Inferiorization of Igbo Women and its Consequences

I think its time for cultural reorientation and steps towards emancipation and empowerm...Read the full article.

aguabata · Sep 9, 2007 , 10:02 AM

Pls Igbo's are moving on, Igbo male traders now insist on marrying graduates,even fud their post graduate studies, i grew up in Enugu and what i've seen since the seventies is a deviation of the picture you are painting, if women in Nigeria are getting are bad deal i bet the igbo woman arent on top of the list.

Hamattan · Sep 9, 2007 , 11:23 AM

Inferiorization ke, I must say that in the case of Igbo women, a majority of them are fully empowered people pursuing their goals with the support of their men. But this does not mean that all is well regarding women rights. But the Igbo women I guess are not the worse off.

akuluouno · Sep 9, 2007 , 12:35 PM

The Oriental Brothers may not be original in this but it was in one of their classics that they sang that the beauty (glory) of a woman is her husband. Ditto they added that a nation where a woman is queen that the nation is finished. Fela also in his chartbuster, Lady, eulogised the vices of African (Nigerian woman).
Be that as it may, I thing the Igbo woman has come along way. The proverb that a dog trained by a woman ends up eating eggs (Gentleman Mike Ejeagha in his masterpiece "Obiakor") was meant to show the depth of the maternalistic and affectionate feelings ususally exhibited by women. The other proverbs were never meant to denigrate women. Afterall there are proverbs which also deal with old men, youth and adults. For instance a disobedient son is always warned that a child who attempts to lift up his father will be lashed and blinded by many things including something that looks like a ball on sling.

Recall that you play with umuada or umuokpu or women in a traditional Igbo society at your own peril. They have ways of exerting influence and moral authority. So far reaching were the powers of women in those days that a shrine in Obeledu warned that if he does not impregnate a man, women will not learn to be fearful of him. I know that many communities have made giant progress to eliminate the barriers that make women sad in their communities.

cdimkpa · Sep 9, 2007 , 01:02 PM

Is this article a joke or something? Indeed it must be a huge joke, for the Igbo women I know are far more hardworking than even Igbo men. Can't you see their records which speak for themselves?

Dr. S Adetunji · Sep 9, 2007 , 01:06 PM

My wife is Igbo and she is amongst the most uninferior women in the world. There is no difference between her and other equally self-confident women from Yoruba or Hausa or ND.

.bebi · Sep 9, 2007 , 01:17 PM

In effect,r u saying that because most igbo women r not business women(chasing after wealth) but r civil servants/teachers,they r inferior?I really don't get the koko of ur article?

WayoGuy · Sep 9, 2007 , 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by Churchill Okonkwo

Take a closer look at some of these selected Igbo proverbs:

1. A woman whose husband has decided to hate cannot solve the problem by mere cooking of delicious soup

2. Due to their habitual denial of favours they receive, women do not grow beards

3. When a woman is getting old, it would seem as if money (bride price) was not paid to marry her

4. A woman whose husband has just died and she prepares to go to market knows what killed him

5. A dog trained by a woman (always) bites people to death

6 A woman who goes to Afor Nnobi Market and fights, goes to Nkwo Alor Market and fights, goes to Eke Uke Market and fights, is it the market people that are looking for trouble (from her), or is she the one that is looking for trouble (from market people)?

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Brother Churchill,

You cited a number of proverbs in an attempt to make your case for the “Inferiorization of Igbo Women...”. Although I cannot deny that suppression of the womenfolk has been around for centuries in Africa, in fact in every part of the world, I do not see the Igbo woman as a special case. My disagreement with your thesis begins with the proverbs you cited.

1. A woman whose husband has decided to hate cannot solve the problem by mere cooking of delicious soup.
WayoGuy’s understanding: This proverb, while it uses a woman as the reference subject, is not a denigration of the Igbo woman because it merely states a universal truth. Proper translation/explanation should be along the line of “If a person is determined to hate you, trying to please him with a good deed will not change his mind”. This proverb is universal in its truism, not peculiar to Igboland.

