₦airaland Forum

Nonso23:
Polygamy and other things we call vices today were not the fault of men the society of old tolerated it. Our mothers were submissive and not doormats. Submissive did not and does not connote stupid and dumb.
What do you expect when African history was documented mostly by Europeans ?
The few indigenous ones are not even 1/100 times as popular.

We cannot isolate ourselves but we can choose what we accept into our system. We need to keep a lot of our culture. The beautiful aspects are too many and colorful to be called 'some'.
We need to reinvent ourselves by ourselves by ourselves. We are an intelligent people.

So much have been eroded by the culture. Our clothing most especially. That aspect we cannot change instantly unfortunately.

I'm christian but I do not discriminate against any other religion most especially when I barely understand them.

I remember reading somewhere on a particular group of women that why they were not adverse to polygamy was that it allowed them (women) to pursue their careers while there was someone to take care of the home. I can't seem it find the piece at the moment, if I do I'll post it.

Nonso23:
No I don't believe it. Africans of today differ very greatly from Africans of 3 or more generations ago.
Africans today combat the unstable belief system that is as confusing as the word itself. We have learnt that a lot of our practices are evil that our fore fathers are cavemen without any sense of organization. We have learned that the only route to progress is the western way. Our fore fathers never had to confront these conflicting ideologies. I think we have earned the right to be confused but not for too long.

Your argument is valid if we were to agree to practice our culture in its purest form

More like a case Lagos in CNN and Lagos in real life.
We Africans should define ourselves until then we will keep believing all the west cooks up.

At this rate I don't mind going back just to deal with the avalanche of terrible husbands we have in the society today.
On purest form, I don't even think we can describe Igbo tradition for example in terms of pure, because Igbo tradition itself is not stagnant, it evolves according to the times. When the Igbo feels something has become irrelevant or redundant, they move on.

5minsmadness:
No surprise in this answer. Some people will never change.

Boohooooo!

damiso:
Lovely topic Stillfire(by the way I loved your other name Stillwater still waters run deep if that was you )....

The historical angle Is very informative.Its truly not our culture to have heavily dependent women.In Yoruba language there is even a derogatory term for a woman who relies on her husband for everything financially (I don't neccesarily always agree with how it's used though esp by one uncle dayokanu like that ) it's called alabodo( feed so you can sleep with).I grew up around very very industrious bold independent women who accomplished a lot both in business and career so I have never really lived or experienced a person being denied the ability to achieve her potentials cos she is a woman.I agree that's my reality though and might not be fair to think some other women or girl children did or do not have to battle such prejudices.

Yup I'm Stillwater! Still waters indeed run deeeeep. Someone once accused me of being another moniker called Toothpaste, rotflmao . And I'm thinking I will go from a classic name like stillwater to toothpaste? lol.

Busybody2:
At topic/OP - YES, YES, YES & YES.





^{Stillwater/Stillfire I swear I ain't being lazy, I read all your 3 articles, all 76,000 words of them, I am just practising the "summary" lessons you taught me when you were my English Teacher eons ago}

Hahaha busybody is this not like your 1000th reincarnation?
Yes o summary. No be me write the articles now, you know if it were me it won't pass 5 lines. So continue to learn under my tutelage.
Anyway Happy new year.

Nonso23:
Very interesting! Though i'm aware of most of the stuffs contained in the o.p and subsequent related posts i'm surprised at one thing.

Africans or more specifically the Nigerian ethnic groups were a lot more ahead of their western counterparts in gender relations and equity until the Europeans thought the system was not 'right' and eventually succeeded in crushing that balance as we knew it with their power as colonialists leaving us for the worse.
Today though they do not colonize our lands, our thoughts and perception of everything is not only colonized by them but also ruled by their subtle messages covered in all kinds of alluring packages. We gradually are being left again for the worse.

Africa never marginalized the female gender. Certain practices may appear absurd today but they were agreed upon by all parties before they were carried out in the olden days. The men did not invent killing of twins. The community of old did. The men did not invent the ridiculous rites a widow must undergo after the death of her husband, the primitive society did, the men did not invent the laws that a woman should not own lands the primitive society did and that primitive society was made up of men, women and their children. Nobody should be blamed for anything. If ever we are going to develop in any way then our indigenous cultures should be modified to suit the current times. Nothing is more embarrassing than a people without a history. The Chinese did it and are currently the strongest economy in the world. They should be our role model.

