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1.1 INTRODUCTION1.1 INTRODUCTION

In all African societies, Women have been looked upon as lower creatures. Our

tradition favour men against Women. Women are not seen as individuals who have their

own mind. For many years, Women have assumed one imposed role after another- slave,

se ob!ect for relaation at will, bearer of children, cook and servant of the family.

In "igeria, Women were supposed to pursue their feminine roles of child-bearing and

home making. #ven after "igeria attained independence it did not change the negative

perception of Women. Women were not considered capable of handling any administrative

post. $hey should stay at home while their men think for them.

$he struggle for the empowerment of Women did not start in recent times. It has for

the past centuries been in eistence. Although neo-colonialists and those who believe in the

white man%s superiority have attributed the origin of Women liberation movement to the

&'A claiming that the movement was gingered by the American (ivil )ights *ovement

which was emulated by other countries particularly the third world countries, It is however

pertinent to note that the move for the empowerment of Women had its foothold and

impulse in the primary societies taking into cogni+ance the relentless efforts of eborah

who directed a war against the (anaanites the enemies of od. And the Israelites and

came out victoriously.

For the ma!ority of women, continuing obstacles have hindered their ability to

achieve economic autonomy and to ensure sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their

dependants. Women are active in a variety of economic areas, which they often combine,

ranging from wage labour and subsistence farming and fishing, to the informal sector.

owever, legal and customary barriers to ownership of or means of access to land, natural

resources, capital, credit, technology and other means of production, as well as wage

differentials, contribute to impeding the economic progress of women.

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1.2 ORGANISATION OF THE PAPER

$his paper work is divided into four sections. $he First section is the Introduction.

$his is followed by the second section which is the definition of women empowerment. $he

$hird section talks about the problems and obstacle that inhibits the empowerment of

Women. $he 0ast section deals with the conclusion and recommendation on how the

factors that inhibits Women empowerment would be eliminated.

2.1 DEFINITION AND MEAN ING OF EMPOWERMENT / WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment

#mpowerment is a construct shared by many disciplines and arenas1 community

development, psychology, education, economics, and studies of social movements and

organi+ations, among others. ow empowerment is understood varies among these

perspectives. In recent empowerment literature, the meaning of the term empowerment is

often assumed rather than eplained or defined. )appoport 2/3456 has noted that it is easy

to define empowerment by its absence but difficult to define in action as it takes on different

forms in different people and contets. #ven defining the concept is sub!ect to debate.

7immerman 2/3456 has stated that asserting a single definition of empowerment may make

attempts to achieve it formulaic or prescription-like, contradicting the very concept of

empowerment.

A common understanding of empowerment is necessary, however, to allow us to

know empowerment when we see it in people with whom we are working, and for program

evaluation. According to 8ailey 2/3396, how we precisely define empowerment within our

pro!ects and programs will depend upon the specific people and contet involved.

As a general definition, however, we suggest that empowerment is a multi-

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dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a

process that fosters power 2that is, the capacity to implement6 in people, for use in their own

lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as

important.

We suggest that three components of our definition are basic to any understanding of

empowerment. #mpowerment is multi-dimensional, social, and a process. It is multi-

dimensional in that it occurs within sociological, psychological, economic, and other

dimensions. #mpowerment also occurs at various levels, such as individual, group, and

community.

#mpowerment, by definition, is a social process, since it occurs in relationship to

others. #mpowerment is a process that is similar to a path or !ourney, one that develops as

we work through it. Other aspects of empowerment may vary according to the specific

contet and people involved, but these remain constant. In addition, one important

implication of this definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are

fundamentally connected.

