CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0            Introduction

Despite constitutional provisions and discussions on regional and international human rights treaties and conventions, the rights of women and girls are widely violated and devalued in Nigeria and several African countries[1]. Underdeveloped countries, including Nigeria, are by no means a monopoly of gender inequality. Men earn more than women in essentially all societies. However, disparities in health, education and bargaining power within marriage tend to be higher in countries with low per capita GDP[2]. However, gender differences in each of these areas have a profound impact on economic opportunities for men and women, labor productivity of men and women, the performance and potential of their enterprises and the incentives Men and women as economic agents. These, in turn, affect the nature, pace and impact of economic growth and poverty reduction.

Although this is often overlooked, gender is an aspect of the social identity of men and women. Like cultural norms and expectations about the roles of women, there are also cultural norms and expectations of men as leaders, husbands, sons and lovers who shape their behavior and opportunities. Gender aspects of expectations can have costs and disadvantages for men (hopefully they will take up arms and defend the nation, for example). However, the general pattern of gender relations favors men in the distribution of resources, opportunities and power. The privileged position of men also gives them a disproportionate power in determining the values ​​that prevail [3].

To date, the struggle for greater equality between women and men has been led by women. Recent developments include the formation of male networks for gender equality and the "white ribbon" campaigns launched by men in Canada and in other countries such as Nicaragua against domestic violence. These are promising signs because achieving gender equality will require the participation of both men and women[4].

Development agencies are beginning to realize the importance of involving men in initiatives for gender equality. In some cases, this initiative has been motivated by resistance. Other initiatives pursue the more ambitious objective of engaging men in promoting equality. Certain Initiatives Related to Reproductive Health and the well-being of families and communities[5]. On the other hand, discriminatory social institutions lead to gender inequalities. These include informal sanctions, taboos, customs, traditions and codes of conduct and formal rules that govern behavior and determine the rights of individuals to women and men.

In Nigeria, femininity is reduced to a mere infidel and a second-class citizen; therefore, there is the general belief system that the best place for women is in the "kitchen". This trend has led to an enormous misrepresentation of women from the family level to the circular society[6].  Nigerian society is of a patriarchal nature which is a major characteristic of a traditional society. It is a structure of a set of social relations with material basis that allows men to dominate women. Women are therefore discriminated against, in most cases, from acquiring formal education, ill-treated and perpetually kept as domestic servants; The average Nigerian woman is considered an object available for prostitution, forced marriage, street hawk, large-scale trafficking instrument and inadequacy in society. Thus, the alleged irregularity associated with the status of women in society simply reduced an average woman to a lower commodity[7].

On the female perspective, it was revealed that women constitute 49% of the total population in Nigeria, according to the controversial previous census. As is the case in all capitalist societies, as a rule, women are marginalized and oppressed in Nigeria. In a capitalist society, a woman is doubly oppressed, first as a worker whose employer must maximize profits by exploiting her labor power and secondly as a woman in the patriarchal society[8]. It should be noted that the oppression of women is rooted in the class society; Therefore, it was with us before the advent of capitalism when it reached its peak. Patriarchy exploits the work of women; Capitalism exploits the work of male or female employees[9].

In Nigeria as elsewhere, religion and tradition are instruments of female oppression. They constitute, among other things, the ideology of society, which is a superstructure on the socio-economic foundation of any class society. Many religious beliefs and traditions date from the feudal era. They were designed to justify and maintain private property. They are preserved until now because of the fact that feudalism has ended, private property remains, except that it has not changed character. Patriarchy is a by-product of class society. It has emerged with private property, as is the case with the State, in order to preserve the interest of the first beneficiaries of the new socio-economic arrangement, that is to say, men. Traditions and religion support the patriarchal society with private property and class society[10].

The patriarchal society defines the parameters of the structurally unequal position of women in families and markets by approving gender differences in inheritance rights and legal adulthood, tacitly tolerating domestic and sexual violence, and sanctioning deferred wages for equal or comparable work. Tradition or culture and religion have dictated relations between men and women for centuries and have anchored male domination in the structure of social organization and institution at all levels of leadership. They justify the marginalization of women's capitalism in education, the labor market, politics, business, family, domestic affairs and inheritances[11].

Female oppression is a global phenomenon since capitalism or class society is universal, but in Nigeria, a neo-colonial country under the hindrances of imperialism and its multinational agents, the conditions of competition are best in the world among other Third World countries. For this reason, a gender analysis is required for all initiatives because it ensures that planning is based on facts and analysis rather than on assumptions. Gender-based analysis has been advocated for more than 20 years because of the potential for projects to fail due to a lack of information on basic cultural patterns such as the division of labor by gender in households and Rewards and incentives associated with the division of labor. Gender analysis is therefore a means of increasing the quality and effectiveness of initiatives and gender equality[12].