Our culture is very rich and i agree that we have some very dark patches in it but we also have a lot of good aspects and funny, ridiculous components too. To neglect these good areas and focus the dark spots while blaming the men for where we are today will portray the current flock of women as weak and cowardly. That is not what the women of old were. They stood up for what they wanted worked for it and earned their respect. They knew what 'responsibility' meant. No sane man will dare to disrespect such a woman. Our grandmothers were not obnoxious, hateful, denigrating nor self-centred - the 'virtues' our women today embrace with dexterity (at least on the internet). Today, women have equal rights to education. Certain areas in Nigeria have the quota system in place to correct any cultural marginalization. Women are equipped to also contribute to Africa's development as they once did but unfortunately the most vocal ones would rather argue that women should smoke because a lot of men doing so or how women should go topless because the men can. Very absurd.

Our mothers were dedicated to their homes and prided themselves on the success of their family. They were respectful to their husbands and never hinged their loyalty on his earning power. Today all that is almost fantasy. If the women will only realise that that wife beater, that 419, that rapiist, that armed robber, that loafer, that cheat, that murderer was trained by both a woman and her man and that the currently terrible society we live in has as much input from the woman as the man can we can talk about moving forward. Till then we will still buy into the same unsuitable western ideologies damaging both the west and their homes; us and everything we stand for.


AFRICA NEEDS EDUCATION!

Africans today believe gender relations is a foreign subject though.
About the topics on women going top.less (even though I don't waste my time with such topics, since Africa today has bigger female issues to deal with), I could argue though that my tradition allows me to go top.less. However I find it absurd and hypocritical Western women are campaigning for such when years ago and even today they branded/brand my foremothers primitive for being top.less.

bellong:
This is the point where their parents can be blamed for raising weaklings and wind like beings. One of the reasons I advocate a strong and stable families in building a great and working society because families make up the society.

A home where the husband and wife understand their respective roles in bringing up their children as well as maintaining healthy family institution will churn out children that will not be rejects of the society or tormentors of anything progressive.
First step is, if you plan to marry, you should strive to marry a man with good head on his neck or else.....

Do you think respective roles may differ from home to home in today's world and may not be set in stone as it were in the past?

bellong:
I am interested in their agreement prior to the marriage. We can't crucify the husband if he already told her during courtship and she agreed to it.

It is why I will not blame the husband but the lady who agreed to marrying him and crying foul later.


Nevertheless, she can use her advanced studies in discovering or inventing how chores can further be simplified in the kitchen. Positives can always come from negativity...

You do have a point.
Lol @ the last statement.

bellong:
Should we rather not blame ladies who accept and believe these claims/notions? If I say you are ugly, will you believe me or thrash the statement?

Those with such notions are not as many or much compared to those who believe women should and must contribute to developing a working society.

I do o. However many women have been domesticated to believe such about themselves. You would agree with me that when people have been mentally enslaved for long they tend to believe what they shouldn't.

byvan:
I know one that is going for a PHD but has no intention of working because her husband won't have a working wife, some are in dire situation and really can't figure a way out.

Bellong this is what I'm talking about.

coogar:
don't cover the truth.
the umuadas are the ones behind this brideprice thingy. it's a festival for them. the men are very flexible with the list - the adas on the other hand are just bent on collecting white marks & spencer's undies from the groom.

Coogar what do you know about the Umuada?

bellong:
Who are those trying to use tradition to limit the progress of women? Can you list them so we all know how to tackle them..

People who make arguments that it is African tradition for a woman to be tied in the kitchen and be used for rearing purposes only and not as drivers of a working society. Many girls have imbibed this alien attitude today and rest on their oars.

bamidele029:
Where I come from it's already been scraped, the grooms family gives gifts and the brides family equally gives gifts back but no money is collected. The reason is we believe that daughters are not goods to be sold, I know of other towns in my tribe who do the same . Even when funding the wedding, both families contribute. I think the change came about because the women asked for it to be stopped , any little argument and the man will be talking about how he paid so and so for her no more of that, all anyone is interested it that you look after their child. I will follow the same part, I don't need your money just prove to me that you love my daughter

Igbo women I hope you are hearing.

moca:
@stilfire,

Who told u all ladies do now is look for a guy who don hammer to marry and become dependent on him?
Really?