2. Due to their habitual denial of favours they receive, women do not grow beards.
WayoGuy’s understanding: The Igbo rendition of this proverb “Ori ago mere nwanyi agbaghi afu onu” is one of those playful banters, obviously coined by a man, trying to explain (to children in children’s stories) why women do not grow beards. Brother Churchhill should know that if indeed the refusal to acknowledge favours were the cause of the absence of facial hair on women, it would be women all over the world considering that the absence of facial hair is not a disease afflicting only Igbo women.

3. When a woman is getting old, it would seem as if money (bride price) was not paid to marry her.
WayoGuy’s understanding: If you ask me, a proper reading of this proverb should show that it teaches the reader (listener) to respect women whether old or young. Again disrespect of old people, men and women, by the youths, is not an Igbo disease and this proverb does not even imply that it is. It is a gentle rebuke to those who despise what is old, not just women, while they admire the young. This is not a proverb that is anti Igbo women.

4. A woman whose husband has just died and she prepares to go to market knows what killed him.
WayoGuy: Come now, my brother, how can you take this proverb literally? Is there any history of an Igbo woman ever being convicted of killing her husband based on her preparing to go to the market after the death of her husbands? This proverb means that if a tragedy or other serious calamity befalls your relative (such as death, serious illness, accident) you should not be seen carrying on your usual routine because it will raise the suspicion that you have no sympathy for the victim or are somehow complicit in the occurrence.

5. A dog trained by a woman (always) bites people to death
WayoGuy’s understanding: Compare this to “A dog trained by a woman eats eggs” (respect Akuluouno).

6 A woman who goes to Afor Nnobi Market and fights, goes to Nkwo Alor Market and fights, goes to Eke Uke Market and fights, is it the market people that are looking for trouble (from her), or is she the one that is looking for trouble (from market people)?
WayoGuy’s understanding: This one is easy. There is nothing peculiar to women here, let alone Igbo women. Take the “woman” in the proverb and replace it with “man” or “boy” or “person” and we will get the undeniable gist of this universal aphorism.

akuluouno · Sep 9, 2007 , 05:31 PM

Dearest Wayo,

Warm regards and respects too for shining the light on Churchill's dissertation. The literalisation of the proverbs was indeed what led CO to misconstrue them as an attempt at inferioritisation of the Igbowoman. Recall that i returned to sender using the proverb of young man who wanted to lift up his father and if CO were to literally interpret that he might misconstrue the objects that will daze the foolish son, during the effort to be literally objects like aball in a sack

But what is meant is that the foolish boy will meet with serious obstacles both spiritiual and physical.
Reminds me of the parable of the lost sheep which an economist friend of mine explained does not make economic sense because the shepherd not only risked the fate of ninety nine in the wilderness inhabited by wild beasts but also killed another innocent three to celebrate the recovery of a prodigal one. Is he not encouraging prodigality among his sheeps by so doing?

denker · Sep 9, 2007 , 05:40 PM

churchill, my dear, next time before using igbo proverbs methinks is better to consult our very dear brother, wayoguy

tschüß/ss and au revoir!

nero africanus · Sep 9, 2007 , 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by akuluouno

The Oriental Brothers may not be original in this but it was in one of their classics that they sang that the beauty (glory) of a woman is her husband. Ditto they added that a nation where a woman is queen that the nation is finished. Fela also in his chartbuster, Lady, eulogised the vices of African (Nigerian woman).
Be that as it may, I thing the Igbo woman has come along way. The proverb that a dog trained by a woman ends up eating eggs (Gentleman Mike Ejeagha in his masterpiece "Obiakor") was meant to show the depth of the maternalistic and affectionate feelings ususally exhibited by women. The other proverbs were never meant to denigrate women. Afterall there are proverbs which also deal with old men, youth and adults. For instance a disobedient son is always warned that a child who attempts to lift up his father will be lashed and blinded by many things including something that looks like a ball on sling.
Recall that you play with umuada or umuokpu or women in a traditional Igbo society at your own peril. They have ways of exerting influence and moral authority. So far reaching were the powers of women in those days that a shrine in Obeledu warned that if he does not impregnate a man, women will not learn to be fearful of him. I know that many communities have made giant progress to eliminate the barriers that make women sad in their communities.

