Patriarchy Persists in Nigeria, But Women Also Uphold It

Patriarchy is a socio-cultural system that privileges maleness over femaleness and enthrones masculine domination of women. This system is evident where authority is vested in men as a category, and especially in senior men or old men, who, as custodians of their cultures, ensure general compliance with social and cultural norms. Patriarchal dominance evolved into a formidable institution with clear political undertones, writes Egodi Uchendu for The Conversation.

For example, the Chrisland School incident whereby they're allegations of drug use, pornography and sex by under-aged children - four boys and a girl - representing their school in the games at the World School Games in March 2022 in Dubai. The students allegedly had sex and it was recorded.

The incident raises some important issues around the issue of patriarchy because of the way in which blame was apportioned. Some media reports blamed the mother of the ten-year-old girl. The father was never mentioned. Nor was the conduct of the parents of the four boys involved ever mentioned. The boys were not strongly reprimanded, the girl was.

Uchendu's research has found that Nigerian women also contribute - with or without knowing it - to reinforcing the institutions that oppress them and undermine gender equality. Nigerian women, like men, perpetuate patriarchy in various ways. One is by consenting to institutionalised patriarchy by philosophically reasoning: "it has always been so ... why should we raise any objections?". This timid acceptance of male domination pervades the psyche of many Nigerian women and determines how they see their world and their experiences. Thus conditioned, it becomes difficult for most to fight patriarchal bondage or to assert themselves, she added.