Nigerian Women Navigate Power Disparities to Get Healthcare

Nigeria is a patriarchal society. Authority is vested in men, who tend to exert power and control over women in various spheres of life, writes Ogochukwu Udenigwe for The Conversation Africa.

This has an impact on women's health and decisions about their healthcare. Women's health is affected not only by medical conditions and childbearing but also by cultural behaviour and traditions. Social factors such as gendered access to healthcare or employment also affect people's capacity to lead healthy lives.

Nigerian feminist scholar Obioma Nnaemeka has described feminism in an African context as a matter of negotiation and compromise. She calls it "negofeminism". It involves "give and take" instead of confrontational exchanges.

A study conducted in rural Nigerian communities explored women's negotiation of authority within a patriarchal environment for maternal healthcare. Interviews revealed that women navigate patriarchal structures by attributing decision-making power to their male spouses while still influencing pregnancy-related healthcare choices. This approach, termed negotiation feminism, highlights men's constructive involvement in maternal health and challenges the notion of women as passive victims. However, women are not passive in these situations. They actively find ways around it to ensure they have access to skilled healthcare during pregnancy.