2.2 UNDERSTANDING GENDER EQUAIT! " WOMENWOMEN#S EMPOWERMENT

ender e:uality implies a society in which womenWomen and men en!oy the same

opportunities, outcomes, rights and obligations in all spheres of life. #:uality between men

and womenWomen eists when both sees are able to share e:ually in the distribution of

power and influence; have e:ual opportunities for financial independence through work or

through setting up businesses; en!oy e:ual access to education and the opportunity to

develop personal ambitions. A critical aspect of promoting gender e:uality is the

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empowerment of womenWomen, with a focus on identifying and redressing power

imbalances and giving womenWomen more autonomy to manage their own lives.

WomenWomen=s empowerment is vital to sustainable development and the reali+ation of

human rights for all.

espite many international agreements affirming their human rights, womenWomen

are still much more likely than men to be poor, malnourished and illiterate. $hey usually

have less access than men to medical care, property ownership, credit, training and

employment. $hey are far less likely than men to be politically active and far more likely to

be victims of domestic violence.

$he ability of womenWomen to control their own fertility is absolutely fundamental to

womenWomen%s empowerment and e:uality. When a woman can plan her family, she can

plan the rest of her life. When she is healthy, she can be more productive. And when her

reproductive rights>including the right to plan her family in terms of birth timing and

spacing, and to make decisions regarding reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and

violence>are promoted and protected, she has freedom to participate more fully and

e:ually in society.

Where womenWomen%s status is low, family si+e tends to be large, which makes it more

difficult for families to thrive. ?opulation and development and reproductive health

programmes are more effective when they address the educational opportunities, status

and empowerment of womenWomen. When womenWomen are empowered, whole families

benefit, and these benefits often have ripple effects to future generations.

$he roles that men and womenWomen play in society are not biologically

determined -- they are socially determined, changing and changeable. Although they may

be !ustified as being re:uired by culture or religion, these roles vary widely by locality and

change over time. &nited "ations ?opulation Fund 2&"F?A6 has found that applying

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culturally sensitive approaches can be key to advancing womenWomen%s rights while

respecting different forms of social organi+ation.

Addressing womenWomen%s issues also re:uires recogni+ing that womenWomen

are a diverse group, in the roles they play as well as in characteristics such as age, social

status, urban or rural orientation and educational attainment. Although womenWomen may

have many interests in common, the fabric of their lives and the choices available to them

may vary widely. &"F?A seeks to identify groups of womenWomen who are most

marginali+ed and vulnerable 2womenWomen refugees, for eample, or those who are

heads of households or living in etreme poverty6, so that interventions address their

specific needs and concerns. $his task is related to the critical need for se-disaggregated

data and &"F?A helps countries build capacity in this area.

@Empower$n% women& has become a fre:uently cited goal of development

interventions. owever, while there is now a significant body of literature discussing how

women%s empowerment has been or might be evaluated, there are still ma!or difficulties in

so doing. Furthermore many pro!ects and programmes which espouse the empowerment of

women show little if any evidence of attempts even to define what this means in their own

contet let alone to assess whether and to what etent they have succeeded.

ifferent people use empowerment to mean different things. owever there are four

aspects which seem to be generally accepted in the literature on women%s empowerment.

Firstly to be empowered one must have been disempowered. It is relevant to speak

of empowering women, for eample, because, as a group, they are disempowered relative

to men.

'econdly empowerment cannot be bestowed by a third party. )ather those who

would become empowered must claim it. evelopment agencies cannot therefore empower

women the most they can achieve is to facilitate women empowering themselves. $hey

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may be able to create conditions favourable to empowerment but they cannot make it

happen.

$hirdly, definitions of empowerment usually include a sense of people making

decisions on matters which are important in their lives and being able to carry them out.

)eflection, analysis and action are involved in this process which may happen on an

individual or a collective level. $here is some evidence that while women%s own struggles

for empowerment have tended to be collective efforts, empowerment-orientated

development interventions often focus more on the level of the individual.

Finally empowerment is an ongoing process rather than a product. $here is no final

goal. One does not arrive at a stage of being empowered in some absolute sense. ?eople

are empowered, or disempowered, relative to others or, importantly, relative to themselves

at a previous time.

