Feminist Knowledge | Identities, Culture & Religion

Perception of Womanhood in Nigeria and the Challenge of Development
by Nkoli N. Ezumah*

Abstract

This paper examines the different perceptions of womanhood in Nigeria with illustrations from the three major ethnic groups, namely the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. The author notes that these perceptions are culturally constructed and thus are the products of socialisation. An attempt is made to examine the consequences of such perceptions on the well being of women in the development process. The examination closes with suggestions on how to address the challenges confronting women as a result of ways womenhood is perceived in Nigerian society.

Introduction

The perception of womanhood is useful in providing an explanation of the opportunity structures available to men and women for self-actualization and effective participation in the development process. In discussing the perception of womanhood, one is referring to beliefs, notions and ideas people have about females in terms of what they represent in their relationship to men as well as expectations about appropriate female roles. Generally perceptions are culturally constructed and are therefore products of the socialization process. This article examines the perception of womanhood in Nigeria with illustrations from the three major ethnic groups namely the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. An attempt is made to examine the consequences of such perceptions on the wellbeing of women in the development process. Finally suggestions are provided on now to deal with the challenges confronting women as a result of the ways womanhood is perceived in the Nigerian society.

Images of Womanhood

The discussion begins by examining the images of womanhood in Nigeria. Important stages that mark the passage to womanhood are girlhood or maidenhood, wifehood and motherhood. These stages also reflect the images through which women are perceived. Such images influence and determine the responsibilities and roles that are ascribed to females and what they participate in. Right from birth, girls are perceived in the light of their future roles as prospective wives and mothers. Among the Igbo, at birth a baby girl is referred to as "Akpa - ego" (bag of money), or 'unoaku' (house of money), or 'obute aku' (source of wealth). These names are allusions to bride wealth, which would accrue when the girl gets married and other benefits that would be derived through interaction with prospective in-laws (see Amadiume; 1987: 77). Hence from infancy the socialization of girls is tailored towards equipping them with qualities that will enable them fulfill their expected future roles as wives and mothers.

As young girls they are not encouraged to engage in much leisure activities as boys. The virtues of self-control and industry are inculcated in them. Girls are often overworked looking after younger siblings, receive early orientation for domestic responsibility such as fetching of water and firewood, and running other errands in the domestic sphere.

On becoming an adult, it is perceived that the most important status a woman attains is derived through marriage Among the Igbo, it is expected that women must marry and this is the reason why marriage has precedence over descent (Uchendu 1965: 86 - 87). Amadiume (1987: 72) identified some Igbo maternity songs that emphasize the importance of marriage for girls as follows:

"Be you as beautiful as a mermaid, the beauty of a
woman is to have a husband. Be you one who has been
to the land of white people the beauty of a woman is to
have a husband. If a woman does not marry, her beauty
declines…"

In fact an unmarried woman is often seen as an irresponsible person. Hence Amadiume further indicated that when a woman outgrows the question "whose daughter is she" people would ask, "whose wife is she" (1987:69). In the same vein a chronic bachelor among the Igbo is referred to as an "Akalogoli", which means an irresponsible man. Similarly, Fadipe (1970: 65) writing about the Yoruba indicated that it is against the mores "for a mature man or woman to be single".

Marriage is also perceived to enhance the economic status of women. Among the Igbo a wife is called "Oriaku" or "Oliaku". This expression implies that a woman is expected to enjoy the wealth of her husband. A man is expected to provide for the upkeep of is wife and children. However, this does not imply that women live a life of indulgence or are completely dependent on their husbands for maintenance. Among the Igbo, married women are expected to be industrious and contribute as food providers through their farming and trading activities. A husband is expected to provide the wife portions of land, for cultivation of crops such as cassava, cocoyams, vegetables and legumes. After she would have given birth to some children, she is expected to participate in market trading (Ottenberg 1959). Resourcefulness and perseverance are esteemed virtues for mothers. This is because the survival of the children depends to a large extent on the resourcefulness of women particularly in polygynous (1) households. Hence a successful woman is assessed by her ability to fulfill her obligations to her husband as a wife and also as a mother to her children. The society perceives a woman who is not able to fulfill her obligations as a wife and mother as a 'bad' woman.

