevent drama or the court being torn in two like I witnessed in some situations where female lawyers fruitlessly attempted to go against such discriminatory and debasing legal tradition. Slowly, culture and sentimental attachments to titles have made way to confuse the legal system. One wonders the essence of a female lawyer announcing appearance in court with ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’ titles or worst with ‘Esquire’, this is not applicable to the male counterparts as only ‘Mr.’ in exclusion of ‘Master’ is used, also male lawyers are not addressed with any feminine title as is the case when women are addressed as ‘Esquire’ (a male title).

Why can’t I for instance announce appearance as J. I. Ugwu with no title (esquire, miss or mrs)? If there is need to state such titles as Mr./Miss/Mrs, why don’t we use Mr. and Ms respectively as both are neutral terms for each gender, and usually don’t arouse any sense of stereotype. For instance, there are many lawyers who are advanced in their biological age but remain unmarried by choice or circumstance, it may appear demeaning when only the female counterparts in such instance are consequently and constantly reminded of their marital status by the use of Miss or Mrs in an open court. A divorced female lawyer once left the courtroom feeling embarrassed after she literally made a public announcement of a failed marriage when she announced appearance. Immediately announcing her appearance, many colleagues passed notes across to her while others sent messages to her, asking ‘what happened?’

Today, women in positions of authority in the profession whether as law professors, practicing lawyers , senior advocates , or judges, are still comparatively small in numbers; and the issue of whether as women they have any real power remains a moot point. For example, how many women called to Nigerian Bar each year are in courtroom practice? How many of those in active practice are partners in a firm? How many women have become Attorney General of States and the Federation? How many are Senior Advocates of Nigeria? How many of the elected executives of Nigerian Bar Association at the state and national levels are women? During my research, it was appalling to find that there has been only one female National chairman/president of the association since its inception which dates back to 1900, the case of poor female representation equally affects the association at state level. Out of over 475 Senior Advocates it’s worrisome to state that the women amongst them are approximately 20. Is it truly a man’s world? Womanity have come of age in the world career and Nigerian Bar Association should not be left behind. There is call on rethinking the role of women in Nigeria for a sane, less corrupt and lawful society.

The law perhaps has the foundation of discrimination. This is because women’s active participation in law making over the centuries has been comparatively low. The absence of women as active participants in institutions of the law means that women’s perceptions, women’s consciousness and women’s ideas about their reality have played a very little part in the creation of the systems and ideas of the law or in the view of the world reflected in the artifacts of the legal system’s decided cases. Dorothy Smith poignantly described the effect of women’s exclusion from the institutions that create our culture, including the institutions of the law and of politics as being one where the perspectives, concerns, interests of only one sex, one class and one race are represented as general.

Impressively, female law students and lawyers in the profession this century have received the same professional education and training as men. The success at qualifying and working as professionals has depended on her ability to manipulate the concepts and the processes of the system to “think like a lawyer”. Sadly, ‘thinking like lawyers also means thinking like men’. This has sometimes even been explicitly (if not unwittingly) acknowledged by those responsible for our education; a male professor once bestowed on a female student what he considered to be the ultimate compliment for her. “You think more like a man than any woman I have ever taught”. Women often fall victims of such discriminatory compliments, not just at the level of law school, but throughout her professional career.

A woman’s success in the profession still depends to a great extent on her excellence at using the male idioms. It is simply because the male idiom is still by and large the only one in which legal discourse is conducted. Such thoroughgoing socialization in the male norms of the profession has for years, made it unlikely that a woman could be highly successful in it by its term and also be an avowed feminist.
http://thenigerialawyer.com/women-lawyering-in-a-mans-world-by-jennifer-ifunanya-ugwu/
why didn't you make these submissions in court? abegi!
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 1:22pm On Apr 17, 2018
folake4u:





We fry akamu

Lol.

I love fried akamu.

Will you fry one for me, please.
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 6:11pm On Apr 17, 2018
5thElement:

Lol.
I love fried akamu.
Will you fry one for me, please.


Lol, you're not well.
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:04pm On Apr 17, 2018
folake4u:




Lol, you're not well.