U r a lady too remember.

Hehehe, well your brothers are always crying Nigerian women wanna kill them with their demands. I mean we get the reputation of being leeches.
And I don't use words like 'some Nigerian women', the effect is not sweet. Whether I insult myself in the process doesn't bother me. I can handle it.

chaircover:
I wouldnt blame the British entirely.
We have some of the blame too
The British dont have some of the mentality that we have
We need to go back to the drawing board and see where it all went wrong, pick up from there and start again.
Mindsets need to change first . . . .then actions come along.

About mindsets, I also think that foreign religions have a lot to do with this lost vibrancy in African women.

crackhaus:
The moment Nigerian women start taking responsibility for their own setbacks instead of heaping blames on men/tradition/government, the better for them.
The only thing that is limiting women who aim at soaring high in the political sphere, is other women.

My aim is not to heap blame but to show women that they are not limited by tradition to reach their full potentials.

chaircover:
You are absolutely rght. Its not just about being financially independent.
I can be financally independent but spend all my money on gold and clothes, yet my neighbour down the road could be abused by her husband everyday and I do nothing to help.
What I need to do as a woman is to be a role model to those around me and add value to those around me. I need to educate myself on a whole heap of different things, so I can be of help to myself and to someone when the need arises.
Our mothers and grandmothers were very hardworking, they stood together shoulder to shoulder and there was communitiy spirit. I still rememebr the stories my grandma used to tell me.
Its not really like that now and its everyman for himself and this is part of where the problem is coming from. its a me me me society that we live in now and the important things are put aside for less important things.

Being that the British has managed to kill these communal spirit we had in the past, how can we revive these structures?
The mentality today among Nigerian women is to hammer to get a rich husband and be dependent on him. I hope this thread would be an eyeopener to show tradition doesn't even allow such.

aisha2:
You don't even know the half of it
sadly the next generation continue the sad circle, they say my father or mother did it this way so I must do same with my child.

We have the most horrible sayings " whatever happens they are your parents, just humbly apologise " it doesn't matter if your own mother watched you rap- ed and does nothing because they wanted to keep it quiet, they will say your mother meant the best for you.
A parent will accuse the child of stealing or doing something wrong beat the kids like criminals and find their money still never apologise yet they will say they meant well.

Someone was accused of stealing by the father and step mom, they took the guy to the police station, ensured he was prosecuted and found not guilty because they found the money while he was in the cell, aas soon as he was released he left straight to his mothers place and spent the rest of his adult life there till he got a job and got his own place. His father never apolohised, in his arrogance he felt the son will definitely come and " beg" when he wants to get married.
Time for marriage came, the man explained his relationship to his father in law wedding went ahead without the father, the father has now turned victim crying to all who care that his son didn't inform him that he was getting married or carry him along. This is a man who left his son in jail for 3 months even after finding his money week 3 after locking the boy up, yet some idiot elders gathered themselves and came to talk to the man to go and beg his dad.

We suffer from selective amnesia.
It's what we get when we reward bad behaviour. People grow to become entitled.

bukatyne:
I will honestly say they are much

The foundation of good morals is important before building equality or inequality on it

Very true!

bukatyne:
I hope and pray it works

Ladies who equate equality to be loud, rude, brash or not changing pampers or cooking are really not helping matters.

As Kanwulia would say, those are ghetto feminists!

bellong:
This ship has sailed. Gone are those days when men insist their wives shouldn't be financially independent. The current economic situation in the country does not encourage the man to be the sole provider except for the stealing politicians and very few money bags.

Meanwhile, it is not being financially independent that should be the message you need preach to women but developing themselves. Adding values to the society, family and people around them, aside the heavenly assets most use to navigate their ways through deep waters.