Similarly, among the Yoruba, a woman derives economic status by being married. Yet she is expected to participate in trading with initial investment or loan from her husband or a relation (Sudarkasa 1973; Fadipe 1970). She also has an obligation to contribute labour to her husband's farm (Babalola and Denis 1988: Afonja 1986, Fadipe 1970).

In Northern Nigeria, among the Hausa the virtues of industry and resourcefulness are equally expected of married women. Non - Moslem Hausa women participate in farming, market trading and raising of small livestocks (Ngur 1988;) However, Moslem women even under the confines of purdah undertake food processing and prepare cooked foods which are marketed by their children who serve as intermediaries (Schildrout 1983).

Challenge of Development

This section addresses how such perceptions of womanhood have influenced women's participation and benefits from the development process. Our position is that the historical experiences of Nigerian women during the colonial period and the post independence era, which have been largely influenced by peoples' perception of womanhood, have resulted in the marginalization of women in the development process. We shall focus on specific problems women have experienced in their roles in agriculture, wage employment and other activities geared towards attaining economic independence and self-sufficiency.

Women's Experience in Agricultural Production

In the sphere of agriculture the colonial domination, which started in the late 19th century ushered in the introduction of cash crops, which affected the pre-colonial patterns in gender division of labour to the detriment of women. Boserup (1970: 16) provided illustrations of how European colonialists made deliberate efforts to promote male farming in Sub-Saharan Africa, which was the region of female farming by introducing cash crop production to men. This male preference she argued was a reflection of the colonialists' perception of roles that are appropriate for males and females. In Southern Nigeria, among the Yoruba cultivation and marketing of cocoa became a male preserve (Remy 1975, Berry 1975). This integration of cocoa production into the Yoruba farming systems provided men a new source of wealth. The men started mobilizing the labour of their wives and children to work in their cocoa farms (Galleti et al 1965). Afonja (1986) pointed out that the men felt that the work their wives performed in their cocoa farms was an extension of their traditional obligation to work on their farms. Even though the men provided compensation in form of cash or gift to their wives, it has been reported that the obligation of women to continue providing labour in their husband's fields posed a serious constraint on the amount of time they were able to devote to their trading and other income generating activities (Babalola and Dennis 1988).

Another constraint women experienced in agriculture was male bias in access to agricultural training. This dated from the colonial period. Even though men and women played a complementary role in pre-colonial agricultural production training in agriculture was directed to men. The agricultural superintendent in Onitsha province in 1954 indicated that the objective of the farm schools was "To train the sons of genuine farmers so that they may practice the more economic methods of farming advocated by the agricultural department" (Nae, Ondist, 1915). Moreover, the foundation students in the school of young farmers at Achi were all men.

Studies in Africa have also documented that the tendency of extension services and agricultural information dated from the colonial period (Boserup 1970; Bukh 1979). Rogers (1980) attributed such a tendency to the perception of development agents, a perception that benefits received by male heads of households would invariably "trickle down" to their wives.

Studies of contemporary Nigerian situations continue to demonstrate that relatively men receive more extension visits and inputs like fertilizers and improved materials than women (D' Silva and Raza 1983: Ezumah 1990). Access to land, labour and credit are also other sources of constraints for women farmers. Data from some Igbo communities show that single women as well as widows, divorcees and those separated tend to experience greater constraints in access to land than married women (Ezumah and Di Domenico 1995). Although Yoruba women originally enjoyed a bilateral system of descent (2) which enabled daughters to receive farm lands and cocoa trees, the development of tenancy rights in cocoa belts has led to the restriction of women's access to land (Afonja 1986).

