User:Awilliams4746/sandbox

Pre-colonialism in Igboland
The Igbo political system was built on collectivism. They did not distribute power by force amongst one another. In the Igbo community, they did not believe in authority or power being specialized within their political institution. Because of their scattered community, it was easier for them to work as a union on political matters they faced within the village. Igbo tradition was to have village assemblies where they would discuss concerns and mutually agree on decisions for solutions. Factors that played into choosing leaders within their political system were candidates who lived in good faith, generous, and intellectual speakers (persuasive and influential speech). Men and women were both able to be leaders, however, women were at a disadvantage to men because of their patrilineage. Women could achieve status through her own accomplishments even though men were able to gain resources easily. Also, they were able to advance in their rankings amongst other women, whereas men instantly developed status from birth. Even though it was rare for most women to obtain prestige, there was no official limitation of power on women.

Effects
During Precolonial times Igbo women held significant social and political standings while still second to men, this allowed them to engage and influence the politics of their village in some shape or form. During colonization however, the idea of excluding women from political settings and activities, despite resistance, grew among the Igbo people.The missionaries who had come to the region had begun to change the role of women in the Igbo society as their purpose was to train the women to be good Christian Wives and Mothers first and foremost. These Christian values also prohibited the use of Pagan rituals which included the Mikiri, taking away the one way in which Igbo women would traditionally engage in Politics and created a form of invisibility that denied them any way to air their grievances. Politics were seen as Men's realm and any women who could engage was seen as having the "brain of a man" which was very rare. Schooling became a huge part of Igbo life as well but young girls were often not sent and those that did go were often not given the same education as their male counterparts. The missionaries were not against women in politics as many supported women's suffrage, but in Africa the church was the biggest priority was creating Christian Families which required women to be mothers and wives and not politicians. By altering the social institutions it negatively affected women's rights and status in society by de-legitimizing their means of influence. The criminalization of the tactic Mikiri was not necessarily deliberate, as colonists were naïve of the functions and implications of the practice as they were socialized with a Victorian ideology which had no place for women to engage in politics. Unfortunately, by disturbing women's means of balancing power, colonialism detrimentally effected Igbo gender relations and societal structures. Women no longer had the ability to affect the way that trade was preformed or even defend themselves against any form of abuse enacted from the men of their villages. This left many Igbo women in a vulnerable state of subservience and created a society where their traditional roles came undone.

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