2.' WOMEN AND EMPOWERMENT

While the reasons for any particular woman%s powerlessness 2or power6 are many

and varied, considering womenWomen per se necessarily involves :uestioning what

weCthey have in common in this respect. $he common factor is that, as womenWomen, they

are all constrained by Dthe norms, beliefs, customs and values through which societies

differentiate between womenWomen and menE 2abeer 9GGG, 996. $he specific ways in

which this operates vary culturally and over time. In one situation it might reveal itself in

womenWomen%s lower incomes relative to men, in another it might be seen in the relative

survival rates of girl and boy children and in a third by severe restrictions on

womenWomen%s mobility. Hirtually everywhere it can be seen in domestic violence, male-

dominated decision for a and womenWomen%s inferior access to assets of many kinds.

A woman%s level of empowerment will vary, sometimes enormously, according to



other criteria such as her class or caste, ethnicity, relative wealth, age, family position etc

and any analysis of womenWomen%s power or lack of it must appreciate these other

contributory dimensions. "evertheless, focusing on the empowerment of womenWomen as

a group re:uires an analysis of gender relations i.e. the ways in which power relations

between the sees are constructed and maintained.

'ince gender relations vary both geographically and over time they always have to

be investigated in contet. It also follows that they are not immutable. At the same time

particular manifestations of gender relations are often fiercely defended and regarded as

DnaturalE or od-given. While many development interventions involve challenges to

eisting power relations it tends to be those which challenge power relations between men

and womenWomen which are most strongly contested.

While there has been criticism of attempts to DimportE "orthern feminisms to the 'outh it is

patronising and incorrect to assume that feminism is a "orthern concept. Women of the

'outh have their own history of organisation and struggle against gender-based in!ustices.

Also, gender analysis arising from the second wave of feminism in the "orth has benefited

from etensive criticism of its initial lack of attention to class and ethnicity and its

#urocentricity and there has now been some twenty years of dialogue and !oint action

between "orthern and 'outhern feminists.

(.' O)STACES TO WOMENWOMEN#S EMPOWERMENT*

WomenWomen Entrepreneurs and Their Problems

'ince the social milieu restricts womenWomen%s role within the household they are

mostly involved in home base industries such as, food processing, garments hosiery and

crafts. owever, these industries are either progressively dying due to competition from

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imported products or being replaced by organi+ed formal units. On the one hand, the

displacement of traditional crafts by light industry is causing the replacement of female

workers by male laborers 2)ana and 'hah, /3436. On the other, womenWomen are being

converted into wage laborers in such speciali+ed sectors as the carpet industry.

WomenWomen have been functioning as managers, supervisors, entrepreneurs, and even

skilled worker in home based craft enterprises. As industrial activities become increasingly

eternali+ed, however, both male as well as female workers lose control over the production

process and become trans-formed into wage labor. In this process, womenWomen are

affected more since newly emerging organi+ed industries need not only more capital but

also lay stress on more educated and mobile laborers. $he managerial class in these

industries, which is dominated by the indo-Aryan and westerni+ed concep-tionsconceptions

of gender speciali+ation, reinforcereinforces their own biases in hiring and firing.

Further a few womenWomen who remain proprietors face serve problems of lack of

capital, access to institutional credit, lack of access to marketing network, marketing

information, appropriate business training and education. Other constraints include limited

access to modern management methods and technology; and high cost of production

leading to uncompetitive pricing. $hey also lack self-confidence and risk taking and staying

capacity as they have access to very little capital and may face numerous family problems

in their enterprise.