umuada and umuokpu

you see those people .........................

tyrants all of them

Hamattan · Sep 9, 2007 , 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by akuluouno

The Oriental Brothers may not be original in this but it was in one of their classics that they sang that the beauty (glory) of a woman is her husband. Ditto they added that a nation where a woman is queen that the nation is finished. Fela also in his chartbuster, Lady, eulogised the vices of African (Nigerian woman).
Be that as it may, I thing the Igbo woman has come along way. The proverb that a dog trained by a woman ends up eating eggs (Gentleman Mike Ejeagha in his masterpiece "Obiakor") was meant to show the depth of the maternalistic and affectionate feelings ususally exhibited by women. The other proverbs were never meant to denigrate women. Afterall there are proverbs which also deal with old men, youth and adults. For instance a disobedient son is always warned that a child who attempts to lift up his father will be lashed and blinded by many things including something that looks like a ball on sling.
Recall that you play with umuada or umuokpu or women in a traditional Igbo society at your own peril. They have ways of exerting influence and moral authority. So far reaching were the powers of women in those days that a shrine in Obeledu warned that if he does not impregnate a man, women will not learn to be fearful of him. I know that many communities have made giant progress to eliminate the barriers that make women sad in their communities.

Akuluouno! Akuluouno! Akuluouno! Ugboro ole ka,m kporo aha gi, how many time did I call you? Chei, you are the son, sorry daughter of your father/mother. I had a good laugh reading the ögödö or was it nchörökötö blinding the child who attempts lifting the father. The role of the Umuada/Umuokpu women in the Igbo society you cited is a very serious one, they almost dealt with me during my father's funeral early this year if not that I am well grounded in 'omenani'- Igbo culture. One other thing I would like to add regarding the Igbo view on the place of women in their society is the right granted to women by tradition to marry another woman into the family if she wants, that is, if their husband dies and she did not or could not bear children. Daalu Akuluouno, I often enjoy reading your comments.

akuluouno · Sep 10, 2007 , 11:15 AM

Nero and Harmattan,

Hon villagers,
As long as God gives us life, I will regale u on the behaviours of Umuada and Umuokpu as well as their powers as articles emerge in the village which concerns them. These women are indeed very powerful and till date remain the only organised body in all villages in Igboland.
Any politician who wants to be popular or any NGO which wants to positvely affect Igbo rural areas must work with these people especailly during the month of August, when they hold their annual meetings.

Ask Peter Obi.
When my father died, I bought a cow and made sure that the hip side of the cow was well cut with enough flesh because it was the customary prerogative of Umuada. Do u know that in the heat of the burial I started hearing noises from the direction of umuada who complained following instigation from a snr aunt of mine that the meat was not enough and that since I am a diasporan, that I shoul dadd some money on top of the meat.
Villagers, I had no choice but to succumb or else they will scuttle ur event.

On marriage between women and women in Igboland, it is one wonderful practice that I think the world might wish to borrow from the Igbo culture as soon as they are intimated about the full details.

Hamattan · Sep 10, 2007 , 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by akuluouno

Nero and Harmattan,

Hon villagers,
As long as God gives us life, I will regale u on the behaviours of Umuada and Umuokpu as well as their powers as articles emerge in the village which concerns them. These women are indeed very powerful and till date remain the only organised body in all villages in Igboland.
Any politician who wants to be popular or any NGO which wants to positvely affect Igbo rural areas must work with these people especailly during the month of August, when they hold their annual meetings.Ask Peter Obi.
When my father died, I bought a cow and made sure that the hip side of the cow was well cut with enough flesh because it was the customary prerogative of Umuada. Do u know that in the heat of the burial I started hearing noises from the direction of umuada who complained following instigation from a snr aunt of mine that the meat was not enough and that since I am a diasporan, that I shoul dadd some money on top of the meat.
Villagers, I had no choice but to succumb or else they will scuttle ur event.
On marriage between women and women in Igboland, it is one wonderful practice that I think the world might wish to borrow from the Igbo culture as soon as they are intimated about the full details.