In the northern Nigeria, the development of the Kano River Irrigation project (3) resulted in the exacerbation of the women's lack of access to land thereby engendering social inequality (Jackson 1985). It has also been pointed out that lack of access to credit facilities is a major constraint women experience in developing their capabilities and potentials as farmers (Awe and Ezumah, 1991). Majority of the recipients of agricultural loans in Nigeria are reported to be male "progressive farmers" (D' Silva and Raza 1983). Consequently, many women farmers who are incapacitated by lack of access to credit facilities experience difficulties in procuring implements as well as inputs to improve their agricultural production (Adekanye 1984). As a result of these constraints women experience in agriculture they are not able to maintain a balance between their labour input and their productivity.

Women's Experiences in Labour Force Participation

Women experience challenges in their participation in paid employment due to peoples' perception of womanhood. Women's participation in paid employment in Nigeria for a long time was characterized by female dominance in lower cadre jobs and minimal participation in executive, administrative, scientific and technological professions. A major constraint was due to initial disparity in access to education on gender line, which dated from the colonial period. That disparity has been attributed to early missionary and colonial educational policies, which favoured homebound education for women (Fafunwa 1974; Mann 1985) and attitudes of local people to female education. Robertson (1986:93) reported that in Africa colonialists as well as local people used gender as the criterion for decisions on access to education. She further explained that the trend was influenced by peoples' perception of women's roles as secondary and domestic. Hence during the colonial period, while men were being trained as policemen, clerks, teachers and catechists women received education, which was biased in favour of nutrition, child care and home management. The idea was to prepare women as wives for the male elite (Mba 1982). Females participated only in positions that the colonial government regarded suitable for them. These were in prisons, medical, education and later in printing and telegraph departments (Denzer 1987).

Cultural values of the society also influenced the sex disparity in educational enrolment. Due to patriarchal attitudes there has been a general preference for male education in Nigeria. Investment in boys' education was preferred because they remain in the families while girls are expected to marry out. As Achebe (1979: 102) rightly parted out,

"The frustration of the female capacity is
intrinsic in the society's valuing and prescription
of a severally narrow, one-dimensional and
traditional role of wife mother for the girls, while
allowing the boy to expand, as it were all his
capacities to the best of his ability".

The male preference in education also tended to result in higher dropout rates for girls either for early marriage or for participation in trading or other activities in the informal sector. Even where girls continued in education there had been the tendency for them to be oriented by their parents or relations to pursue careers that are perceived to be compatible with domestic responsibilities. Hence girls were often discouraged from going into scientific and technological fields. This is because such fields are perceived to be male professions that are time demanding and stressful. Consequently girls are encouraged to pursue perceived soft courses in Humanities and Social Sciences. Often girls are cautioned about their career choices for fear of not getting married because "men are scared of smart women" (Aidoo, 1998:99). One of the consequences of pursuing the so called soft courses is that many girls end up getting employed in the female dominated profession such as nursing, teaching and secretarial jobs which attract less wages in comparison with employment in scientific and technological areas.

By 1960, when Nigeria became independent only 4.7% of those employed in Civil Service were women, majority of whom were serving in the lower cadre (Igbodalo 1990). By 1970 about 60.8% of Nigeria women were still illiterate (Robertson 1986: 97). The tendency for sex typing in occupations tended to continue until the early 1980s (Aweda: 1988). Part of the reason for the persistence of the sex typing in occupations was due to women's lack of expertise in scientific and technological skills. Changes in educational policies since the mid 1980s as well as in attitudes of parents, relations and teachers towards female education are leading to improved opportunities for skill training and professional development for women. This trend is resulting in the bridging of the gender gap in access to education. As a result, the number of women in executive cadre both in private and public sectors is increasing.

