By Sandra Ijeoma Okoye
If there is any news that broke on February 14, 2022, which was invariably a Valentine day, it is the one that reportedly had it that a Man identified as Felix Akeze, a staff of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) asked his wife to pay back his money, while holding her and their children hostage with gun at their residence in Chevron Drive, Lekki, Lagos.
Reports said the wife who is from Aku in Igbo Etiti LGA, Enugu state, alerted one of her brothers through the phone early in the morning, and told him that the husband said she must pay all the money he spent on her and their children else he will kill all of them.
It was gathered that security men at the estate who have arrived the house at No. 5b, Toyosi Adetoro Street together with some policemen from Ajah division made frantic efforts to access the compound and rescue the victims. They succeeded in getting into the compound and diffused the situation. His wife and kids were rescued wherein the wife reportedly disclosed that they were held hostage for five days by her hubby. What could have emboldened the man to brazenly act in such reckless manner if not for the patriarchal society that women live in?
Also, one would not be wrong to say that part of the humiliation which women suffers is that of “Son preference” which refers to an attitude founded on the belief that girls are inadequate and of lesser value than boys. As a major form of gender discrimination, it can give way to an array of practices harmful to girls and women. For instance, some men tend to neglect the girl child by withholding access to health, education, economic opportunity and in some cases, even food and other basic necessities. In an alternative form, Son preference has also manifested itself through the practice of sex selective abortion.
Against the backdrop of the foregoing instances, it may not be wrong to say that if there is any way Nigerian are becoming insensitive towards the plight of women, particularly by considering it not to be worrisome enough, at least to pause, and ponder over it, it is unarguably that of their refusal to acknowledge the humiliation and discrimination which women are drawn into by retrogressive culture and tradition, and which they unavoidably face by each passing day, particularly within matrimonial setting.
Another barrier which women face, particularly those of them that are based in the rural areas, is that of land reform system where they have encountered diverse barriers toward the equal application of land policies between them and their male counterparts. This has been a clog in the wheel of land reform in Nigeria. In Nigeria, women own less than 1% of the land. Thus, the impact of land reform on rural women has been relatively insignificant in many parts of the country as a result of the cultural limitations on women’s land rights.
Seen through the lens of the foregoing, women in most societies in Nigeria do not have direct claim to land. The exercise of their claims to properties are subsumed in their husband’s rights, or that of their sons. A respondent from a community in Edo State recalled an experience,
“My mother was denied the right to inherit the family land after the demise of my father. The family head told her to forget about her demand for landed property because she is a woman. She tried to get land through the benevolence of some of her in-laws who were in good rapport with her when her husband was alive, but all proved abortive. She was later advised to apply through my brother. It was only at this point that a small parcel of land was allocated to us through my brother.”
This point, without doubt, is not uncommon in other parts of Nigeria not few widow would recall that they suffered similar fate in their bid to access family land.
In many societies across the country, women are discriminated against and their voice given a back seat. Disturbingly, in some families, the female fetus is often aborted as many families view girls as a burden on the economics of the family and, therefore, no preparation or very little is made for them. The discrimination of girls and women globally is rooted in a patriarchal system in which the male gender is given pride of place, along with privileges and benefits attached to being male. Unfortunately, many men still identify women through sexist lenses for the sole purpose of pleasure served on a platter for the sexual entitlement to female bodies. It bears thought that sexual abuse, sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances are only some of the issues women face daily.
This view by men of entitlement to the female body serves as a catalyst for, among other things, the continuation of the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation of thousands of women and girls across the country each year. This violation of women’s human rights has left numerous women scarred physically as well as psychologically.
In an informal online survey carried out recently, women identified safety as being among the most pressing issues they face. In Nigeria, the issue of gender-based violence, particularly as ritual killings been orchestrated by “Yahoo-Yahoo” criminals has been on the increase. At this juncture, it is expedient to opine that in order to empower women and girls that they must first feel a sense of safety regardless of their socio-economic class. This sense of security must be experienced both in the public and private spheres.
To worsen the situation, there is no denying the fact that female participation in governance is woefully lacking. Women are generally discouraged from entering politics, and those who do enter must bear the brunt of unpleasant, sexist and unkind remarks. In fact, the society must encourage women to enter business and facilitate easy financing of same. We can and should do more work towards a more inclusive and gender-equal society. It is pragmatic for more engagement of boys and men to be involved in discussions on gender relations.
At times, we are drawn to think that by excluding men from the dialogue on gender and interpersonal relation that the storyline surrounding women will improve. We need to encourage and foster a culture of conflict resolution in order to arrive at solutions for many relationships which have gone bad. Men need to give more support; both in practical as well as in symbolic terms to the concerns and plight of women. It is only through attaining financial stability that women are going to free themselves from the vices and mechanisms which are in place to keep them dependent on men.
