Women empowerment in Nigeria: a retro-structural examination

Abstract

This paper examined: women empowerment programmes and initiatives and comparing the scenario with what was obtainable previously in the country; factors affecting woman empowerment and the implications of women empowerment in Nigeria. Functionalist and Institutional theories were adopted to give theoretical discourses to issues of interest. The study adopted secondary data and presented using tables and charts, hence, content analyzed. The study found out that despite several empowerment programmes in Nigeria; women are still under empowered as a result of certain factors such as colonialism, patriarchy, gender stereotyping, political instability and religion amongst others. The study concludes that women in Nigeria face a series of specific empowerment problems mainly structural in nature, deeply rooted in Nigeria’s colonization process, cultural attitudes, religious beliefs, familiar role regarding the functional role of the genders. It was recommended amongst others that a systematic reorientation of the populace on the place of the female gender within the household is to be embarked upon.

Keywords: Empowerment, Equity, Gender, Social Structure, Nigeria, Women