Akuluouno, I greet you again, your experience with Umuada is as close as the one I had too during my Dad's funeral. I had settled them according to tradition and I thought that everything was all right, but the moment the grave diggers started their work, they ordered the work to stop citing that they have not heard from my younger brother. Every married son of my father was supposed to settle them, because my father lived a full life up to 98.
I did not waste time, I quickly shouted their slogan to which they replied in unison, and I said to them that their demand will be taken care of. Some were saying 'no, we want to see it before the work continues, but the majority said no, that they know my stand, that I am a typical 'Omelu Ada', and so they ordered the diggers to continue.
On what you said about any NGO that wants to positively affect lives in Igbo land should go through them. I agree with you, I have done so too. In 2000 I started an initiative for community radio for women empowerment and I encouraged the Umuada in my home town to put up an organization called Olu-Umuada. By 2005 the equipments for the radio was procured and sent to Enugu. Unfortunately the radio is yet to go on air due to the delay in issuing community radio license in Nigeria as they are still busy working out modalities etc etc. But a functional community media centre is in progress in Ngwo village where training of the women is in progress while they wait for the licence. We have ready made structures in Igboland for effective administration. I do not understand why we should stick to oyibo style. Think of the council of elders, Nze na Ozörs, Umunna, Umuada, Otuögbö - Age grades and so on.
Hope someday these units can be used effectively within the mainstream government administration, and not only for local politicians advantage during campaigns.

Palamedes · Sep 10, 2007 , 07:16 PM

The meaning of the word “feminine,” is modeled, especially in classical ascetic cultures, on the images of the lower self and world. Autonomous social selfhood is imaged by men - the cultural creators of this view - as intrinsically “male,” while the “feminine” becomes the symbol of the repressed, subjugated and dreaded abysmal side of man.

Sir, your interpretation of “Feminine” is your own invention; it contradicts all known original meaning of the word. Your definition is probably drawn from the feminist movements who find it very profitable to portray women as victims of oppression. Here is what one very reliable etymological dictionary says about the origin of the word:

Feminine \Fem"i*nine\, a. [L. femininus, fr. femina woman; prob.
akin to L. fetus, or to Gr. qh^sqai to suck, qh^sai to
suckle, Skr. dh[=a] to suck; cf. AS. f[=ae]mme woman, maid:
cf. F. f['e]minin. See {Fetus}.]
1. Of or pertaining to a woman, or to women; characteristic
of a woman; womanish; womanly.
[1913 Webster]
Her letters are remarkably deficient in feminine ease and grace.
--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]

2. Having the qualities of a woman; becoming or appropriate
to the female sex; as, in a good sense, modest, graceful,
affectionate, confiding; or, in a bad sense, weak,
nerveless, timid, pleasure-loving, effeminate.
[1913 Webster]
Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]

Fetus \Fe"tus\ (f[=e]"t[u^]s), n.; pl. {Fetuses}
(f[=e]"t[u^]s*[e^]z). [L. fetus, foetus, a bringing forth,
brood, offspring, young ones, cf. fetus fruitful, fructified,
that is or was filled with young; akin to E. fawn a deer,
fecundity, felicity, feminine, female, and prob. to do, or
according to others, to be.]

The young or embryo of a vertebrate animal in the womb, or in
the egg; often restricted to the later stages in the
development of viviparous and oviparous animals. showing the
main recognizable features of the mature animal, {embryo}
being applied to the earlier stages. [Written also {f[oe]tus}.]
[1913 Webster]

Feminine, and the Latin “fetus” pertains to the nature and essence of the woman and NOT repression or subjugation of the woman.

I think its time for cultural reorientation and steps towards emancipation and empowerment of our women folks.

If women are fewer in the work place,that is because they are mothers also--a full time job. I bow my head to those women who juggle work and motherhood.

The problem with this article and a few others that portray African women as oppressed is the perspective from which the claimants write. The perspective, as always, is Western. To claim that the African woman and Western woman have a shared history of oppression is ignorance, and a display of historical and cultural illiteracy.