Women’s priority is family

$raditional gender roles make Women primarily responsible for children%s upbringing and

home maintenance tasks. Women are epected to focus their lives on taking care of their

families to the detriment, or eclusion, of other concerns. 8oys are given priority for

schooling over girls whom, it is assumed, will later be provided for by husbands. As adults,

Women are epected to care for children, spouses, parents and relatives. $hey are

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responsible for keeping the family together. $heir involvement in community, church, social

and political organi+ations is deemed secondary to obligations at home and the demands of

earning a living. 8ut today Women%s earnings are considered essential, rather than

supplemental, to the family income. $he reality is that Women are no longer confined to the

domestic sphere. $heir space has epanded1 they are regular bread-winners who actively

engage in community, church and other social activities.

Women are not qualified to take on leadership positions

'ince Women are ecluded from leadership roles, they are deprived of opportunities for

leadership skills training. irls have fewer chances for schooling and opportunities are

drastically limited for them to develop skills and talents in the public sphere. $hey are

praised for obedience and subservience, implicitly dissuading them from aspirations to

leadership. igher education is a privilege many Women do not en!oy. $hey are passed up

for training opportunities at work because it is not cost efficient to invest in Women who may

give up work anytime for the sake of family. omestic responsibilities make it difficult for

Women to go for training or further studies because they simply do not have the re:uisite

hours for study.

Illiteracy

I++ $ter,-

$he issues of women women have been viewed differently in social relations including

economic activities. $his has formed a barrier even when democratic movements have

sought to etend the base of participation of women. women. It will be fallacious to assume

that the problems of "igerian women women have been totally solved through the various

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emancipation initiatives 28ei!ing conference /3JB; /34B; /33B, International decade of

women, women, 'trategy for the Acceleration of irls #ducation etc6 or through the

collaborative efforts of the various overnment and "on-governmental Organisations.

(ertain ine:ualities and segregations, which have been established over the ages and

reinforced through the male-dominated structures still persist inspiteinspire of the various

instruments of the &nited "ations and the concerted efforts of the federal government and a

number of "Os on alleviating women women discrimination. Without gainsaying, illiteracy

remains at the centre of women empowerment women empowerment problems in "igeria.

*a!ority of the womenWomenfolk and a large number of girls in this country are still

grappling with the problems of basic reading and writing skills 2&nicef&"I(#F 9GG<6. $he

gross enrolment rate 2#) 9GG/6 indicated that J/percent J/K of out-of-school children

are girls. According to A)FO0 29GGG6 the literacy rate for males is B4K percent but only

5/K percent for females. $he uman evelopment )eport 9GG9 published by the &nited

"ations development programme puts the statistics of illiterate women women at BJK

percent as against male%s 5< percentK. As seemingly insignificant as this difference may

appear, it is completely unacceptable, if the *illennium evelopment oals 2*s6 must

be achieved. In "igeria, girls and women women comprise about 53.3K

percent 2'A?A /33<6 of6 of the total population. Incidentally, about /percent of the total

female population are reported to be illiterates as against <J.J percent illiterate male

population. Women Women are discriminated against in access to education for social and

economic reasons. For instance, the Islamic practice of ?urdah precludes many women

women from benefiting from school instructions andCor participating in economic activities,

which are likely to elevate their positions. $he most egregious segregation is probably the

prevention of girls to go to school in some communities. $his has probably led to the

greatest social harm of the twentieth century, when a whole group of females were denied

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access to education, on the basis of gender differences. $here is palpably a deluge of

problems besetting the "igerian women, women, but all of them arise from illiteracy. $his

suggests therefore that a large part of the empowerment empowerment process is

associated with education of them women themselves. $he root of the problem is the

degree of importance women women themselves have attacheed to education. *any of

them believe that the life of a successful woman revolves around her children, her husband

and domestic chores. $his lack of personal ambition prevents her from thinking about

pursuing other educational goals, which may have great influence on her life. In the case of

the working womenWomen in the cities, there had bbeen a gradual predilection to abandon

further training because of the demands work and family as well as the huge costs

associated with pursuing higher studies in conventional school system or universities

Political Empowerment

.