I do preach the message of being financially independent, developing oneself and adding one own quota to the African society. These are not exclusive to each other to me. This thread is especially for those who try to use tradition to limit the progress of women.

bukatyne:
@OP:

Great Thread

As of today, I doubt there are many institutions where women are openly discriminated at in Nigeria ( I am excluding rural areas and customs here)

The major problem is mental; until the people believe men and women are equal, all institutions established to ensure there are equal opportunities is not going to attain the full potentials.

This mental barrier affects all segments especially in the home; we see men who would be great fathers, spur their daughters to the top but stunt the development of their wives

As more awareness is created and women prove themselves, it changes the traditional mindset and we can progress.

Very mental. A very damning mentality that is why you get a barrage of dependent girls in the society today asking for money for hair, icecream and a host of other demeaning crap. There is absolutely no excuse for the African woman to reduce herself to such nonsense. This thread is to break such mentality.

In the past women aired their grievances and they were listened to whether the men liked it or not. Recalcitrant men/husbands were brought to book. Don't let anyone use tradition and say you can't deal with stubborn, uncouth men in your society. Read on your history, and delve into the practices of your communities prior colonialism. A lot of crap used to subjugate you in the name of tradition today are in fact the mechanisms of the illiterate minds to our history.

http://www.popline.org/node/510467

Colonialism resulted in the loss of political position and power for Igbo women in Nigeria; the Victorian assumption, on the part of the British colonial administrators, that women were incapable of political leadership, resulted in the failure of the administrators to preceive the traditional role played by women in Igbo political life and eventually led to the British imposition of political institutions on the Igbo which provided political roles for men only. In the traditional culture there was a balance of power between men and women. Issues relevant to men were decided by concensus of all the men in the village. Women ran their affairs through the women's town meeting where they also arrived at decisions through consensus on such matters as trade, farming, and family relationships. If the women's decisions were not accepted by the men, the women took group action, such as publicly berating a man or beating on his house until he repented or by conducting a village-wide cooking strike if the men refused to clear the paths to the market. These forms of collective action were referred to as sitting on a man or "making war on the man" and were viewed as legitimate by the men in the community. When the British extended their control over Igbo, they viewed the diffuse authority patterns of the Igbo as a sign of anarchy and proceeded to divide up the region into districts and arbitrarily appoint natives, usually someone predisposed to the British position, as the warrant chief for the district. These chiefs were given complete authority and the traditional decision making power for both sexes was ignored. The women responded by holding a town meeting and deciding to "make war" on the repressive warrant chiefs. In towns throughout the region, the women congregated at the administrative centers, burned the buildings, and berated the new chiefs. The British responded in typically ethnocentric fashion; they failed to perceive the traditional system at work and quelled what they considered to simply be unruly mob behavior. Later reforms lead to the restoration of political pwer for Lgbo men but not for the women. Missionaries also contributed to the decline in political power for women. They viewed the women's town meeting as a pagan ritual and reserved job related education for Igbo men only. - See more at: http://www.popline.org/node/510467#sthash.Dl6rMpsP.dpuf

As a Nigerian woman, don't let anyone sell you the lie you should not be financially independent with the excuse of tradition.
A man who tells you this lie, is an enemy of progress and has a colonialist thinking.
Your foremothers were industrious, vibrant go-getters. Do not put your foremothers to shame by reducing your worth for the pittance you get from men.

THE POST-COLONIAL PERIOD

During this period, Nigerian women began to play very active roles in various aspects of the nation's development, and assumed a more critical role in traditional agriculture. Particularly as a result of the largescale exodus of abiebodied men to wage labour; Nigerian women took over an increas ing portion of the burden of food production, con tributing between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of Nigeria's food requirements.

While the situation in the public sector remained unsatisfactory, it was markedly different from what had obtained during the precolonia! and colonial times. Five years after independence, only 6.9 per cent of the salaried workforce were women; by 1970, 8.7 per cent of the total number of established staff in the Federal Civil Service were women. In 1980, the percentage of women had risen to 12.6 per cent. Similar pat terns were maintained in State Civil Services.

