User:DrGooner14/Women in Nigeria

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The social role of women in Nigeria varies according to religious, cultural and geographic factors. However, many Nigerian cultures see women solely as mothers, sisters, daughters and wives. For instance, women in Northern Nigeria are more likely to be secluded in the home, than women in Southern Nigeria, who tend to participate more in public life. Modern challenges for the women of Nigeria include child marriage and female genital mutilation.

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Nigeria’s underdevelopment for the status of Nigerian women, through a long history of colonial exploitation and oppression, has brought about a distortion of Nigeria's economic, educational, religious, cultural, social, ideological and social orientations. Pg 5.

Causes of Prostitution

 * 1) Abject poverty
 * 2) Poverty is a major cause of prostitution in Nigeria. Women such as widows, divorcees, single mothers and orphans who are not gainfully employed may go into prostitution as a means of livelihood for themselves and their children


 * 1) Influence of Rich Nigerian Men
 * 2) The story of illicit trade in prostitution cannot be complete without the mention of affluent Nigerian men that patronize the prostitutes, therby encouraging them and making the illicit trade flourish in the country. “To support this claim, whenever our senior government officials and other business moguls come to big towns on “official business, they usually have time to “relax” with young girls brought to them by pimps and the likes. At the end of the romp, they settle them with hefty sums of money they have equally embezzled in their various offices
 * 3) Bad Government and Poor Economy
 * 4) The army that was trained to protect lives and property found themselves in political offices, inherited a very robust economy but because of greed and ineptitude, they turned the nation's economy into something of a dud, Consequently, forcing woman into prostitution in order to survive the harsh economic situation the country is in. Added to the above, governments ineptitude towards educational matters, as it concerns scholarships, educational awards for poor students is another major cause forcing indigent students or other ladies in prostitution in Nigeria.
 * 5) Globalization (pg 28)
 * 6) Globalization also enables more rapid movement of people across national and international boundaries, thereby encouraging sex tourism and trafficking for prostitution, particularly among teenagers of between 13-17 years of age.
 * 7) Religious Institutions
 * 8) These social institutions have failed in their role at discouraging the mad rush into illicit trade of prostitution. Parents and guardians were always eager to send their children to such religious schools, knowing the kind of impact it will have on the life of the growing child. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case today. The religious institutions are after fundraising for one thing or the other and glorifying highest donors, leaving morality and character molding to whoever cares to do that.

Factors promotion gender inequality in educational system
Despite the relevance of equal educational opportunity in a developing country in Nigeria, Tahir (1991) maintained that: although women constitute about 55% of the Nigerian population, their level of participation in educational programmes of the nation is not proportionate to  their number.”


 * 1) Early Marriage - Median Age of marriage is 18 while men is 27, so when girls are married at the ages of 10-14 years, their educational careers are disrupted, especially if there is no provision for a second chance of a learning opportunity pg 218
 * 2) Girls hawking practices- A common practice in Northern Nigeria and indeed in all traditional and urban settlements, to find girl-child hawking wares throughout the day. It is an economic practice carried out mainly at the instance of parents and guardians. The reason for this is to generate additional income for families. While this goes one, and when it is mainly restricted to the girl-child, a situation is created in which such girls miss the opportunity of a formal education, since education like economic activities is time specific. It is for this reason that this practice is considered to be discriminatory against girl children.
 * 3) Poor parental support for girls- This has to do with when parents are faced with the choice of sending a girl or boy to school. Most cases, boys will be preferred to girls. Apart from this, some parents are always apprehensive towards formal education for the girl-child. To such parents, formal education is capable of instilling strange attitudes, values, norms, and beliefs that could make the girl non-compliant in here characteristic disposition in society
 * 4) Poverty- Inability to pay their school fees, buy uniforms, textbooks and notebooks which are all extremely financially demanding is another salient factor preventing parents from sending their girls to school.

Probable remedies for gender inequality in the educational system

 * 1) Establishment of girl schools- governments especially in Northern Nigeria should establish more primary and secondary schools that are meant for the education of girls alone. The current step by the Jorno, Jigawa, and Sokoto State governments in an effort to educate the almajiris is a step in the right direction which if extended to the education of women by other northern states governors will algo along way in maximizing the rate of inequality experienced by girl-child education.
 * 2) Intervention of religious institutions pg222- Religious organizations should also establish both primary and secondary schools where girls should be given functional education. The efforts of Jama-atul Nasril Islam, Ansarudeen Society of Nigeria, Ahmadiya Muslim Movement and NASFAT are commendable and complimentary of earlier efforts of the Christian Missions such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, and recent the Pentecostal Churches.
 * 3) Equal Opportunity- Young women should be encouraged through job creation efforts by the government and other corporate organizations, so that after schooling they will be gainfully employed. All constitutional constraints to women’s development should be removed. This calls for a review of the present 1999 constitution, which does not meet allthe needs and aspirations of the womenfolk. In reviewing the constitution, the political, economic, and socio-cultural freedom of all citizens should be entrenched.
 * 4) Enforcement of law pg 223- The Federal Government should enact and enforce a law that girls should receive at least secondary education or its equivalent and that no girl should be married before the age of 18 years. Though the Universal Basic Education Act has taken cognizance of this but its implementation is ineffective.
 * 5) Diversification of the Curriculum pg222- The present school must be diversified to meet the needs of all, in particular the interest and aspirations of women educationally. This is because some programmes have been stereotyped to be for females while others are for males. For example, Home Economics, Secretarial Studies, Nursing and Teaching at the elementary level are regarded as professions for women and any man found in those professions are looked down upon. Courses such as Engineering, Architecture, and Building are regarded as no-go areas for women. For this reason, the curriculum should be gender friendly for both sexes.