Po+$t$-,+ Empowerment

$hroughout much of the world, womenWomen%s e:uality is undermined by historical

imbalances in decision-making power and access to resources, rights, and entitlements for

womenWomen. #ither by law or by custom, womenWomen in many countries still lack

rights to1

Own land and to inherit property

• Obtain access to credit

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• Attend and stay in school

• #arn income and move up in their work, free from !ob discrimination

*oreover, womenWomen are still widely under-represented in decision-making at all levels,

in the household and in the public sphere.

Addressing these ine:uities through laws and public policy is a way of formali+ing the goal

of gender e:uality. 0egal changes, which most countries have now implemented, are often

a necessary step to institute gender e:uality, but not necessarily sufficient to create lasting

changes. Addressing the gaps between what the law proscribes and what actually occurs

often re:uires broad, integrated campaigns.

Law and legal inequalities

Per$ten-e o0 tr,$t$on,+ %ener ro+e

?erhaps the most resilient obstacle to women%s political empowerment are gender

stereotypes concerning women and leadership. 'eeming to be commonly held across

countries by both women and men, these stereotypes are of two categories. $he first

regards women as unsuitable for leadership positions; the second demands that women in

power and authority be capable of, and ecel at, everything--the Dwonder womanE

syndrome.

'tereotype of women as Dfollowers, not leadersE

Women %s priority is family

$raditional gender roles make women primarily responsible for children%s upbringing

and home maintenance tasks. Women are epected to focus their lives on taking care of

their families to the detriment, or eclusion, of other concerns. 8oys are given priority for

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schooling over girls whom, it is assumed, will later be provided for by husbands. As adults,

women are epected to care for children, spouses, parents and relatives. $hey are

responsible for keeping the family together. $heir involvement in community, church, social

and political organi+ations is deemed secondary to obligations at home and the demands of

earning a living. 8ut today women%s earnings are considered essential, rather than

supplemental, to the family income. $he reality is that women are no longer confined to the

domestic sphere. $heir space has epanded1 they are regular bread-winners who actively

engage in community, church and other social activities.

Women are not :ualified to take on leadership positions

'ince women are ecluded from leadership roles, they are deprived of opportunities

for leadership skills training. irls have less chances for schooling and opportunities are

drastically limited for them to develop skills and talents in the public sphere. $hey are

praised for obedience and subservience, implicitly dissuading them from aspirations to

leadership. igher education is a privilege many women do not en!oy. $hey are passed up

for training opportunities at work because it is not cost efficient to invest in women who may

give up work anytime for the sake of family. omestic responsibilities make it difficult for

women to go for training or further studies because they simply do not have the re:uisite

hours for study.

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,w ,n +e%,+ $ne3,+$t$e

$he law is an instrument of control, which promotes or inhibits access to resources

and regulates social, economic and political relationships. 8ut in West Africa, the

problem pertaining to womenWomen vis-a-visvis-L-vis the law centres aroundon four

key issues1

- $he laws themselves tend to be discriminatory, greatly limiting the rights of womenWomen

- $he application of the law tends to be arbitrary or pre!udiced to womenWomen

- WomenWomen tend to be unaware of their own legal rights or the meaning of the law in

practice.

- WomenWomen have no access to the process of law for economic reasons or they lack

the confidence to take action

8elow are case studies from "igeria and ambia.

In "I#)IA, there are two ma!or types of law, the customary law and the "igerian common

law. (ustomary law systems are as many as there are ethnic groups in "igeria. &nder this

category is also the 'haria law system. 0ack of uniformity in the legal system and the use of

customary or 'haria law on family matters is the ma!or problem of women as regards

obtaining !ustice. For eample, in marriages; a woman cannot give her daughter away in a

registry marriage unless the father is dead or infirm and a girl can be given away in

marriage without her consent. ?ertaining to ?roperty, the laws permit !oint ownership of

property between a man and his wife but in case of divorce, the woman loses her share to

the man. In some northern states of the country, only unmarried women are allowed to own

certain property. On children, the child belongs to the mother only if the marriage subsists.