Despite women's enhanced educational attainment they continue to experience difficulties in employment and career prospects due to the perception of womanhood. These often arise due to discriminatory practices by employers. Gender discrimination in employment is often due to the attitudes of male employers, which are influenced by their beliefs about appropriate roles for women. The Nigeria Labour act of 1974 and the Nigerian Constitution of 1979 have provisions for female employment. Yet cases of gender discrimination abound. Aina (1998:78 - 79) cited the case of Miss E.F. Sunday, a mining engineer who was refused employment in the ministry of mines and power. There was also the case of Miss Idogisit Ntem, a single parent and formerly a solicitor general for Akwa Ibom state who was denied appointment by the advisory Judicial Commission as a Judge because she is not married and her status as a single parent.

Social attitudes towards the role of women vis-à-vis men also affect women's participation in labour force. Although motherhood is highly esteemed as the hallmark of femaleness, it is often used against women in employment (Alele - Williams 1990). The explanation, which is usually given for male preference in certain key positions, is that women are more likely to be prone to absenteeism than men on account of childcare and domestic responsibilities. Reluctance in employment of married women is also attributed to the cost of meeting maternity leave payment (Aweda 1988).

Another constraint women experience in paid employment arising from the perception of womanhood is the issue of role conflict (4). Women who engage in economic activities outside the home tend to experience varying degrees of role strain (5) due to conflicts in their roles in the domestic sphere and in their career obligations. Childcare is still perceived as the mother's responsibility. Consequently, working mothers are saddled with the burden of childcare and experience a greater degree of role strain resulting from their conflicting roles. Fapohunda (1983) attributed this trend to the fact that these working mothers lack the support networks, which mothers, grand mothers or other extended family members usually provide in traditional settings. Although support from paid domestic help is fairly available in the urban areas, it is expensive and is sometimes fraught with difficulties. Stress has therefore been identified as one of the major problems confronting Nigerian career women (Ezumah: 1992).

It has been argued that while career women face the challenge of coping with role conflict between their career and domestic obligations that market women and farmers are able to combine their activities with child minding with ease (Di- Domenico: 1983). However, the case of market women is currently becoming a source of serious concern. This is because markets in Nigeria and even in some other African countries are becoming "both a business area and a home away from home" (Aidoo: 1998, 45). Many of the women go to the market as early as seven o'clock in the morning and remain there until quite late in the evening or night. It has also been observed (personal observation) that school children go straight from school to the markets where their mothers trade. It is in the market that they have their lunch and even do their homework if at all. The market for them is like a home. In urban markets like Abakpa at Enugu, Onyingbo in Lagos and Mokola market at Ibadan some mothers and children remain until quite late in the night. They have their supper there and only return to their houses to sleep. Such a prolonged stay under harsh trading condition does not augur well either for the health of the women or for the health and educational well being of their children.

The question then is how poor families can survive the onslaught of the harsh social and economic situation in our depressed economy? A lot of families have been depending on strategies adopted by women. Many women have multiple jobs. Schoolteachers and public servants carry things that they hawk in their schools and offices. Some other women operate small-scale restaurants/eating-houses after office hours. Even though these efforts are geared towards enabling those women make ends meet, such activities involving long working hours without rest is hazardous to their health.

