WHY IS SHE STILL SEEN AS LESS?
In Africa, And Especially In Nigeria, A Woman Can Be A CEO, A Professor, A Mother Of Five, And Still Be Told She Cannot Sit Where Decisions Are Made.
How Did We Get To This Point? Why Is A Woman Still Seen As Less When It Comes To Becoming A Chief, Having A Say In The Family Or Being A Breadwinner Like In The Case Of The Yorubas And Even To Preaching On A Pulpit?
Let’s Me Break It Down This Way:
- CHIEFTAINCY: THE STOOL IS RESERVED ALMOST IF NOT FOR MEN ALONE
In Most Nigerian Traditions, Chieftaincy Is Hereditary And Patrilineal – It Passes From Father To Son. Women Are Often Given Titles Like “Nkal’ ĺá Nťòĺ” “Lolo,” “Iya Oba,” “Nkem Nbu” or “Wife of the Chief” As The Case May Be- Titles That Honour Women Relationship To A Their Men, Not Their Own Leadership.
In Pre-Colonial Era, In Igbo Land, Women Did Have Power. The Omu Title In Onitsha Was Nearly Equal To The Obi (King), And Women Had Their Own Councils Like Umuada Who Settled Disputes And Enforced Justice. But Colonial Rule ULPushed Them Aside Despite Modern Politics Embraces Them A Bit Where We Hear Titles Like ‘Women Leader’. But The Number Still Seems Poor
Look At The Numbers Today, Women Make Up About 49.99% Of Nigeria’s Population But Occupy Less Than 7% Of Elected And Appointed Positions Nationally
In The 2023 Elections, Only 471 Out Of 4,881 Candidates (9.6%) Were women. No Woman Has Ever Been Elected President Or Governor In 36 States From 1999-2023
If We Can’t Imagine A Woman As President, Or Even As Governor, How Do We Imagine Her As An Ntol, Igwe, An Emir, Or An Oba? The Tradition Says: “A woman Cannot Hold The Staff Of Authority- Probably For The Sake Of Her Marital Options. ” But History Shows That In The 60s To 80s Women Had Once Been In Traditional Leadership Positions, Especially The Benin People.
- BREADWINNING: SHE PAYS THE BILLS, BUT HE GETS THE RESPECT
Our Culture Says The Man Is The Provider. The woman Is The Supporter. But At Some Point, Economic Reality Has Shifted Ground-Where In Some Homes, She Pays The Bills And Still Gives The Credit To Her Man. But The Mindset We Nurture About The Female Gender Has Not Changed.
According To The National Bureau Of Statistics (NBS) General Household Survey Wave 5 2023/24
22.3% of Households In Nigeria Are Now Headed By Women, Up From 21.1% In 2016. In Urban Areas, It’s Even Higher, 24.9%.
In The South-East, 34.4% Of Households Are Female-Led, South-South 30.8%, South-West 29.7%.
The Above are Market Women Mostly In Ibadan, Traders In Onitsha, Farmers In Bakor, Calabar, Teachers, Women Who Pay School Fees, Rent, And Feed The Family. In Fact, Research Among Market Women In Araes Like Ibadan showed 73.4% Of Female Supposedly Breadwinners, perform High Roles In The Household Inuding Farmers In Ikom, Ogoja, As Well As The Bakor Kingdom.
Yet Society Still Asks, “Where Is Your Husband?” A woman Can Be The Breadwinner And Still Not Be Called The Head Of The Family, Why? We Celebrate Her hustle, But We Don’t Give Her The Honour That Comes With It.
- IN THE CHURCH: SHE IS THE MAJORITY, BUT NOT THE VOICE
Walk Into Any Church In Nigeria On Sunday. Who Is The Majority? Women. Who Cleans, Sings, Organizes, Contributes? Women. Who Preaches? Mostly Men.
A Study On Why Women Are Marginalized In Christian Churches In Nigeria Is Found In :
Culture 20.9%, Followed By Strenuous Family Responsibilities 16%.
Another Most Challenging One Is The Scripture Where God Says, “Among Men, I Found One, But Among Women, I Found Non.”
But I Think Traditions Always Have Their Way Demeanor From The Scriptures-So The Above In This Case Does Not Affect It.
May Be Another Thing That Would Make The Tradition Shift Grounds Is When Decision Makers DecideTo Be In The Theatre Room When Women Put To Birth.
But For Me, I Believe It’s Time To Let Her Sit On The Stool, Lead The Family With Pride; Hold The Microphone On The Altar; Wear Red Cap And Chieftancy Regalia.
~By ASINYA KINGSLEY
