In recent times, as a result of the growing awareness toward gender inequality across Nigeria, owed to the tireless efforts of feminists by way of women's movements; opportunities for women have increased. Despite this increase, women still encounter inequality in the areas of politics, child marriage and education.
The history of Nigeria is usually presented in three eras. The pre-colonial era, the colonial as well as post-colonial eras. In Pre-colonial times what is known as Nigeria today was just a territory made up of a number of highly influential and diverse societies or kingdoms. The territories were governed by monarchs- kings, their queens and the cabinet of chiefs; and their government was based greatly on their individual cultures and traditions. The 15th century, marked the coming of “the white man” to these kingdoms initially as missionaries, explorers, traders and slave dealers. In order to ensure better management of the newly acquired territory, by 1914, there was an amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates by the British into a single territory that is Nigeria today. Traditionally, it was uncommon to have women coordinating their clans, they were seen as advisers to the clan heads who were usually the men, women were in charge of farming within the family, and women were prominent in the area of trade. Oral accounts recognized such figures as Madam Tinubu, Moremi, amongst others in the Western region, who was a powerful business woman even at the time of colonization. In the area of politics, there were female rulers, female warriors, cabinet members and queens who were special advisers to the king, priestesses and other custodians of traditions. According to Yusuf, the era of Colonialism for Nigerian women was the era of inactivity especially in politics ( Badejo, 1985). This is because the prevalent administration had brought with it the assumptions of “European patriarchy into Nigerian society” (Rojas, 1994). Colonialism in many ways was biased against women and their advancement in the society because most of the legislation concerning women “attempted to control them, their sexuality and fertility” and in many ways defined their subordination and the restrictions placed on them changed their positions in indigenous societies (Rojas, 1994). It has been argued that the origin of structures of inequality that has led to discrimination against women became more prominent in the colonial era with the promotion of predominantly male dominated social systems (The Guardian, 2009).
In September last year, a watered down version of the Gender and Equality Bill passed a second reading in the Senate, and was referred to the committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters. The first bill put forward six months earlier, and which included equal rights for women in marriages, divorce, property ownership and inheritance, was voted down. That bill was rejected because members of the upper arm of parliament said “enacting a law to accord women equal rights with men was un-African and anti-religious”. Currently, out of 109 members of the Nigerian senate, 102 are men and 7 are women. In a country whose population is almost equally divided between male and female citizens, such sparse representation of one entire half of the population can be seen as a serious imbalance where decisions that affect the interests of both groups are being discussed. Constitutionally, there are no existing legal barriers that prevents women from seeking political offices, or standing for election. However, the mere fact that there are no legal restrictions on political participation for women does not in itself nullify the many other hurdles they face. The cost of campaigning for elections and the perception of it as a violence prone activity may have served to an extent as a deterrent to the political ambition of many. Having more qualified women in political positions could fight against a number of negative plagues afflicting the female population including early marriage.
Child marriage, referring to a marriage of a young person less than 18 years is still widely practiced in many parts of the World and predominantly affects girls. It is estimated that, if nothing changes, a 100 million young girls aged 15 years or less will be married within the present decade.
Child marriage is associated with lower wealth, lower education levels, and higher labor force participation. These however, are only correlations, not necessarily causal effects. Measures of child marriage are high in Nigeria. About 43% of girls are married off before their 18th birthday. 17% are married before they turn 15.The prevalence of child marriage varies widely from one region to another, with figures as high as 76% in the North West region and as low as 10% in the South East.While data shows a 9% decline in the prevalence of child marriage since 2003, action is needed to prevent thousands of girls from being married in the coming years. Girls aged 15 to 19 give birth to 15million babies a year (UNICEF, 2001). Despite an almost globally unanimous stance against it, this harmful tradition thrives as approximately 51 million underage girls are married. These marriages are generally forced upon them and in violation of various international laws and agreements on women’s rights. With limited education, limited or near-zero entrepreneurial skills and economic opportunities, child brides are often condemned to a life of poverty, social isolation, and powerlessness, infringing on their human rights, health, and well-being. Also, births resulting from child marriages are said to be “too soon, too close and too many” (Gbadamosi, 2007).
Gender inequality in education is not about political affiliation. It is not about the number of women in politics or governance, and not about separate schools for both genders. It is also not about the levels of educational achievement of boys and girls, nor the religious burdens of male and female according to old religious texts. It is not about which of the genders can contribute more to benefit the family. It is about equal access to education and retention of these students. The Nigerian census population figures (2007) indicate that there are more males than females in school. These census numbers usually cover the more exposed towns and cities omitting the deeply rural areas. Research by Ofoegbu (2009) also shows that the literacy rate for males is higher than for females in the north due to early marriages, lack of belief in western education and other religious constraints. In the Southern and western states, according to Nnachi, (2010) females dominate in education and other vital sectors of life. This is mainly due to socio-economic considerations. The grounds of gender inequality in education are first, the parental preference for educating either of the genders because of trade-economic reasons. Economically, it is believed that an educated female would be more useful in the family however, traditional practices support the preference for educating the male child who will succeed the father and sustain the lineage. The second reason is the effects of stereotypes. Classroom observational studies in Nigeria have shown that sexism exists in schools. There is what educationists refer to as the “hidden curriculum”. These are non-documented lessons or ideas that students pick up simply from interaction with the school environment. It is observable in the ways teachers interact with male students as opposed to females. Sexualizing female students from as early as 14 with certain comments as opposed to giving boys the “boys will be boys” attitude.
According to CSIDS Report (2011), poor girls in developing countries are not being educated at the rate at which they should be. More than 100 million children according to UNICEF (2004), Annual Report do not go to school and more than half of them are girls. There are several explanations for the significant impact of girl’s education on developmental projects in any society. The issues that must be addressed to change the status-quo for girls are symptoms of the developmental obstacles in their society as a whole. These issues include such things as choices, opportunities, incentives and attitudes toward fundamental human rights.