IWD: Nigerian Women Aggregate Challenges, Map Out Action Plan
MRS. Josephine ( surname withheld) had big dreams for her life as an undergraduate at the University of Jos, where she studied Mass Communication. She planned to practice journalism at its best on graduation. However, while still in school, suitors began to flock their home and her parents tried to convince her that she could achieve her dreams even as a married woman. She withstood the pressure and was able to complete her university education but got married shortly after graduation. She was determined to live her dream and enjoy some level of financial independence from her husband by pursuing her chosen career but, “my husband threatened to shred my B. Sc. certificate if I attempted to source for a job. He wouldn’t even let me start a small business nor does he provide all my needs.” To make matters worse, her marriage is not working; her husband beats her to stupor at the slightest provocation and never misses an opportunity to diminish her self- esteem. Yet, divorce is not an option to her because her parents insist it is a taboo in their culture.
Speaking with The Guardian on the occasion of the International Women’s Day ( IWD), last Monday, Josephine was almost in tears as she lamented the odds she had suffered in her marriage, stating regrettably, “I am in bondage.” When asked to comment on the theme of this year’s commemoration, ‘ Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID- 19 World’, she mockingly asked:
“Achieving equal future? Is that feasible in Nigeria? I am one of the very unfortunate women in this country who got married to a man who believes because I am a woman, and unfortunately his wife, I am his slave and should never look him in the eyes, let alone attempt to equal him. He embarrasses me at will, beats me at the slightest provocation, disrespects my family members who have in turn abandoned me to what they call my fate and chased all my friends away. Every attempt to leave the marriage has failed because I can’t help myself and have no one to help me. I am in bondage and that is because my father has warned that under no circumstance should I leave my husband. He said it is a taboo in our culture for a woman to leave her husband except the husband sends her packing willingly or he dies. Even if I were to call the bluff of my parents and this unethical cultural belief and choose to leave my marriage, where will I go? Who will accept me or help me? No family member will help me because of the same belief. I don’t have friends either.”
Josephine further revealed: “My husband constantly reminds me that my son is a man no matter how young he is, and I should never be rude to him. So, tell me how I can achieve an equal future at any time of my life, COVID- 19 or not. For some brave and fortunate women, yes; but for me and a number of women out there who go through the same ordeal, we see no future in this male dominated country with a barbaric culture against women, let alone attempting to be equals with men.”
The mother of one is not alone in her belief that the theme for this year’s IWD would amount to nothing without concrete actions against societal barriers holding Nigerian women down by all stakeholders.
President of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Mufuliat
Fijabi, told The Guardian: “Last year, we celebrated IWD, just like the year before and the year before that and so on and so forth. But truth must be told. What has changed for Nigerian women since all these years? We pick themes every year, hold roundtable meetings, give speeches and so on, yet, what can we say has changed for Nigerian women truly?
“We are still fighting the same battles our mothers and grandmothers fought. We are under- represented in every single facet of life in this country. We are still treated like secondclass citizens in our own country despite making up half of the population. In fact, if I don’t want to be pessimistic, I would say things have even gotten worse for Nigerian women because not only are we disadvantaged in every way, the Nigerian government sees to it that we remain so by refusing to change basic things we have been fighting for.” Truly, despite many policies geared towards giving Nigerian women their pride of place in the scheme of things in the country, available statistics show that the country still has a long way to go. According to a recent global gender gap report from the World Economic Forum ( WEF), out of 144 countries surveyed, Nigeria ranks 122nd in closing the gender gap. The reported also stated that one in every three Nigerian women has suffered physical and/ or sexual violence;
Nigerian women earn lesser income than what men get for the same work; women account for most of Nigeria’s unemployment and underemployment.
In a recent report, the United Nations Development Programme said Nigerian women earn 77 cents for every dollar that men get for the same work. This means that a Nigerian woman would earn 7,700 for a 10,000 job. The UNDP also noted that even though women comprise about half of Nigeria’s population, they account for over 70 per cent of those in extreme poverty.
The International Labour Organisation ( ILO) also indicated in a recent report that although women represent 51.6 per cent of Nigeria’s working- age population, only 48.4 per cent are in the labour force. The report further indicated that out of the 35.6 million fully employed Nigerians, only 40.6 per cent are women.
Perhaps against the backdrop of this grim statistics, First Lady, Aisha Buhari, had in her goodwill message to Nigerian women, said the 2021 IWD offered another opportunity for humanity to review and reflect progress made on issues of women and girls, adding that this year’s theme was a strong call to appreciate the efforts of women and girls in the fight against the pandemic.
She admitted that the COVID- 19 pandemic has had a huge impact on women, disrupted education and careers, cost jobs, forced women into poverty and increased domestic violence.
“Women and girls in Nigeria have continued to suffer abductions from insurgents and bandits. As a mother, I share the sorrow and agony of the victims and their families. I am also not unaware of the impact that these abductions could have in reverting many successes we have achieved, especially in terms of girl- child education and early marriages,” she said.
In an interview with The Guardian, the First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, emphatically stated that Nigeria was not doing well with regards to the empowerment and wellbeing of women.
“Millions of women and girls still suffer from the feminisation of poverty, lack of access to basic resources, violent con