In 1979, women constituted 4,9 per cent of agri cultural manpower in Nigeria, 1.4 per cent of arti sans and craftsmen, and 1.6 per cent of the profes sional/subprofesstona! group. It was only in the medical sector that women constituted 84.3 per cent of dieticians and 80.2 per cent of nurses.

The position of women in education in post colonial Nigeria has not improved much. According to the Population Reference Bureau, in1981, only 6 per cent of adult Nigerian women were literate. By 1979, 72.9 per cent of urban girls and 80.08 per cent of rural girls were not attending school.

Universrty admission figures also reflect a low per centage of female entries in the new era. Successive postcolonial governments have encouraged female education and expanded edu cational facilities for g iris. In spite of these efforts, however, the impact on women is still low. Some of the factors that militate against women's education in the country include the perception that women needed to be educated only to be good housewives and the high dropout rate amongst women.

The economic recession since the mid1980s is also affecting women's education in Nigeria. As a result of increasing cost of education, most parents, especially in the rural areas, prefer withdrawing girls from school, instead of boys. To stem this tide, some State governments have passed edicts grant ing free education to girls up to certain levels, in other states, women with children are allowed to attend school and it is considered an offence to withdraw a female child from school before a stipu lated age. Early marriages by giris are frowned upon by many States and women's organisations. A Women's Education unit was established at the Federal Ministry of Education to encourage women education. Subsequently, all State Ministries of Education did same.

The legal system inherited from the colonial era placed many obstacles on the way of women's self advancement and participation in national develop ment. For instance, manied women had to obtain their husband's written permission to obtain inter national passports. Until very recently, women were not allowed to stand bail for a suspect. The statutory provisions still do not favour women in many respects, including divorce and inheritance.

The role of women in Nigeria's post1960 poli tics has not been reflected sufficiently, in terms of appointments to policymaking posts. In spite of massive support given to various political parties by women, women organisations, market women movements etc., until recently, very few women benefited from political patronage.

In Southern Nigeria, women already had the franchise by 1960; thus in 1960, Mrs. Wuraola Esan from Western Nigeria became the first female member of the Federal Parliament. In 1961, Chief (Mrs) Margaret Ekpo contested elections in Aba Urban North con stituency under the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) platform and won, becoming a member of the Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly until 1966; Mrs. Janet N. Mokelu and Miss Ekpo A. Young also contested elections, won and became members of the Eastern House of Assembly.

In northern Nigeria, however, women were still denied the franchise even after independence. As a result, prominent female politicians like Hajia Qambo Sawaba in the North could not vote and be voted for. It was only in 1979 that women in north ern Nigeria were given the franchise, following the return to civilian politics.

During the Second Republic (19791983), there was further progress. A few Nigerian women won elections into the House of Representatives at the national level. Some of these women were Mrs. J. C. Eze of the Nigerian People's Party (NPP) who represented UzoUwani constituency in former Anambra State, Mrs V.O. Nnaji, also of NPP who represented lsu and Mrs Abiola Babatope of the Unity Party of Nigeria (LJPN) who represented Mushin Central II of Lagos State. But, on the whole, very few women won elections into the State Houses of Assembly during the Second Republic.

During the same period, only two women were appointed Federal ministers. They were Chief (Mrs) Janet Akinrinade who was Minister for Internal Affairs and Mrs Adenike Ebun Oyagbola, Minister for National Planning. Mrs Francesca Yetunde Emmanuel was the only female Permanent Secretary (first in the Federal Ministry of Establishment and later Federal Ministry of Health).

A number of women were appointed Commis sioners in the states. In 1983, Ms FrancaAfegbua became the only woman to be elected into the Senate. Also, very few women contested and won elections into the Local Government Councils dur ing this time.

With the return of military rule in December 1983, the first formal quota system was introduced by the Federal Government as regards the appoint ment of women into governance. The Buhari administration directed that at least one female must be appointed a member of the Executive Council in every state. All the states complied with this directive; some states even had two or three female members.