Family Rights and Inheritance pg 13
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 house 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 hard in the fields alongside men have no say in how the produce or money is utilized.

Challenges of women in administrative positions

 * 1) Political Inequality- Political inequality is still obscure in Nigeria. As men have control over assets and have relatively better education in many parts of the country, they have a dominant position in terms of political power. Traditionally, politics in Nigeria is seen as a male domain. Since all financial, economic, commercial, and political negotiations conducted outside the homes are by males, Nigerian women therefore, have very limited access to decision making process and also have a severe lack of access to and control over financial resources.
 * 2) Gender Discrimination- The exclusions and deprivations faced by women in cultural and traditional settings often deprive them access to information, education, and wealth creating assets, such as land, capital, labour and entrepreneurial skills. These restrictions created by socio-cultural practices can be blamed for the poor participation of women in administrative positions in Nigeria.
 * 3) Women as compromisers- Women tend to believe that holding political offices is the exclusive rights of the male folk. They look down on themselves and do not believe they have the potential for leadership
 * 4) Rivalry among women- Nigerian society seems to encourage women to compete with one another in a subtle way. Unhealthy rivalry among women usually leads to “pull -her -down” syndrome associated with envy and jealousy, thus preventing the spirit of team play and support for one another in periods of need.
 * 5) Religious beliefs- Different religions in Nigeria have different views as regards the position of women in worldly affairs. Many religious leaders still believe that women should only be seen and not heard, more particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria. The difference in beliefs adversely affect the way women are treated and the opportunity given to them.

Women's Health
Nigerian women and girls are disproportionately affected by Nigeria's ineffective healthcare system. One reason for this is the prevalence of patriarchal norms that give men jurisdiction over women's medical decisions. This is exacerbated by poverty, lack of education, and the resources required in order to visit medical facilities. The issue of transport is a serious one as it hinders women from accessing healthcare services. The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2018 reveals that nearly 52% of Nigerian women experience at least one issue when trying seek healthcare services, with financial insecurity being the biggest hindrance.

Reproductive Health
Reproductive health is an important matter concerning the health of women in Nigeria. Nigerian laws only allow for abortions in cases where pregnancy poses a threat to the mother's life. Nonetheless, an estimated 1.8 to 2.7 million women terminate their pregnancies each year. This is because many women resort to receiving abortions in illegal and unsafe conditions which usually result in diseases and even death. Approximately 25% of the Nigerian women who terminate their pregnancies find themselves with severe health problems. Existing research further supposes that up to 6,000 Nigerian women die from induced abortions each year. Additionally, Nigeria has the highest rate of maternal mortality out of all African nations and the fourth highest globally, with 576 mothers dying per 100,000 births.

While customs and norms regarding women's health do vary when it comes to the northern and southern regions of Nigeria, one similarity that can be found is that girls and women are given less food relative to their male counterparts, they are expected to perform more labor domestically than their male counterparts, and their movement is more restricted than the boys and men in their household. Thus, the health problems that Nigerian women face, such as dealing with anemia, can be traced back to these norms that are prevalent throughout Nigeria.

As mentioned above, there are some variations when it comes to reproductive health and associated factors. One of those factors is marriage and pregnancy occuring at an early age for Nigerian women and this is more profound in the northern region of Nigeria, among Hausa communities. The North has a maternal mortality rate of 21 maternal deaths per 1000 pregnancies, which is higher in comparison to the country's overall maternal mortality rate. Girls in Hausa communities may get married at the age of 11 and begin to have children a few years later which results in them acquiring health problems. Research reveals that if these girls engaged in sexual intercourse and childbearing at a later stage of life, then the high rates of carcinoma of the cervix among found among Hausa women would be brought down dramatically. Moreover, there are instances in which these pregnant girls are not physically large enough to give birth vaginally and this leads to cases of obstructed labor, which can have detrimental effects for the mother and the child if surgery is not performed. In addition, there is a custom in this region where the women are secluded in their homes and the men are in charge of escorting them to places outside the home. This materializes in the form of men making medical decisions for their wives and women giving birth at home with the help of a traditional birth attendant. Furthermore, Hausa women are subject to local and state rules that require them to seek permission from their husbands or bring their husbands along with them when going to acquire contraception. This puts their reproductive rights in the hands of their husbands.

Female genital cutting (also known as female genital mutilation) in Nigeria accounts for a significant portion of female genital cutting/mutilation (FGM/C) cases, worldwide. The practice is considered harmful to girls and women and a violation of human rights. FGM causes infertility, maternal death, infections, and the loss of sexual pleasure. Gishiri cuts, hymenectomy, and female circumcision are all practiced in Nigeria. Nationally, 27% of Nigerian women between the ages of 15 and 49 were victims of FGM, as of 2012. In the last 30 years, prevalence of the practice has decreased by half in some parts of Nigeria. From 2012 to 2018 alone, there has been a 7% decrease in the proportion of women who experienced FGM. Although this is a practice prevalent throughout Nigeria, it is more concentrated in the South East and West of Nigeria and more prevalent in Yoruba communities.

It was reported that about one fourth of Nigerian women reported having ever experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) as of 2013. Studies carried on the prevalence of IPV in four Geo-political zones of Nigeria indicated that South East had 78.8%, North had 42%, South South had 41%, and South West had 29%.