A gender-based analysis should provide information and analysis on the families and communities that will be targeted or affected by an initiative - on activities, needs and priorities, both gender and their implications for the proposed initiative. It should identify local and national initiatives for gender equality - the efforts of governments and civil society to pursue these issues and how the initiative can complement these efforts. A gender-based analysis is the basis for planning an initiative that has realistic goals and activities related to gender equality. CIDA's policy on gender equality identifies the basic elements of gender-based analysis. Many guides are available to help identify issues that should be addressed in different sectors or types of initiatives[13].

1.1     Statement of the problem

New contemporary security problems encountered by Nigerians today are the use of women as kamiks and kidnappers in public places such as the markets and places of worship (mosque and churches) of the terrorist group (Boko haram) In the northern part of Nigeria as well as the Niger Delta Militant in the south-south part of Nigeria, armed robbery and political violence and instability, as is currently the case throughout the country. Several reasons have been behind these challenges. These include gender inequality, high poverty rates and illiteracy among Nigerian women because of certain religious and cultural beliefs.

[14] In an interview, Tinubu also observed that men have always been a very dominant character, women have difficulty knowing where they are placed, men expect women to even ask for their right, equality of Genders can be reached in Nigeria but the country has a long way to go. In the heat of the problem, there is a lack of a comprehensive strategy to promote gender equality and empower girls to address national security issues.

1.2     Aim and objectives of the study

 The main objective of this study is to analyze the effect of gender inequality giving emphases to the issue of the concept gender, the rationale behind national gender policy, situation analysis and framework, guiding principles of the national gender policy and above all, the critical areas of gender gap.

Specifically the objectives are to:

1.      determine the factors responsible for gender inequality in Nigeria

2.      evaluate the nature of men - masculinity and male dominance

3.      assess the effect of gender policies on men's behavior and attitudes towards women

4.      assess the dimensions of gender inequality and discrimination in Nigeria women and education

5.      determine the aspects of Culture and how they cause violence on women

6.      examine patriarchy as the parasite that African culture must liberated to survive

7.      identify the way forward regarding  patriarchy and gender inequality in Nigeria

1.3     Significance of the study

Gender inequality continues to exist in various forms throughout the world. Gender inequality generally manifests itself in the form of patriarchy, or a social structure in which men are entitled to more assets, powers and privileges than women. Not only are women deprived of financial opportunities and labor market leadership compared to men, even when they control the type of employment and qualifications, but they are also more likely than men to go down The poverty line and are more likely to be victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse. As such, gender inequality produces many deficits in the daily lives of women, which puts them at a relative disadvantage for men.

Society often does not recognize that gender inequality or disparity in status and power between men and women continues to exist today. Women remain largely under-represented in the top, top and top occupations, such as large corporations and government offices. In addition, women have incomes much lower than men on average. Traditionally, researchers and politicians have attributed it to individual factors, such as the difference between what an employees or woman is willing and able to contribute to a business. However, recent work suggests that ecological factors, such as systematic oppression that favor disadvantaged men and women, can provide a more valuable understanding of inequalities as it exists today.

A clear type of systematic oppression is hostile sexism, which is defined as an antagonism for women who challenge male power. A woman who fights a man for a high-level position in one amongst these establishments could also be subject to hostile sexism because it is seen as a threat to the establishment of male authority. Conversely, women are visage with an additional inevitable sort of prejudice referred to as benevolent sexism, in which women are stereotyped as affectionate, delicate and sensitive.

The patriarchal society defines the parameters of the structurally unequal position of women in families and markets by approving gender differences in inheritance rights and legal adulthood, tacitly tolerating domestic and sexual violence, and sanctioning deferred wages for equal or comparable work. Tradition or culture and religion have dictated relations between men and women for centuries and have anchored male domination in the structure of social organization and institution at all levels of leadership. Patriarchy justifies the downgrading of women in education, economy, labor market, politics, business, family, domestic undertakings and heirloom. Correspondingly this culture of patriarchy is a very strong factor of male dominance over female and as a result men will sit back in the family to keep the family name and lineage growing while women will be married out.

Thus men are being trained for leadership activities while women are confined to domestic activities; roles ascribed to them by culture which affect them later in life, thereby making them to lose self-confident/worth and have low self-esteem in their career in adult life, politics inclusive. The results will be very useful in providing a platform for the development of policy framework by policy makers that will result in an increase in the success rate of equality. This study will also contribute to the body of knowledge base on gender inequality in Nigeria.

