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Gender Inequality in Nigeria
Gender is the socially and culturally constructed roles and responsibilities for both Man and Woman. For instance, the Gender role for men in Nigeria are mostly around decision making, owning property and being the head of the household while women are relegated to caregiving, domestic labor and taking instructions from men. Gender studies has become an area of academic interest in Nigeria over the years and the general agreement which runs through the literature is that women in Nigera are treated as the weaker sex; they are marginalized, oppressed and alienated even within the ambit of the law. The subordination of women in Nigeria has occurred in various ways including in political, economic and socio-economic settings .Women are less represented in public offices in Nigeria and even with such underrepresentation, they are reported to suffer more from bad policies made by their government. The economic status of Nigerian women is affected by the discrimination they face in terms of employment and in the workplace. .Religion and traditional norms have also been cited as limiting factors for many Nigerian women to gain their economic independence.

Cultural dimension of gender inequality in Nigeria
Cultural dimensions is a crucial reason for gender marginalization in Nigeria Within certain cultures and traditions in Nigeria, women are seen as properties of men,two religions that were introduced to Nigeria through colonialism and slavery. Both religions as interpreted by several sects, proffer the submission of women to men even in matters of their own private lives. In certain Nigerian communities, a woman’s devotion to her husband is measured by how loyal and submissive she is to him. Even with the current age of globalization some Nigerian communities still regard women only as home keepers, nurturers and child bearers while the men seen as “the providers who ensure that the family is well taken care of and all the needs are met” This commodification of women gained credence even within Islam and Christianity. The man is seen as the “head of the home”.

Political marginalization of women in Nigeria
There were only two female legislators in the first republic (1960-1966), Mrs Wuraola Esan and Mrs Bernice Kerry in the Federal Parliament, Mrs Margaret Ekpo and Mrs Janet Muokelu were the only females in the Eastern House of Assembly. There was no female minister and during the second republic and there was only one female senator out of 571 members of the senate. There were 11 women in the House of Representatives which consisted of 455 members. Under the military dictatorship of Ibrahim Babangida which lasted from 1985-1993 women were also alienated; only 3 women were elected out of 591 persons in the 1990 elections, and 27 women out of 1,172 members in the House of Assembly. Recently however, Nigeria has had a female Minister of Finance (Nigeria) and Speaker of the House of Representatives. . Women have also been given other sensitive positions in both political, national and economic spheres and in as much as gender inequality exists strongly in Nigeria,Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala served two terms as the Finance minister in Nigeria from 2003-2006, and also 2011-2015. She also spent 25 years of her career at the World Bank rising through several positions until she became the Managing Director of Operations from 2007-2011.

Gender inequality represented in Academia
Men outnumber women in Nigerian research and publications,Female deans and professors are in the minority, and female Vice Chancellors are rare. The women with academic jobs and tenure track positions in Nigerian universities are less than 35 percent. The Nigerian university system, although having over 60 years of growth still evidences low participation of females. The University of Ibadan which is located in Oyo State in Nigeria for example had 3081 staff in 2006, 2574 were males and 507 females. The responsibilities of women as wives and mothers contribute to their under-representation in academia, and “taking breaks off to be with their children after childbirth leads to great tension in attempting to continue academic roles”.

International legal accountability for Nigerian women
Nigeria has adopted several International Conventions that place an obligation on it to protect and promote women’s rights and advancement. However, Nigerian women face numerous threats to and violations of their fundamental human rights, including violence, sexual harassment, punitive widowhood rites and harmful cultural practices, female genital mutilation, forced childhood marriages, enforcement of gender biased laws, unequal access to education and employment. The Nigerian government in response to the recommendation of the Vienna Declaration Program of Action ] drafted its own National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human rights. In developing this plan, the Nigerian government was called upon to assess the current measures in place to protect and promote women rights, identify areas that need improvement and commit themselves to improving the protection and promotion of women.The Nigerian government signed and ratified is the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rightson the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) .The Nigerian government signed it to “ensure respect for women’s human rights as well as the development of norms and standards in the domain of protection of women’s and girls’ rights on the African continent.”