CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN NIGERIA. IT’S STRATEGIES, PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
ABSTRACT
Women! Power! These two words when spoken in connection with each other produced an unpleasant sensation, often leading to rejection and disgust. The context seemed queer and indeed to the general male populace today. More so, In Nigeria, they should be rarely be united. So read the thoughts of the offended.
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her…
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had not voice…
He never permitted her to exercise her inalienable rights to the elective Franchise.
He has made her, if married, in the eyes of the law, civilly dead… she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming to all intents and purposes, her master the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty, and to administer chastisement. If simple, and the power of property, he has taxed her to support a government which recognizes her only when her property can be made profitable to it.
He has denied her the facilities or obtaining a thorough education…
He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration.
He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a different code of morals for men and women.
He allows he in church, as well as state, but a subordinate position…
He has endeavored, in every way that he could to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willingly to lead a dependent and abject life.
Sencca Falls Delaration
Early Feminist Movement
Such thoughts stimulate the need for attention re-orientation of sense of justice and rights, greater respect to the woman, not for what she is (a woman) but also who she is (a human).
Campaign for women empowerment in Nigeria leaves no part of their strategy unaffected, unaltered and untouched. The question now is how far having women fared in campaigning for their empowerment: This is the object of this study.
In chapter two, the researchers review literatures having relevance to the subject matter. Chapter three specifies the methodology adopted for the study. Chapter four is on data analysis and presentation, while in chapter five; the researcher summarizes the whole exercise makes recommendations on how to tackle the problem with a view to extricating women from the predicament they find themselves.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION
2.1 DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES AGAINST WOMEN
3.1 RESEARCH METHOD
4.1 ANALYSIS OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
5.1 CONCLUSION
REFERENCE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It is believed that over the years, through the cultural norms in certain societies among which is Africa, and in particular, Nigeria women have been marginalized in the scheme of things making them feel unappreciated in spite of the contributions they make. Women are told that they could be seen and not be heard. As such, they are reduced to mere chattels in the homes is their husbands.
In some cultural setting here in Nigeria, women are subjected to undue hardships and torture as a result of the death of their husbands as if they contributed to their husband’s death. They are denied possessions of their husband’s property, and are even asked to give account of their husband’s possessions where the perpetrators fail top recover from the widows as much as they expected from them. Some women are forced to sit on bare floors for the duration of their husband’s burial periods of the day and also forbidden to take their baths or eat except at approved periods.
This, societal laws reduce female to a state of powerlessness, Okoye (1995) on the country, when the wife dies, the husband is adjudged free from all blame and is allowed to move about at will. Christianity has tried to correct these ills in certain communities, but they still prevail in others.
Historically and culturally too, women had hitherto been seen as mere appendages to men, indeed as the man’s woman. Women have often been referred to as the weaker sex and this informs the superior stance of men. The fact that women are judged by their gender rather than by their experience, ability and intelligence does not prove that there is inferior to men but portrays the prejudice against women.
One of the most obvious determinations of success is ability. We have some female politicians who, if given the chance, will perform more creditably unlike the male counterpart who are interested in embezzling of public funds.
The women liberation movement has conditioned a lot of women and young girls to believe that they are independent and can do everything. This attitude has led many women to use “double-barreled names” because they do not want to loose their identity and surrender to their new role to motherhood.
In the process of trying to achieve their aspirations, women have had to contend with a lot of prejudice, cultural bias and male chauvinism. It is common knowledge that educated women are often castigated as “acatas”. These so called acatas are labeled “unmarriageable”, while some are accused of over-shadowing their husbands. It is also noticed that some women who runs hotel business in other to help their families are often regarded as prostitute even those into politics are also seen as flirt. These are some of the problems women encounter in the process of campaigning for their empowerment. Can you imaging!
Still, some women especially the educated ones adopt an undaunted posture in the face of castigations and unsavory remarks knowing that it is part of the price they have to pay for the upliftment of womanhood.
In its publication of 4th October 1997 the German Alumni Newsletter posits “there is abundant evidence that women are more apprehensive about the adequacy of their performance than men”.
The prescription for improving women’s lot does not involve turning women into men. If the women intend to deep abreast of their men-folk, there should be that ambitious spirit.
Women have come a long way politically, socially and educationally. Even in sports, women have displayed their potentialities in football, wrestling and even boxing (sporting events previously reserved for the men folk).
Women in leadership positions have also recorded tremendous achievements that should not be swept under the carpet. They have exhibited committed sincerity, tolerance and humility. Their sense of sincerity of purpose and tolerance enable them to achieve tremendous successes in public offices they administered as president, prime ministers, chairmen, administrators, commissioners and permanent secretaries. Infact, for a long time to come, people would wish to have more women in public offices.
It to demoralizing to find out that in this present generation, girls in this part of the world still go in for early marriages without being educated. Female circumcisions are also performed with pomp and pageantry, sometimes with the use of unsterilised knives or pieces of broken glass.
This calls for serious seminars and workshop on health care delivery, which should X-ray the inherent dangers which include: Pelvic and urinary disorders, increase sexually transmitted diseases, complication during child birth and even death.
Rather than indulging in what may be termed “abuse of womanhood” by showing nude women by way of advertising while their male participants are well dressed, the broadcast media should help to inculcate good virtues by promoting chastity of women.
