Gender Equality, Gender Inequality, and Gender Complementarity: Insights from Igbo Traditional Culture (original) (raw)
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Gender mainstreaming in (African)IgboTraditional Society: A critical option for the new World order
10th October, 2013
Gender issues have become a critical concern of all humanity today. The case is that women are marginalized, more especially in Africa. Thus part of African underdevelopment is attributed to this discrimination. The major factor that makes the study of gender problems in Africa complex is that African traditional society, particularly, the Igbo society of Eastern Nigeria, anchor their development, social organizations and political structure on the their religion(s). So their religious belief defines and controls all social arrangements. However, the picture of women marginalization in Igbo society seems to be representing the Igbo society of the modern era rather than the Igbo of the pre-colonial period. This paper therefore contends that the assumption that women in the Igbo traditional society were sidelined into the private sphere is tinged with historical bias. Thus through sociological and historical survey, this paper discovers that women have been in the frontline of social development in the Igbo traditional society. It notes also that most positions of power are not inherited rather they are acquired through achievements. Therefore, both men and women have open space to compete for such positions. It observes that there are two major means of entering into societal leadership in Igbo society, these are technically called the:-'Invited' and 'Invented' spaces. In the invited space, anybody who attains a level of achievements through industry or special ability is invited to the cult of elders, which is the leadership class and many women attained such positions in the traditional society. In like manner, the women form the endogenous social group, which becomes indispensible pressure group in Igbo political setting, influencing all decisions and actions. This paper therefore concludes that the Igbo people of eastern Nigeria have been gender sensitive in their social arrangements and this influenced their development before the colonial era.
UJAH: Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities
The struggle for political visibility, participation, and leadership of women has been a recurrent issue in all societies, including the most developed democracies. Whereas an appreciable improvement has been recorded in many western countries, Africa still ranks low generally as far as gender inclusivity in political leadership is concerned. Some scholars on Igbo society and culture cling to the popular opinion of blaming this scenario on colonialism. Such scholars usually paint an image of an ideal, precolonial, egalitarian Igbo society where women were more or less accorded more political and leadership space than in the present. In their opinion, reclaiming the past is a sure way to better gender inclusivity in politics. This paper is designed to interrogate critically such images of the past Igbo society. The author approaches the paper with the belief that such romantic view of the past, if not cautiously guided and critically appraised, may well result in nostalgia for a past...
2021
This paper underscores the fact that Igbo traditional values should be expanded and incorporated into esteemed and acceptable values. Esteemed values entail women who carved a niche for themselves irrespective of their professions whether formal or informal. This set of women should be allowed to actively participate in certain Igbo "cultural traditions." The formal sector has to do with established institutions while the informal sector has to do with self-thought and self-made institutions. These esteemed values, every other thing being equal, should attract the privilege of active participation in those values socially recognized among the Igbo people. This paper argues that a segment of womenfolk who have distinguished themselves in their various formal and informal sectors should be privileged to perform cultural functions from which they have been excluded for centuries. This study also argues on the incorporation of Igbo cultural values in terms of inclusiveness irrespective of social gender construct. The essence of incorporating the esteemed and acceptable values is to deepen and widen the hold of Igbo cultural values. Those cultural traditions include breaking of kola-nut and performing new yam festival rites, becoming Igwe's among others. This paper adopted a thematic style of literature review which was informed by the topic under study. The existing scholarship in the area under study revolves around the analysis of gender discrimination and comparative studies of gender. It is against this backdrop and the need to bridge the existing gap that makes this study highly imperative. The data employed for this study were gathered from secondary sources.
Az-Zahra Journal of Gender and Family Studies, 2023
Over time, the ease of access has been to the advantage of men and the disadvantage of women, especially in a traditional society like Nigeria. However, despite the marginalization, it appears that women are beginning to challenge norms, traditions, cultures, and stereotypes by breaking free from the shackles of patriarchy. Hence, this study examines the current perception of femininity concerning employment and income. Specifically, it aimed at understanding how the clamor for gender equality and equity has changed one of the characteristics of femininity from "Oriaku" to "Okpataku" in a typical patriarchal society like Anambra State, Nigeria. Using the Constructionist Theory of representation as a framework, the study adopts in-depth interviews as a qualitative approach. Findings reveal that both men and women are more comfortable with being Okpataku than Oriaku, owing to the recent harsh economic reality in the country. Recommendations were made based on the findings.
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This work sets out to investigate the original understanding of the dignity of women in traditional Igbo socio-religious world (before 1900). This is engendered on the one hand by the extreme misinterpretations leveled against the traditional societies especially the African nations on the dehumanization of women; and on the other hand by the scandalous advances of the contemporary feminists ' campaign and advocacy for an equality that sets aside the dignity of the sexes, ranging from single parenting to masochism, deformation of the natural family setting and widespread abortion. The method employed for collection of data was mostly through literary survey and partly through examination of some resilient language culture and mythical stories. The phenomenological method was the tool for an encounter of the Igbo traditional life without preconceptions. Oppression of women was not a fact in Igbo traditional society nor were they mere appendages of men; but they complemented men....
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Ars Artium, Vol. 7 , 2019
In African Society, just like any other human society, the birth of a child is greeted with joy. Igbo land is not an exception but the excitement is more when the child is a male. Therefore, traditionally in Igboland the discrimination against the female child starts right from the birth. Time changes everything. Education and urbanization enhanced women emancipation and liberation. The female writers emerged and emphasized the need for a change. They believe that they can protect themselves with intelligence, independent minds, higher education, enhanced earning capacity and social status. Women have made efforts to promote gender equality in leadership roles. Some women even went further in shaping political system through their leadership roles. This paper examines how Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as female novelists succeeded in enriching African literature with the point of view: that women are good leaders and Africans should adopt a change of attitudes towards women and leadership. They must mould anew the African attitude to women as an integral part of an African living culture, and not an oppressive static past in restructuring Africa.
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The impact of Igbo lost the 1967-70 making Biafra-Nigeria war was of collective punishment of the Igbo through the policy of marginalization and exclusion. This strategy of disempowerment imposed a heavy price on the Igbo attitude to education. The frustrations of the educated Igbo males to find accommodation in the formal sector of Nigerian economy pushed them into the informal sector for survival and social mobility. For Igbo men, investment in education was seen as a waste leaving it for female folks. But post-adjustment neo-liberalization of the Nigerian economy and the consequent retreat of the state altered the dynamics that created a level playing field for job competition, thus creating room for the empowerment of Igbo women by the virtue of their educational attainment. The paper examines these changing dynamics of gender roles of Igbo society arising from these changes in the structure of Nigerian economy. It employed a multiple method of data collection including documented materials and surveys which was analyzed using descriptive analysis to arrive at the finding that changes in gendered access to education among the Igbo society has altered the traditional Igbo gendered role.