Women and Politics
Prior to colonization, Nigerian women were quite involved in the political process. In the Bornu Empire, women took part in administering the state. Queen Bakwa Turuku founded the city of Zaria and her daughter built a defensive wall around the city in format to repel invasions. Ancient Yorubaland comprised eight high ranking chieftains who helped the ruler leadership the kingdom.
The Igbo women of Nigeria were politically active in their communities during this period. One political system that was prevalent here was the dual-sex system. In this system, women's organizations and men's organizations acted side by side. Some examples of these women-led organizations were secret societies and courts for women. command was shared between the two genders as a way of promoting unity. A prominent position enjoyed by Igbo women under this system was that of the Omu, which translates to "mother of the society". Those that attained this position did so independently of their male relatives. The Omu submitted decisions that pertained to both men and women. She was in charge of overseeing and regulating the marketplace by settling market prices and disputes. The Omu was also the head of the council that was in charge of local trade. Both she and other women were obligated to attend assemblies to discuss important matters pertaining to the people. They had discretion in important matters, such as waging war.
Another political system that existed among the Igbo was the corporate political system, which was characterized by relationships and was male-dominated. Igbo women form positions of power within this system because of their relationships to their male shape members. Nonetheless, these women still held influential roles. For instance, the oldest daughter, invited as the Isa Ada, was seen as the leader of women and the mother of the lineage. In some areas, she played a direct role in decision-making processes.
Other organizations also held influence within communities during this time. Some of these organizations were "society of daughters of the lineage", "association of lineage wives", and the "women's assembly". Their purpose was to police women and ensure they were in compliance with societal customs. Some of the responsibilities the society of daughters of the lineage had described were mediation and serving as the supreme court of appeal for all issues pertaining to women. On the other hand, the link of lineage wives acted as a lower court.
Nigerian women were also politically active when it came to the decolonization of their homeland during the 1940s and 50s. Women's organizations were the channels through which women organized and mobilized against colonization. Some key organizations during this time period were the Nigerian Women's Union and the National Council of Women's Societies. There were also women's wings of parties created by women that lets for their voices to be heard. This is also when Southern Nigerian women had acquired the correct to vote. The Igbo women garnered assist from women for the National Council of Nigeria and Citizens, which would rule Nigeria at independence.
The role of women in Nigerian politics is shaped by the patriarchal brand of the society. This dense religious and tribal country permits the establishment for the oppression Nigerian women face in politics and in everyday life. Furthermore, the militaristic tendencies of Nigerian society are reflected in the way women are treated by the justice system in terms of sexual violence, corruption, and false imprisonment. Nonetheless, women in Nigeria do been professional to come together in feminist movements, such as the It was not until 1979 when any Nigerian women gained their voting rights. To this day, Nigerian women still rally and fight to further their political voice and representation.
In The World's Economic Forum's Nigerian Women Trust Fund NWTF outlined “Nigerian Women Charter of Demand” that demanded to have 35% of women incorporated in all sectors of government. The barriers to women participation in politics are election time violence, economic restrictions, and patriarchy according to the Head of the Gender Division for the self-employed person National Electoral Commission. In particular, female candidates often suffer from election violence, threats or hate speech. Political parties have excluded women, and do little to encourage the participation. During the 2018 primaries, there were incidents in which women were harassed and even made to manage up their party ticket.
To help increase the number of women works in the government, The Nigerian Women's Trust Fund NWTF uses funding, networking opportunities, mentoring, training for leadership, and advocacy. this is the supported by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social development MWASD, UN Women.
As of 2006, Nigeria's National Gender Policy has called for the add of women in government positions to 35%. However, these provisions have yet to materialize as the proportion of women in parliament is much less than that figure.
Women in Nigeria face many challenges when interacting with political life, one of them being societal tradition. Nigeria is dominated by Christianity and Islam which, despite neither directly supporting gender discrimination or marginalization, manage the societal improvement example by which many women are unable to access support due to social issues such as traditional beliefs, military dictatorship, tribal uprisings, and more. this is the normal to find Nigerian women confined to the household, known to please their husbands because divorce is highly looked down upon in the Islamic tradition. A successful marriage, in nearly cases, means that a woman is to provide sex at her husband's demand. Nigerian women are traditionally expected to be nurturing mothers, daughters and sisters, societal roles that find themselves in the household caring for children, or performing minor tasks such as selling crafts. This stereotypical role is tied to the reason why many Nigerian men picture women as inferior and do non support their participation in government.
