Gender Relations and Domestic Power Politics

Abstract

Issues on gender have gained global significance since the mid nineteenth century largely because of the increasing efforts by women to correct the several social ills of inequality and marginalization that women experience based prominently on patriarchy. The concern of this paper is not necessarily on how the male and the female relate, but really on what they do to gain power at the micro level to be able to operate on complementary bases or to be superior to the other, as the case may be. This study develops from the premise that there are certain activities and tendencies that engender power for a person, and this is enhanced by some factors including educational attainment, professional affiliations, natural endowments, etc. The implications of the power generated within the relationship form the thrust of this investigation, which aims at evolving a paradigm for contemporary African women in relationship with their male counterparts within the family contexts.