In the early 1990s, two women were appointed Deputy Governors. These were Alhaja Latifat Okunu of Lagos Slate and Mrs Pamela Sadauki of Kaduna State. Chief (Mrs) D.B.A. KLiforijiOlubi served as Chairperson of a bank, i.e. the United Bank for Africa PLC. Later on, Dr Simi Johnson and Eniola Fadayomi served as Chairpersons of Afribank International Nigeria and Allied Bank Nigeria PLC, respectively. There was, however, no female minister. There was also, no female member of the defunct Supreme Military Council or the later Armed Forces Ruling Council.

In the 1990 elections into local governments heralding the Third Republic, very few women emerged as councillors and only one woman, Chief (Mrs) Titilayo Ajanaku, emerged as Chairperson of a Local Government Council in the West. During the gubernatorial elections, no female governor emerged in any of the states. Only two female Deputy Governors emerged, namely: Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu of Lagos State and Mrs. Cecilia Ekpenyong of Cross River State. In the Senatorial election held in 1992, Mrs. Kofo Bucknor Akerele was the only woman who won a seat in the Senate. Very few women won election into the House of representa tives. One of these few was Chief (Mrs) Florence ItaGiwa who won in the Calabar Constituency under the banner of the National Republican Convention (NRC). Amongst the members of the Transitional Council appointed by President Babangida in January 1993, only two were women, namely Mrs. Emily Aiklmhokuede and Mrs. Laraba Dagash.

In the Interim National Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan, two female ministers were appointed into the Cabinet. General Abacha had a number of female Ministers at various times in his cabinet, including Chief (Mrs) Onikepo Akande and Ambassador Judith Attah.

During the military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar (June 9, 1998 May 29, 1999), there were two women in the Federal Executive Council: Chief (Mrs) Onikepo Akande (Minister for Commerce) and Dr. 1araba Gambo Abdullahi (Minister of Women Affairs).

In the Fourth Republic which started on May 29, 1999, the Nigerian political terrain has witnessed an increase in the number of women political appointees, even though women did not perfonn well at the elections. In the elections held before May 29, 1999, few women emerged as Chairpersons of local government councils. A num ber of women won elections as Councillors. There is no female Governor in any State of the Federation. Only Lagos State produced a female Deputy Governor in the person of Senator Bucknor Akerele.

In the National Assembly, there are only three women in the Senate, namely: Chief (Mrs) Florence Ita Giwa representing Cross River State South Senatorial District; Mrs Stella Omu from Delta State and Hajiya Khairat Abdul-Razaq (now Hajiya Gwadabe) representing the Federal Capital Territory. There are only 12 women In the House of Representatives and these are: Barrister lquo Minimah, Mrs. Patience Ogodo, Lola Abiola Edewor, Patricia 0. Etteh, Dorcas Odujinrin, J.F. Adeyemi, Binta Garba Koji,Gbenni Saraki, Florence Aya, Linda ikpeazu, Temi Harrinnan and Mercy Almona lsei.

In the State Houses of Assembly very few women emerged as members. While in some States, one or two women emerged in the Houses, most other states have virtually no females in their legislatures. States like Cross River, Akwa I born State, Rivers, Lagos and many others do not have female members in their State Legislatures.

Women have been appointed as Commissioners and therefore members of the Executive Councils in all the states, but while some states have one female, others have two females in the Executive Councils. President Olusegun Obasanjo has appointed a number of women into the Federal Executive Council. They are Dr. (Mrs) Kema Chikwe (Minister of Transport), Mrs. DupeAdelaja (Minister of State Defence), Dr. (Mrs) Bekky Ketebuigwe (Minister of State, Ministry of Solid Minerals), Dr. (Mrs) Amina Ndalolo (Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Health), Mrs. Pauline Tallen (Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology), and Hajia Aishatu Ismaila (Minister of Women Affairs). Chief (Mrs) Titilayo Ajanaku is the Special Adviser to the President on Women Affairs.

From the foregoing, it is evident that only very few Nigerian women have participated and emerged in Nigeria's political landscape, in spite of the pioneering efforts of women like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Margaret Ekpo since the 1950s. Today, the number of women in top jobs is still near ly insignificant.