Some of the major problems also against women empowerment are lack of access to credit facility. It is very vital to have the economic strength to be able to participate in any action, whether political or economic. Women in Nigeria lack the resources and that is their greatest problem. If they get to it, it will be the beginning of the realization of their own fundamental human rights, they have to go out and fight for economic emancipation to be effective partners in national development, lack of economic power has been effecting them in terms of concretizing their contributions.
Women have used so many strategies in the realization of their goals. They have formed some Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that concern themselves is with women activities.
These organization include:
WOCI – The women’s organization for gender issues
WILDAF – Women in law and development in Africa.
CEDAN – Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
WLLN – Woman legislative lobby network.
This network is made up of women activist who are specially trained to present the case of women and to see to it that women’s issues are considered in every legislature.
All these strategies have helped women in their campaign for empowerment. The strategies adopted have in stoppage of female genital mutilation and other kinds of violation meted out to women.
Another strategy, which the women have used, is organizing of seminars and workshops. These seminars and workshops have help in intimating women on the need to live up to their expectation, to know their rights and claim them. These seminars and workshops which have been organized by the educated women to other women and most especially to the illiterate ones in the rural areas have helped them to know their rights and also know how to work towards achieving their aims.
In 1995, a fourth world conference was held in Beijing, China, and it focused on a plan of action implementation regarding the advancement of women in context of equality and sustainable development.
The historic Beijing declaration, called for the appointment of women into at least 30% of elective posts in the country or states.
Women are looking forward to when they will be allowed fully in the participation of some elective political posts, which are kept only for man. Posts like president, vice president, chairman and other political posts.
They want a situation where the issues of female genital mutilation will be stopped final even other related matters like the preference of male child to female child in the cultural setting.
The kind of punishment a widow receives according to culture and tradition must be totally scrapped off.
Women hope to see the time when they will be rated the same as men.
With the new millennium already with us in the country, Nigeria women should now be given a chance to place their role in national development which will adversely affect other things they have been campaigning for which has been against them.
It is amazing that in spite of the educational, political and social-economic level attained by women and the contributions they make in the society, they are yet to be appreciated in the scheme of things.
This situation has generated a lot of controversy the world over, culminating in series of global meetings whereby women demand an enabling environment in which to thrive.
This demand seems to be gaining grounds worldwide, and it is the creating of this awareness as well as the need to improve the standard of living of women, both those that are living in urban and rural areas that the researchers are going to X-ray.
It is therefore, necessary to find how effectively women have been or are able to perform this function, the strategies, problems and also their prospects. It is the need of this assessment that aroused the interest of the researchers to delve into this study.
This study is significant because it would reveal the problem bedeviling most of our women folk, even in this 20th century.
Using women in Enugu metropolis as a point of reference, it is anticipated that they study would succeed in bringing to focus the strategies women have employed in achieving their empowerment, the problems they encountered and the prospects for their campaign and whether the strategies have helped or are helping in improving their lot.
The findings and recommendations of this research work will be useful and serve as a guide to girls that are coming up and also to government in formulating laws and policies relative to the effectiveness of the women empowerment.
The study will also be significant in examining the achievement of women in the presence of increasing problems confronting them.
The study will provide a database for future researcher in women empowerment; it’s strategies, problems and prospects and add to materials outstanding in library.
H1 Women have benefited by their campaign for empowerment.
H0 Women have not benefited by their campaign for empowerment.
H2 The campaign for women empowerment has affected their political, religious, social and economic life.
H0 The campaign for women empowerment in Nigeria has not affected their political, religious, social and economic life.
H3 the strategies adopted by women during their campaign have helped in liberating them from torture and discrimination as a result of the death of their husbands.
H4 Women have encountered problems along the line during their campaign for empowerment.
H0 Women have not encountered problems along the line during their campaign for empowerment.
H5 Women and in the right direction towards achieving their aim.
H0 Women are not in the right direction towards achieving their aim.
For the purpose of this study, a few identified terms would be defined both conceptually and operationally so as to provide the contexts in which they are used.
CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION
Those women should be elevated from subjugation and real or presumed gender inferiority and deprivation to a higher level or the same level with the opposite gender-men.
CONCEPTUAL DEFINTION
This is a series of planned activities with a particular social, commercial or political aim.
For this study, campaign refers to activities women have planned/carried out in order to achieve their socio-economic and political up-liftmen.
CONCEPTUAL DIFINITION
For this study, it means the ways women have mapped out to achieve their purposes.
CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION
A thing that is difficult to deal with.
According to this study. It means the problem/factors that are hindering women from achieving their aims.
CONCEPTUAL DEFINTION
The chance or hope that something good will happen.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
The hopeful gains of women empowerment.
It is assumed that women have played significant role towards their empowerment to the limelight of development. It is also assumed that women are unanimous on their agitation for empowerment
The researchers limit their study to the campaign for women empowerment, in Nigeria, its strategies, problems and prospect of women (in both public and primate venture) in Nigeria. Nigeria was chosen so as to minimize cost in terms of transportation. Enough time is required for collection of data and other relevant materials or facts. The researcher being final year student have to use the already limited time partly for her lectures and the preparation for exams and also partly for the research. This time constraint though affected the research; we made effort to ensure that objectivity and systematic approach which works like this require were not compromised.
REFERENCES
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