GENDER INEQUALITY IN NIGERIA.

Photograph by Cecille Arcurs.

BACKGROUND

Gender inequality in our society today, is among the most prevalent forms of social crisis which exist all over the world, with different effects in different regions. These differences are primarily due to cultural legacies, historical development, geographical location and religious norms which pre-dominate the society.

Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity. Depending on the context, these characteristics may include biological sex (i.e., the state of being male, female, or an intersex variation), sex-based social structures (i.e., gender roles), or gender identity. Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders (boys/men and girls/women); those who exist outside these groups fall under the umbrella term non-binary or gender queer.

This work discuses gender inequality in Nigeria: in politics, history, Religion, marriages and how they are constituted and embedded in culture and tradition and how they can be conquered through feminism. Because according to" Andrea Dworkin;

"Being female in this world means having been robbed of the potential for human choice by men who love to hate us. One does not make choices in freedom. Instead, one conforms in body type and behavior and values to become an object about male sexual desire, which requires an abandonment of a wide-ranging capacity for choice"

And this relates to the fact that Gender inequality in Nigeria is influenced by different cultures and beliefs. In most parts of Nigeria, women are considered subordinate to their male counterparts, especially in Northern Nigeria. Where It is generally believed that women are best suited as home keepers, housewives and a whole lot of terms that classify and objectify them as the lower sex.

Generally, most people have argued that women suffer the most when it comes to gender problems in Nigeria. They believe that the majority of women belong to the lower class and are therefore looked down upon in every Nigerian community and its various aspects of living. But they forget that men also face inequality issues too, that they too are also faced inequality issues too, and that they too are also mistreated and face inequality problems that they cannot talk about. Even though it cannot be argued that many Nigerian communities view men as their leaders and women as lowers except in some cases. But gender inequality in Nigeria affects women greatly and more than the male folks.

In Nigeria, many feminist Creatives and Artists, have more than once, blamed these issues on culture and tradition, wrong patriarchal orientation; due to movies, novels and people's mindset, and religion.

And other Creatives and Artists have argued that there is nothing wrong with gender inequality and therefore the above mentioned should not be blamed. But despite these arguments, one thing is very common amongst African dramatists when writing, in their literary work, African culture is featured elaborately. Even in dramas that deal with gender inequality issues and as we all know, culture is one of the main generators of gender inequality, one cannot talk about gender inequality without throwing lights on culture.

Culture has been always used to refer to the way of life which is accepted within a group of people.

Traditional cultural practices and beliefs reflect the values and beliefs held by members of a community for periods. Some of these are beneficial to all members, while others have become harmful to a specific group, such as women or LGBTQIA+ community. Some examples of harmful traditional practices include female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriage, the various taboos or practices which prevent women from controlling their own fertility, nutritional them boos and traditional birth practices, male child preference and its implications for the status of the girl child, female infanticide and early pregnancy. Many people are unaware that these forms of tradition run against their basic human rights, and even if aware of human rights frameworks and policies, many people are not in a position to exercise them.

ROLE PLAYING AND GENDER DIFFERENCES.

From birth, males and females are raised differently and experience different environments throughout their lives. In the eyes of society, gender has a huge role to play in many major milestones or characteristics in life; like personality. Males and females are led on different paths due to the influences of gender role expectations and gender role stereotypes before they are able to choose their own. The colour blue is most commonly associated with boys and they get toys like monster trucks or more sport related things to play with from the time that they are babies. Girls are more commonly introduced to the colour pink, dolls, dresses, and playing house where they are taking care of the dolls as if they were children. The norm of blue is for boys and pink is for girls. These paths set by parents or other adult figures in the child's life set them on certain paths. This leads to a difference personality, career paths, or relationships. Throughout life, males and females are seen as two very different species who have very different personalities and should stay on separate paths.

Gender inequality is therefore the belief that acknowledges that men and women are not equal and that gender affects an individual's living experience. These differences arise from distinctions in biology, psychology, and cultural norms. Some of these distinctions are empirically grounded while others appear to be socially constructed. Studies show the different lived experience of genders across many domains including education, life expectancy, personality, interests, family life, careers, and political affiliations. Gender inequality is experienced differently across different cultures.

Gender role differentiation perpetuated by patriarchy, varies from one culture to another. As such, it may not have a universal origin. However,Gender role differentiation could be said to be a very apparent phenomenon in the Nigerian role playing as it is prevalent in the Nigerian drama. For instance, within any drama's family institution at present and in the past, it is obvious that the female members of the family constitute the second sex. The man is always the head of the household. He is regarded as the breadwinner and the ultimate decision maker, every other person is a subject. The man determines the social status of the other members of the family. That is, his relative class within the society determines the class position of his household members including that of his wife. Sharp beliefs and practices inherent in the largely stereotypic value system still exist in Nigeria. As at present, only limited success has been achieved in eradicating these gender problems.

This, however, has adverse implications on the life chances of females as individuals and as a group. The implications border on their chances of upward mobility. Since women are also stakeholders within the Nigerian social system, their continued marginalization will continue to have a negative influence on the Nigerian social structure. In other words, all social substructures, for example, family, education, political, health, economic etc. will not function adequately and might in the long run have adverse effects on growth and development. For instance, there will be an increase in poverty rates, family disintegration, child abuse and children trafficking, prostitution, corruption and crime.

All these social problems hinder the socio- economic development of a nation. There is therefore a need for a change in the value system in order to improve the outlook of the female gender as not a weak sex and the second sex but a significant and major contributor to growth and development. Deliberate efforts must be made to empower the woman and the girl child by granting her equal access to education, occupational and employment opportunities, equal income, right in politics and access to the public sphere. If possible, policies that will reverse discrimination could be explored for the benefit of the females.

CONCLUSION

Looking at the nature of culture and religion in Nigeria, understanding gender issues in the organization of the human society, needs a more detailed and closer analysis.

By Davidfnycountry Austine Ogbadu.