Babe I'm serious o.

I need you to fry me some crispy akamu.

I'll bet you're a good chef, right?
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 8:33pm On Apr 17, 2018
5thElement:

Babe I'm serious o.
I need you to fry me some crispy akamu.
I'll bet you're a good chef, right?

I don't know how to cook lipsrsealed.
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:38pm On Apr 17, 2018
folake4u:



I don't know how to cook lipsrsealed.

Lol.

Like that is even possible.

You that know that it is possible to fry akamu won't know how to cook?

IsALie jawe. embarassed
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 10:13pm On Apr 17, 2018
5thElement:


Lol.

Like that is even possible.

You that know that it is possible to fry akamu won't know how to cook?

IsALie jawe. embarassed


It's just a concoction Sah cheesy
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by mikolo80: 11:53pm On Apr 17, 2018
we have never
are not
will never be eqaul
Sarang:
We need equality in this country..smiley


Don't quote me if you have the wrong idea of equality. We just need to respect everyone. Please check my signature
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Sarang(f): 1:25am On Apr 18, 2018
mikolo80:
we have never
are not
will never be eqaul

nah so grin
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 7:48am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:


It's just a concoction Sah cheesy

Concoction indeed
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 7:53am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:


Concoction indeed


tongue
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 7:56am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:



tongue

How ave u been doing ¿
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 8:03am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:


How ave u been doing ¿


Hey there!
I've been good, you?
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:08am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:



Hey there!
I've been good, you?


kind of good gulder gudest o grin
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 8:11am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:



kind of good gulder gudest o grin


Wawu! cheesy
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:17am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:



Wawu! cheesy

Hw akada ? N dose ur Biafra cake baking ? lipsrsealed
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 8:20am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:


Hw akada ? N dose ur Biafra cake baking ? lipsrsealed


School's fine.

Can you bake, see this one sad
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:25am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:



School's fine.

Can you bake, see this one sad

Dat kool,
Yei i can bake, but i don't bake cake cheesy
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 8:27am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:



Dat kool,

Yei i can bake, but i don't bake cake cheesy


So what do you bake then? Weed?wink
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:29am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:


So what do you bake then? Weed?wink

shocked

Exactly
Mary jane is a bae
*puff puff*
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 8:38am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:



shocked


Exactly

Mary jane is a bae

*puff puff*



Hmm na wa
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:43am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:



Hmm na wa

You got prob with that ?
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:43am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:



Hmm na wa

You got prob with that ?
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 8:51am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:


You got prob with that ?

Perhaps.


Wanna ask you a quick question, Neem is the same as Dongoyaro or weed right?
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 8:56am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:



Perhaps.



Wanna ask you a quick question, Neem is the same as Dongoyaro or weed right?





Neem is same as Dongoyaro !!


But ''Marijuana is Weed'' cheesy
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Rubbiish(m): 8:59am On Apr 18, 2018
skarlett:
[s]No matter the level of exposure, Nigeria is still largely patriarchal which is why after decades, the nation's development is neither here nor there. It's archaic to even think that instead of addressing the issues in court, a judge is more interested in knowing the marital status of the female lawyer when the same cannot be done to the males. That's gender discrimination of the highest order and it has got to stop[/s].
Nonsense....
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 9:02am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:






Neem is same as Dongoyaro !!


But ''Marijuana is Weed'' cheesy



Oh!! shocked.


But I'm confused, how is Marijuana now weed? I thought weed is from the Neem tree.
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by Nobody: 9:09am On Apr 18, 2018
folake4u:




Oh!! shocked.


But I'm confused, how is Marijuana now weed? I thought weed is from the Neem tree.

Dear you might be taught dat in Agricultural Science or any related course.

But in d street we call it alot of name, Weed is one of it's common name
Re: Women Lawyering In A Man’s World - Jennifer Ifunanya Ugwu by folake4u(f): 9:13am On Apr 18, 2018
Blackfreedom:


Dear you might be taught dat in Agricultural Science or any related course.

But in d street we call it alot of name, Weed is one of it's common name



Alright, thanks

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