Read more: http://www.onlinenigeria.com/Nigerianwoman/?blurb=150#ixzz3NNHNuDbj

It is very anti-african to limit the independence of women.

http://www.onlinenigeria.com/Nigerianwoman/?blurb=150

By S. A. Effah Attoe

INTRODUCTION

Related Links: Female Personalities

Literature on Nigeria's national development is relatively silent on the contributions of women. However, 1975 (the International Women's Year), was a period of ferment in ideas about the status of women (Ogunsheye, 1988).

In Nigeria, awareness about the role of women in development gained momentum in the later half of the "1980s (Omu & Makinwa, 1987). Awareness was further enhanced in 1995 as a result of the effective participation of Nigerian women in the International Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

In spite of these efforts, it is appropriate to state that the role of Nigerian women in development has not been sufficiently emphasised. In highlighting the Nigerian experience, three periods namely, the precolonial, colonial and postcolonial, will be briefly looked at.

PRECOLONIAL PERIOD

During the precolonial era, Nigerian women contributed to the sustenance of the kin groups. Precolonial Nigerian economy was basically at a subsistence level, and Nigerian women participated effectively in this economy. Apart from being mothers and wives and taking charge of the domestic sector, women contributed substantially to the pro duction and distribution of goods and services.

In the agricultural sector, the women farmed alongside their husbands and children. In south eastern Nigeria, women also took part in the pro duction of palm oil and palmkernel. They also participated in local and long distance trade in different parts of Nigeria and were fully involved in the procurement and sale of various food items and related commodities.

Women in pre-colonial Nigeria were fully involved in food processing, for example, fish drying (especially in the coastal areas of Calabar, Oron and the Niger Delta area), garri processing et cetera. In eastern Nigeria, the women of Okposi, Uburu and Yala were very active in salt production.

Women were engaged in potterymaking, especially in Afikpo in present day Abia State, and in weaving. In northern Nigeria, even the women in purdah were involved in food processing and also traded with the aid of their children. Most often, these women supplied the means of sustenance for entire households.

Precolonial Nigerian women also provided health care and spiritual services, extensively. Most traditional religions feature immortal females as goddesses. Most goddesses in Nigeria were portrayed as river goddesses, fertility goddesses and earth goddesses. In the Niger Delta area, women provided music, songs and dances required during religious activities. Women also officiated as priest esses, diviners, healers, traditional birth attendants, and oftentimes as custodians of sanctuaries for gods and goddesses.

The legal status of Nigerian women in precolonial times needs highlighting. Under the precolonial customary laws in most Nigerian societies, women were considered free adults. At the same time, certain limitations were imposed which subordinated them to male authority. Women had inde pendent access to income. Since land was usually owned communally, whoever worked or tilled the land, whether male or female, derived the benefits. Nevertheless, women in many societies could not inherit land.

Education in precolonial times was functional. It enabled women to obtain a skill in order to earn a living. Ogunsheye observes that "a woman who was without a craft or trade, or who was totally dependent on her husband, was not only rare, but was regarded with contempt" (Aliyu, 1992), As regards politics, women in precolonial Nigeria were an integral part of the political set up of their communities. Most often, they carried out separate functions from the men. These functions were fully complementary.

In precolonial Bomu, for instance, women played active parts in the administration of the state. They held very impor tant offices in the royal family, including the offices of the Megira (the Queen mother) and the Gumsu (the first wife of the Mai or King) (Ola, 1978).

Women also played a very significant role in the political history of ancient Zaria. The modern city of Zaria was founded in the first half of the 16th cen tur/, by a woman called Queen Bakwa Turuku. She had a daughter called Amina who later succeeded her as Queen. Queen Amina was a great and pow erful warrior. She built a high wall around Zaria in order to protect the city from invasion and extended the boundaries of her territory beyond Bauchi. The people of Kano and Katsina paid tributes to her. She turned Zaria into a very prominent commercial centre

The story was not different in ancient Yorubaland. The Oba ruled with the assistance of a number of women refereed to as the ladies of the palace. The ladies of the palace consisted of eight titled ladies of the highest rank.

The significant role played by prominent women such as Moremi of lfe, Emotan of Benin and Omu Okwel of Ossomari in the precolonial history of Nigeria cannot be ignored. Moremi and Emotan were great amazons who displayed tremendous bravery and strength in the politics of lfe and Benin respectively, while Omu Okwei dominated the com mercial scene of Ossomari in present day Delta State (Omu and Makinwa, "1976).