No Igbo woman (dead or alive) that I know fits the image the author tries to portray here, that is to say, most are hard working, industrious, open minded and the least parochial (compared to the men folks), with strong family values.

I suppose it is now the Igbo woman's turn to be portrayed as a victim of the Nigerian system--It fits the pattern we now see on NVS.

Footnote: No “ Thank You”, please.

Dimaanu · Sep 10, 2007 , 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by akuluouno

Nero and Harmattan,

Hon villagers,
As long as God gives us life, I will regale u on the behaviours of Umuada and Umuokpu as well as their powers as articles emerge in the village which concerns them. These women are indeed very powerful and till date remain the only organised body in all villages in Igboland.
Any politician who wants to be popular or any NGO which wants to positvely affect Igbo rural areas must work with these people especailly during the month of August, when they hold their annual meetings.Ask Peter Obi.
When my father died, I bought a cow and made sure that the hip side of the cow was well cut with enough flesh because it was the customary prerogative of Umuada. Do u know that in the heat of the burial I started hearing noises from the direction of umuada who complained following instigation from a snr aunt of mine that the meat was not enough and that since I am a diasporan, that I shoul dadd some money on top of the meat.
Villagers, I had no choice but to succumb or else they will scuttle ur event.
On marriage between women and women in Igboland, it is one wonderful practice that I think the world might wish to borrow from the Igbo culture as soon as they are intimated about the full details.

The bolded portion must be peculiar to your side of Igbo land.
First and foremost, you are an ada and that places you on the same level with the umuada. They have no business demanding things from you, even if you are a diasporan.
Assuming that your father did not have a male child, I believe that it is the responsibilty of the Umunna to bury their brother, even if the money actually comes from you.

For the umuada to be openly demanding money from a fellow nwada during her farther's burial is akin to irapu omenani mebe omenenu

Oluwato · Sep 13, 2007 , 01:18 PM

Very interesting article. I'm particularly impressed because it is written by a man. Good job. It was published on my birthday too... nice.

I would like to respond to >...In the South west of Nigeria; a Yoruba woman is known to be as industrious as an Igbo man with their men struggling to meet up...

That is not entirely true. Yoruba women ARE MORE industrious than Igbo men (they are definitely more industrious than Yoruba men). Why do I say this? Igbo men are very hardworking (and I praise them for it), but at least they appreciated by their wives and family members. Yoruba women ARE only appreciated by their children and a few godly folk. Most Yoruba men are lazy, lustful and great liars. In my own opinion, Igbo women as disadvantaged as you present them are still better off than Yoruba women.

I want to commend your list of proverbs. Genderization, mental enslavement and emotional displacement is fostered in Nigeria and Africa, in fact globally, through cultural vehicles like proverbs. I'll just state one Yoruba proverb that agrees with your observation.

"Pashan ta fi na yale, oun be laja fun'yawo" basic translation, "The whip that was used to beat the first wife is kept for the second wife.

I was a young girl when I first heard this proverb. I heard it at a wedding. I think I must have been 11 or 12 years. Although the conscious message was the fact that the husband was consistent and the new wife should not be fooled that she was better than the first/old wife, the sub-conscious message was;
-a man had the right to beat his wife(wives),
-a man had the right to marry more than one wife
-a first wife should expect a second wife and experience some form of satisfaction from her receiving a similar maltreatment.

This among others lead to my dissatisfaction with the hidden (now more blatant) brainwashing of women to view themselves as inferior, less than, unequal to men. I am yet to hear of a flip or opposite proverb. For example why isn't there a proverb like; "Egba ta fi na oko kini, owa ni pepe fun oko keji" basic translation "The cane that was used to beat the first husband is on the shelf for the second husband."

I like it when women oppose these ungodly, satanic, chauvinstic, abusive words, norms and attitudes, but I really love it when men do. So I salute you for courage to proclaim one of the pathways by which violation is promoted generationally.

Having said that, education is the only way out. The average educated Yoruba woman learns to break free from the abusive clutches of her culture through proper information. Let's keep educating our women AND MEN.

Blessings,

Oluwato

Rose · Sep 13, 2007 , 01:57 PM