Furthermore, women are faced with many challenges and contradictions in their efforts to attain self-actualization. It was pointed out earlier that traditionally resourcefulness and industry are virtues that are inculcated in women and girls. Yet the same society tends to perceive women's attainment of wealth and social status negatively. Aina (1998, 75) reported that among the Yoruba where a woman attains a high social status independent of her husband, she is perceived as a witch, prostitute or a free woman. The husband of such a woman is consequently disrespected. Aina cited Yoruba expressions such as "O ti ra ni ye" which means that the husband has been bewitched by the wife or "ti so didnrin" which also implies that the woman has so bewitched the man that he has lost his intellect. This idea of regarding women's endeavour to gain power, status and wealth in negative terms is not peculiar to Nigeria. Much earlier Kaberry (1952, 46) referred to the reluctance of men in Bamenda, Cameroun to accept the participation of women in male dominated trade. She wrote that the men expressed fears that such a trend might disturb the mutual dependence that existed between husband and wife and undermine the stability of marriage. The men she pointed out feared that women might become moneylenders and no longer homemakers.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Development entails role performance and collective participation. A meaningful development aims at increasing the productivity of the populace as well as effective utilization of the human resource potentials. In the process all sources of inequality in resource distribution and allocation should be eliminated so that both genders derive benefit from their endeavours. This article has shown that ideologies influencing the perception of womanhood are linked with some of the factors that have constrained and undermined women's efforts to attain self-actualization and effective participation in the development process. The illustrations have also highlighted some of the contradictions women live with in the Nigerian society. To handle the contradictions, which peoples' perception of womanhood pose for women in the development process, various suggestions are recommended.

"There is the need for concerted efforts to eliminate the difficulties women farmers experience in access to productive resources. These include access to land, capital, extension services and improved agricultural technologies and training. This measure will be invaluable in ensuring that women's productivity and benefit from their agricultural work are enhanced.

" Women's access to extension services can be ensured through the use of female extension agents who are more likely to be familiar with the whole spectrum of women's work in the agricultural sphere and will also have unrestricted access to their fellow women.

" Women's agricultural productivity can be promoted through the use of public enlightenment programmes that will sensitize them about options available for self-improvement through the adoption of improved agriculture methods.

" In the sphere of paid employment it is important to deemphasize gender socialization which hinders goal aspirations of girls and women toward scientific and technological skills. Education is the key to effective emancipation and empowerment of women. Efforts must be made to ensure that girls have qualitative education in all fields not only in the Arts, Education and Social Sciences but also in Science, Mathematics and Technology. Progress is already being made in this direction and must be sustained. The leadership potentials of women can only be enhanced through sound education.

" There is also the need to address the issue of gender discrimination in employment based on employers' perceptions about appropriate roles for women. In particular, the tendency to discriminate against single females in key positions is contrary to the principles of justice and human rights. Similarly, the reluctance in employing married women on grounds of costs related to maternity leave and absenteeism due to domestic responsibilities, creates a dilemma for women in fulfilling their obligations as mothers and wives.

" Public enlightenment efforts are needed to sensitize the populace that child minding and domestic responsibilities are not women's problems but should be undertaken through concerted efforts of both genders.

" The provision of adequate day care facilities will go a long way in alleviating some of the conflicts women experience in coping with their career and domestic obligations.

" Finally there is the need for the promotion of positive aspects of the perception of womanhood such as self-control, industry and resourcefulness. Such attributes would promote women's chances of attaining self-actualization in the development process while the harmful ones should be eliminated.

End Notes

1. Polygynous households

Polygyny refers to the marriage of one man to more than one wife

2. Bilateral system of descent

Descent system is a typology used in tracing peoples' kinship relationships. There are two major descent systems, namely the unilineal and nonunilineal descent systems. The bilateral system of descent occurs where the non-unilineal descent system obtains. In the latter, kinship is traced through various categories of people. Thus where the bilateral system of descent occurs as among some Yoruba speaking people Nigeria kinship relationship is traced through both the father and mother.

3. Kano River Irrigation Project

Jackson (1985) in her report demonstrated that this irrigation project brought about major changes, which affected women's access to land. It also led to changes in cropping patterns among others and caused a lot of gender inequalities particularly among different categories of women.

4. Role Conflict

Role conflict arises for various reasons. It could result when people have different or competing roles or when the roles require behaviours that are incompatible.

5. Role strain

When someone has competing role expectations or incompatible role he or she experiences role strain, which is a form of stress.

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*Dr. Nkoli N. Ezumah in the Department of Sociology/Anthropology at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Email: nkoli_ezumah@yahoo.com or helitze@infoweb.com.ng