THE COLONIAL PERIOD

The colonial economy was an export oriented one and it seriously undermined the prestige of the traditional occupations of Nigerian women. While it placed women at a great disadvantage, it enhanced the economic status of the British, Lebanese, Syrian and a few male Nigerian merchants.

Many of the smaller markets hitherto dominated by women gradually disintegrated as a result of the emergence of expatriate firms such as John Holt, United African Company (U AC.), Lever Brothers et cetera. Women were denied access to medium and large scale loans which were vital in operating at the bulk purchase level of the colonial economy. In agriculture, cash crop incentives, technology and innovations were restricted to men (Curtin, 1964). Colonial policies and statutes were clearly sexist and biased against women.

During the colonial period, education was functional. The curricula emphasised religious instruc tion and clerica! skills for boys and domestic sci ence for girls. Technological and scientific based education was not encouraged. The curricula for girls enabled them to become good housewives, rather than income earners.

As regards politics, colonialism affected Nigerian women adversely as they were denied the franchise and very few of them were offered any political or administrative appointments. For instance, it was only during the 1950s that three women were appointed into the House of Chiefs, namely Chief (Mrs) Olufunmilayo RansomeKuti (appointed into the Western Nigeria House of Chiefs); Chiefs (Mrs) Margaret Ekpo and Janet Mokelu (both appointed into the Eastern Nigeria House Of Chiefs). It was also only in the 1950s that women in Southern Nigeria were given the fran chise. The women's wings of political parties pos sessed very little functional relevance

http://www.onlinenigeria.com/Nigerianwoman/?blurb=150#ixzz3NNEa1zBC

dicefrost:
Perhaps ur approach was wrong

You wish. Nigerian adults don't like being questioned whether respectfully or disrespectfully. It's an affront to their egos.
Unfortunately we can't change old people, they are set in their ways for life. We just have to teach the next generation there is nothing wrong in a younger person asking you questions.

LordReed:
True most likely the fellow felt upstaged by a younger person bringing superior thought to bear.

Lol.

pickabeau1:
Lol....u just saw that comment?


I was surprised by your stance on life..is all

I just saw it o.
Surprised at my stance on life? Wow I must come across some meanie I guess.

aisha2:
I have been asking this question yet no answers apart from " its culture " female genital mutilation is also culture, harmful widowhood practice is also culture.

My people don't give any list, they will say marriage is a life time so you dont request for things. Infact some tried to borrow the list culture and a meeting was called where people who give lists are fined and punished.
In the end a few kobos is given and returned. Some one tried to start raising issues but my father said no way.

I don't understand the need to pay anything for a mutually beneficial marriage
He enjoys it, I enjoy it, he was trained I was trained so why does he have to pay?

I can't think of any plausible, logical excuse why this practice should continue for someone that believes in equal rights like myself. Women who don't believe in such equality can continue the practice though. I hold no beef with them.

pickabeau1:
Wow...I'm surprised.....

Its really shocking.. A world where a baby whale or salmon fishing ground has more rights or relevance than a foetus who is deemed a nonperson

Surprised over what Pickabeau?

Brideprice should be banned. It serves no purpose in today's society. Women are at a detriment with this practice.

Anybody can use their financial dominance to control you. Men do it, women do it. Those are humans for you, to bastardize any small power they have. In Nigeria a financially sustainable man is god unto himself and the women accept it humbly. Men should learn from these docile women and accept their new position humbly. If you cannot, go and get a job. It's as simple as that.

Someone once told me of a Nigerian man that moved to the US and didn't have a job, but the wife was working. When the wife complained that he wasn't doing any house chores, he said he could not bring himself to do it, but he gave his wife a promise that if after two years he is still financially incapable, he would have no choice than to do the house chores and she can hurl whatever tasks at him.

I like this story because this is a practical man with an agenda. I'm very practical and I like to have a sense of direction. I can certainly work with this kind of husband. He set a timeline instead of some wishful miracle to happen then before you know it 10yrs has passed and we would be asking which way Nigeria.