1.4     Scope and limitation of the study

This study is limited to analyze the effect of gender inequality. The study will also examine the patriarchy as the parasite that African culture must liberated to survive.  Regardless of the fact that research would be unbeaten, there are number of limitations of this study. In any study work, it may be impossible to take good care of all problems involved, the only thing a researcher can do is to mirror on those factors that are indispensable to research. The real limitation of the study is financial problems to accessing archives on time as well as time constraints owing to other academic pressure.

1.5     Research Methodology

In carrying out this research, various materials and research tools were employed. This includes; secondary source which consisted of library research in which published books, journals and the internet was considered. In the process of data collection, the library was consulted before embarking on the project, there is need to find out what has been written on the subject so as to guide the research on the general nature of the work and give root of background to the study. Hence, any information gathered was used to carry out proper work.

1.6     Literature Review

Giving way, the recent research from third world countries suggests that poverty and gender inequality are linked, researchers often link the results of inequality to cultural norms and practices rather than to poverty itself[15]. Colclough further maintained that these studies point out that because of the patriarchal culture in most developing countries, men are more valued than women and women are generally considered subordinates of men. Therefore, the training of boys in school is given more priority, while girls receive attention in the form of feeding them to be good future wives and mothers.

Stromquist, added that these cultural perceptions influence households' educational decisions and are more evident when household income levels are low. In other words, poor households are more likely to face the challenge of "choosing and choosing" to send to school, and because there is a strong belief that boys' education is more valuable than that of the girls, these poor parents choose to educate their boys on their daughters[16]. This in turn is reinforced because of the misconception embedded in various parts of the world that female education is a waste (since they will be distributed in marriage). Although it is now generally accepted that education for girls is necessary, there is still a wide perception that education "too" makes girls less obedient to their parents and husbands[17]. Moreover, in cases where families are obliged to let their children engage in child labor to support their schooling, boys are more likely to engage in money activities to get their way to school, School while girls mainly help at home or family businesses Facilitates the diversion of income generated to alleviate the financial needs of their families[18].

According to Olurode, a nation that is not engendered is threatened. Engaging a country through gender equality implies the effectiveness of national security that promotes greater equality between women and men. Gender is a central principle of corporate organization and often governs the security process. Women account for more than 70 per cent of the world's poor due to unequal access to economic opportunities. Increased women's participation in the workforce and the development of female human capital not only reduce poverty at the household level but also radically national security[19]. The global economic downturn and the gap between job creation and growth in the number of jobseekers have exacerbated the employment situation for women and men. But women face greater vulnerability in the labor market due to their relative lack of education and training, the tendency to channel women into certain occupations, and the continuing heavy burden of unpaid domestic work, procreation and child care, which limit the time and energy available for Income Generating Activities[20].

Omonubi asserted that Nigeria, like other countries in the world, responds to the clear and different demand by all United Nations societies for all forms of discrimination, in particular gender-based discrimination. Nigeria has indeed tried to respond to this development from the international arena by articulating policies and programs that seek to reduce gender in equals in the socio-economic and political spheres, but the success of bridging the gap between Men and women is far away. [21] Omonubi considers that: politically, the women of Nigeria are negligible and undermine the force. In economic terms, they constitute the majority of the peasant labor force in the agricultural sector, while most of the others occupy the bottom of the professional ladder and continue to be channeled into the service and the domestic professions. The consequence of gender inequality is the high level of economy and political powerlessness among women, and powerlessness delays development at any level, politically, economically and socially. Gender-based discrimination is a pervasive global problem that has led to intense gender inequality in many countries around the world. It has existed since the dawn of civilization and has continued for centuries. Gender discrimination has created wide gender gaps in many countries around the world, with devastating social, economic and health consequences for members of the gender spectrum who have been intensely marginalized and subjugated in the context. The world, in recent decades, has witnessed a keen interest in feminist jurisprudence. This interest has resulted in the emergence of many global strategies focusing on women's emancipation and empowerment[22].

Nigerian culture perceives and considers men to be superior to women, which is reflected in Nigeria's "son preferences syndrome". Male children in Nigeria often benefit from preferential treatment, such as exemption from household duties; They enjoy an unlimited right to education, while parents are greedy by greedy parents for the economic gains in the home. Culture also disinherits women and girls. In the home, women are subjected to all kinds of inhuman and degrading treatment. Our culture strictly limits women to the stereotyped role of home support, childbearing and child rearing. It must be seen and not heard and [23] rightly observed that this subordination of the woman by our culture knows no borders nor barriers and does not depend on the "social, educational or economic status of the Nigerian women". [24] As a result, uneducated women and poor women in the rural community are as subordinate as educated and wealthy women in the urban center. Another disturbing aspect of this cultural marginalization of women in Nigeria, as discussed above, is its deeply rooted nature in the Nigerian system.

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