Men and women are supposed to be chaste and pure, their bodies and minds are designed to not think or perform sexual pleasure and desires until an appropriate and designated period post marriage, however women are seen to be placed on a higher standard of purity expectations than men
3 out of 36 States in Nigeria are working towards the inclusion of women in leadership and decision making positions. Kwara. Ebonyi and Ekiti States have intentionally created spaces, trained and equipped women and elevated these women into the helm of affairs. The combined representation of leaders in these 3 states show women working in[…]
Men get raped, boys get molested, men get abused, men get sexually harassed. The question is then when will society de- categorise bodies and victimhood? Men are victims and so are women. This means that men can be weak, vulnerable, lack strength, need protection and can be powerless.
‘I wish to tell you what made the women move about and remain here for about five days. We do not want women to pay tax and we want the tax on men to be abolished- 129th witness, Oguta, Aba Commission of Inquiry Notes of Evidence, 1930, 278.
Domestic violence is perpetrated by any gender. These roles are ‘performed’ in any gender identity or category however data still strongly indicates men over women intimate partner violence as the mainstreamed social problems. Violence also covers in-laws abuse, staff abuse, sexual assault and harassment, trafficking and solicitation, pimping, verbal abuse of which emerging data is positing women as victims as well as perpetrators.
Domestication becomes a very strong requirement for women which is largely assigned by an anonymous group watching and policing to either shame or reward based on the conceptualised gender characteristics of ‘caring’. One of the impact of domestication on women is the unfair disadvantage it places on women who decide to take the nurture route and sacrifice time for their care responsibilities.
Discovering and studying the life of a King called Ahebe Ugbabe, first woman who became King, first woman to become a Warrant Officer during colonial interruptions, first woman to act in the capacity of a King in a Kingdom in Igbo land and perform male centered norms such as masquerade and wife marrying, brought an ambivalence in present day reality of women’s exclusion in leadership. An ethnographic discovery by Chinua Achebe’s daughter, Nwando Achebe, this history brought about layers of knowledge and rich historical information about women who lead
Diplomatic missions are positions held by ambassadors who are in other countries to ‘represent’ and ‘foster’ relations in designated areas. The Women in Diplomacy Index 2022 shows gender imbalance in representation in 40 countries with largest economies in the world and EU. This data shows that Nigeria, with a total number of mission pegged at 77, has 15 women as ambassadors. Nigeria currently isn’t in the G7 or G20 States.
The ranking on gender gap parity, uses parameters like economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, political appointment and financial exclusion/wealth accumulation of the female gender in the world. None of this parameters positions women favourable in Nigeria
Today, religious tenets differ from doctrine to doctrine. Treatment of women and men follow certain rules that emphasises the dominance of powers over women and religion upholds and guards this. Women are treated differently in bodies they carry, expectations vary depending on class difference. Institutions of power have written the tenets from religion, into their organisations policy. Politics and entrepreneurship have reinforced the exclusion of women in positions of leadership. And why won’t they, you just need to look across the country to realise that women are not in leadership positions of religious and traditional institutions.