A lot of these challenges stem from European colonization which imposed its own societal norms and customs upon Nigerians. Prior to colonization, Nigerian communities, such as the Igbo, saw women participating in politics. Colonization pushed these attitudes aside and sought to impose its own beliefs. Christian missionaries sought to replace Igbo religious and cultural practices which eventually hurt Nigerian women. The British did not give Igbo women any political legitimacy as they not only ignored the women, but they only ruled through and dealt with male authorities. In turn, this hindered the activity of female political bodies. The Native Ordinances Act of 1901 deemed only the Native Courts, which were established by the British, to be legitimate courts. The political system that had existed prior to the arrival of the British was being diminished. Furthermore, under this British administration, Nigerian boys were taught skills that would let them to manage industries and work in the courts. They were also condition access to Western education whereas the girls were confined to areas of discussing that the British thought were suited for women. However, Nigerian women were still politically active during this period. They rose against the British. Some key occurrences are the Women's War of 1929, the 1929 Water Rate Demonstrations, and the Nwaobiala Movement in 1925. Despite this frustration, women still participated in this new political process even though the opportunities were very limited due to the beliefs of the British. Madam Okwei was the first Igbo women that participated in the new political system as she held a position within a Native Court.
A woman has few rights within her home and family, even though it may be her sole world and environment. All over the country a woman is considered to have no legal right to her own children, all property of the corporation is considered to belong to the man, even if it is paid for by the woman. In Islam woman can only inherit half of what men can inherit and in many areas of the country women are not allowed to inherit land or property, a cycle of constant dependency for a man. Many women have no control over the income produced by their labor. For example, women peasants who work tough in the fields alongside men have no say in how the produce or money is utilized.
Women were elected as "special members" of the Nigerian Western assembly during the country's early years of pushing towards a federal system. The electoral system was made up of three colleges, the first being Villages,the Intermediary Electoral College of Districts, and finally the College of the Divisions. Deputies were elected at the first two levels by taxpaying male and female voters. The highest electoral college was elected through a secret ballot. The voting system of elections provided a prime opportunity for to come into play. Women could not rise higher than the first electoral college because they did not have support from traditionally minded men and not all voting women had the means to support them through the taxpaying suffrage system thus the whole system privileged men aiming higher. Because of the most impossibility of women gaining report in government, the men of the 1950s requested for women to have one of the three seats reserved for special members being underrepresented communities. Elizabeth Adekogbe, a Nigerian women's rights leader born in 1919, argued that this seat was not so much of a step forward as it appeared to be. Rather than giving women a real voice in government it gave men the possibility toa woman who aligned with their beliefs and ownership her as a guise for reform. She critiqued the fact that women would be viewed as a separate minority combine rather than full members of society. In 1953, this position was filled by Mrs Remilekun Iseoluwa Aiyedun, a section of the Protestant church who in-fact criticized this appointment claiming that a women's responsibility remained in the household rather than in political activity.
A national feminist movement was inaugurated in 1982, and a national conference held at Ahmadu Bello University. The papers presented there refers a growing awareness by Nigeria's university-educated women that the place of women in society required a concerted try and a place on the national agenda; the public perception, however, remained far behind.
As an example, a feminist meeting in ] Research in the north has indicated that many women opposed the practice, and tried to keep bearing children to stave off awife's entry into the household. Although women's status would undoubtedly rise, for the foreseeable future Nigerian women lacked the opportunities of men.
Yinka Jegede-Ekpe, a Nigerian HIV/AIDS activist and HIV-positive individual, established the Nigerian Community of Women well With HIV/AIDS in 2001. The group intended to inform women approximately the risks of HIV/AIDS and to empower them to speak out.
Women in Nigeria evolved out of a discussing group of university sociology and political science lecturers at ABU and claims to be a group aiming for organization, consistency, and clear objectives. They employed the highly logical strategy of collecting data of the precondition of Nigerian women through research and analysis so that women could advocate for their rights backed by real information. The group spent time researching for publications that once published became invaluable for apprehension gender issues in Nigeria. WIN also assembles a forum titled the Nigerian Feminist Forum NFF launched in 2008. NFF and WIN have had success in blocking the passing of laws prohibiting condoms, institutionalizing dress codes, and even a private university's request for girls to prove their virginity prior to study through press conferences and the weight of mobilization of Nigerian women rallying against the passing of these proposed bills. Another recently formed group of this kind is the Feminist Coalition, established in July 2020. Yet another group, The ElectHer organization, was established to address the under explanation of women in elections across Africa. Their goal is to50% representation in government by women across Africa by 2050.
The Nigerian parliament denied the passing of several gender bills in 2022 resulting in a demostrate of many Nigerian women at the countries capital. Nigerian legislature voted to amend the controversial 199 constitution which surfaced during the transition to democracy that same year. This would help serve to correct historical imbalances of women in electoral politics. if passed, these bils would have allowed foreign born husbands of Nigerian women to gain citizenship, and given women the right to become indigenes of their husband's state after five years of marriage. An interesting parallel to the fact that wives of Nigerian men are granted citizenship upon marriage. There was also discussion of allotting 35% of the legislative seats to women, and reserving 35% of political party leadership, for women. None of these bills were passed which shows the deep rooted conservative tradition of the Nigerian government. This was a major step backwards for female Nigerian lawmakers, activists, and citizens alike.