WOMEN, LABOUR AND ECONOMY

 

In Nigeria as elsewhere, religion and tradition are instruments of women oppression. They constitute among others the ideology of the society, which is a superstructure on the socio-economic foundation of any class society. Many of the religious beliefs and traditions are dated back to the feudal era. They were designed to justify and sustain private property. They are retained until now because of the fact that feudalism might have come to an end, the private property still remains except it has only changed character. Patriarchy is a by-product of class society. It came into being along with the private property, as it is the case of state, in order to preserve the interest of the early beneficiaries of the then new socio-economic arrangement i.e. men. Traditions and religion support the patriarchal society along with the private property and class society.

The patriarchal society sets the parameters for women’s structurally unequal position in families and markets by condoning gender-differential terms in inheritance rights and legal adulthood, by tacitly condoning domestic and sexual violence and sanctioning differential wages for equal or comparable work. Tradition or culture and religion have dictated men and women relationship for centuries and entrenched male domination into the structure of social organisation and institution at all levels of leadership. They justify capitalism’s marginalisation of women in education, labour market, politics, business, family, domestic matters and inheritance.

As stated earlier, the oppression of women is a global phenomenon since capitalism or class society is universal, but in Nigeria a neo-colonial country under shackles of the imperialism and their multinational agents, the conditions of women conveniently compete for the worst in the world among other third world countries. I will attempt to discuss the situation of women in Nigeria in relation to religion, education, economy, socio-political rights, violence, law, human rights, health and reproduction and trafficking.

By the virtue of the population of Nigeria the potential female labour force is 50% but the actual value is 31%. Findings by International Labour Organization (ILO)  suggest that ,the proportion of women in the formal sector is very minimal as compare to the percentage of labour force the woman category stands potential to offer. This is noticeable in the industries and the civil services; statistics indicate that in the Federal Civil Service, which is the highest employer in the country, women are mostly found in the junior categories.

Women are mainly involved in petty trading, selling wares in the market and street hawking in urban areas. According to statistics 78 % of women are mostly engaged in the informal sector, which are farming and petty trading. Despite this, their contribution is not commensurate monetarily. The women’s unpaid labour is twice that of men, and its economic value is estimated to be up to 30% of the nation’s Gross National Product.

Women self-advancement has been curtailed by the burden of reproduction, particularly in Nigeria with a very high birth rate as well as the cultural roles associated to women – role of child bearing, child raising and homemaking.

Nigerian women, like their counterparts, around the world, face a lot of discrimination that limit their opportunities to develop their full potential on the basis of equality with men.

The 1999 Constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of sex and women employment rights are further protected under the Labour Act. Nevertheless, the reality is that Nigerian women are far from enjoying equal rights in the labour market, due mainly to their domestic burden, low level of educational attainment, biases against women’s employment in certain branches of the economy or types of work and discriminatory salary practices. In some establishments women are not allowed to get married or pregnant because it is thought that it will reduce their productivity and of course profit.

The legal protection granted by the constitution and the Labour Act has little or no effect in the informal sector agriculture and domestic services where the vast majority of women are employed.

Women are mainly involved in arduous manual task in farming and food processing. They do not have access to land but can only use the land at the benevolence of their husbands and brothers. Women also have limited access to agricultural inputs. Women tend to be disadvantaged, because when compared with men, they do not have access to obtaining credit facilities and so are rarely engaged in the production and marketing of lucrative cash crops, such as cocoa, which tends to be a male preserve.

With the prevailing socio-economic crises in Nigeria as a result of the IMF/World Bank dictated neo-liberal policies, jobs are lost at an increasing rate. Expectedly women are the worse hit. In some cases, women can retain their job if they do not mind becoming the objects of sexual satisfaction of the bosses or the employers. Some women particularly the young ones are only employed as long as they are ready to use their bodies to woo customers for their business organizations. This is what is called “corporate prostitution”.

In spite of the above issues, the role of women in providing labour that drives the economy cannot be overemphasized as doing otherwise , will amount to undermining the role of women in nation building.

Women,  have, in no small way, contributed to the economic sustainability of Nigeria. For instance, Women groups like League for Peace and Freedom for women, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Women in Business (WIB),  have seen women on their way to critical engagements that have been helping women to push for the advancement of the country which has seen the enactment of some quality legislations like the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act 2015. Women have sustained the push for its domestication in some  states like Benue as well as providing mentorship and access to capital for women in business both in urban and rural settlements.

Similarly, non- governmental organizations have also been working to bring together women of varying political, philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make known the causes of war and work for a sustainable peace and to unite women worldwide to oppose oppression and exploitation of the woman folk and other vulnerable minorities around the globe. This has given birth to networks like the  Nigeria Women Mediators Network (NWMN)  where women stakeholders hold  consultative dialogue and discussions on how to  look at the women peace and security architecture in their States, mediation practices and as well as issues arising as a result of COVID-19 and mitigative actions. These no doubts are laudable steps by women in making sure that the economy of the country is secure through a peaceful atmosphere.

Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (MWASD) Benue State for instance, in Collaboration with UN Women in   implementing the Security Council resolutions 1325 has already commenced implementation in four local government Gwer west, Guma, Logo and Otukpo LGAs of Benue State building capacity and increasing opportunities for women at the State and Local level.

These and many more are some of the efforts women are making in peace and security leading to availability of man power capable of driving the economy. What is expected now is for Nigeria as a country to strive towards doing away with the patriarchal mentality and eschew the fact that women are doing a whole lot now and are successful when give opportunity to serve. The presence of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Aruma Ote, Omobola Johnson and many more are living examples.

Therefore, as a way forward for women to fully achieve their goals and contribute to the economy  the following must be considered:

Women must be actively involved, encouraged and supported to participate in politics. Women need to be encouraged as part of the process of guaranteeing their rights as human beings and because of the contributions that they have made and can make to the political process in Nigeria. Political parties that are genuinely interested in the cause of women should require the
states that they control to implement the policy on these areas.

Constitutional provisions need to be put in place to ensure women’s maximum
participation and involvement in the political process.

It is also suggested that politically-inclined NGOs and Women Associations must assist in providing a conducive cultural environment for women’s participation in politics and governance. This can be done through systematic and integrated campaigns in both rural and urban centres to soften gender stereotypes of public roles.

The crusade against nepotism, corruption and lack of transparency within Nigeria’s male dominated society remains a task that distinguished women in law should confront significantly in spite of the complexity of the legal structure and the high wired politics that characterize appointments and performance in the Nigerian polity.

Rape is one serious abuse against women that requires the collaboration of all women of note to make right and reject vehemently.

In conclusion, this article has attempted a historical and holistic  analysis of the position of the Nigerian woman in the political, economical and social spheres of the nation across all the historical epochs from the pre-colonial, through the colonial and up to the post-colonial and the contemporary periods. It has been clearly shown through facts  that the Nigerian woman is hardworking, responsible, responsive, diligent and resilient. Nigerian women have succeeded in combining several socio-economic and political roles as house wives, home builders, care givers, traders, farmers, politicians, nationalists, social crusaders and stateswomen and have also made their marks in intelligence service, policing and in the military service. The African cultural lives have put so many responsibilities on the shoulders of women and they have successfully discharged these responsibilities. Examples abound in the pre-colonial, colonial and contemporary history of Nigeria of these trail blazing women who at different times, had helped the country achieve escapes and achievements in bottle neck situations. . It has been shown here that for contemporary Nigerian women to fully realize their potentials and contribute more meaningfully to societal progress and development, some important steps and actions must be taken by every stakeholder in Nigeria from the governments at all levels, to individual women and men and policy makers as well as women organisations and societies.