In case of divorce, the father automatically claims custody of all the children ecept if he is

unwilling to do so. On the :uestion of inheritance, when a man dies, the law under which

his marriage was conducted will determine the inheritance procedure. In the Western part

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of the country for instance, a woman is not allowed to inherit her husband=s property

because she is to be inherited by a relative of the late husband. &nder Islamic law in ausa

land, women are allowed to inherit either the spouse or her parents estate but the rule

guiding this is e:ually discriminatory; while sons inherit full share in their father=s property,

females are given half their brothers share. As regards bail process; a woman is not

allowed to stand bail for accused person.

$he A*8IA like "igeria does not have a single legal system. $here is what one might call

a Mmodern sectorM of standards and case law written in #nglish and which mostly applies to

(hristians. $here is also customary 0aw and M?ersonal lawM systems. ?ersonal law in the

ambian contet means Islamic or sharia law which governs for most *uslims particularly

on family affairs such as divorce and interstate succession 2that is, rights to the property of

a deceased person who made no will before his death6. 8oth the (ustomary and ?ersonal

0aws are highly discriminatory and favours men more than women. In addition, all (hiefs

who are also Nudges are men and are given sweeping powers to decide cases.

Gener 4$,e e5e+opment ,n -ommer-$,+ e6p+o$t,t$on o0 women

$he free market economy has been highly dependent on availability of cheap labour. In

many West African countries, cheap labour is easily obtained from the poor, ethnic

minorities, women, peasants and landless labourers. $hese groups the ma!ority of whom

are women are discriminated against and eploited because they are largely unorganised

with no unions to press for their demands. In ambia, about 3GK of rice production which is

the country=s main staple food id done by rural women to the benefit of the elite living in

cities.

It is also clear that in West African countries of ambia, 'enegal and (ape Herde islands

income continues to be generated through the promotion of tourism in which women and

children are seually eploited and abused in order to boost the trade.

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Religion culture and harmful traditional practices

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women is the

most comprehensive articulate of gender perspective of human rights known to the world. It

captures the three components of women 's rights namel! gender Affirmative Action" the

#rinciple of E$ualit and the complementar #rinciple of non%discrimination. Together these

three principles constitute the composite and involving concept of gender &ustice. n the

general note" there has (een much improvement in gender relations in other parts of the

world (ut in West Africa" traditional practices or customs continue to (e the main o(stacles

in the progress towards gender e$ualit and &ustice. In most countries" such traditions

usuall (acked ( religious (eliefs are recognised and practised to the e)tent that the

have (ecome societal norms even though people are full aware of their negative impact

on the health and rights of women . It is well documented that the following practices still

persist in some West African countries*

% Female +enital ,utilation or female circumcision -practised in all countries.

% /and rights in ,iddle 0elt of 1igeria! this is predominatel amongst the Tiv and Igala

people where land is a communal propert and private ownership or title claim is not

allowed. 2owever" as moderni3ation is graduall eroding this culture" men ma claim

ownership (ut women in particular do not have and cannot hold title to land. The land is the

e)clusive preserve of the male and is in turn inherited ( male or sons in the famil. Among

the Igala" women are not onl disallowed from ownership (ut cannot engage in agriculture

in an form (ecause farming is seen as male occupation.

% District Tri(unals! in +am(ia and 4enegal" District Tri(unal are ver powerful" the decide

most disputes for rural people and are onl made up of men. Women are for(idden under

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traditional law to serve on district tri(unals and most of their decisions favour men.

% ,arriage and divorce! the vast ma&orit of marriages are performed under Islamic law.

5nder this dispensation" divorce is (asicall the prerogative of the man and can (e

performed ( simple repudiation. ,ost such divorces never reach the courts" (ut if the do"

the most the women can get is her removal e)penses" maintenance allowances for three

months and a token amount for the maintenance of children if she keeps them.

% Forced marriages and child (etrothal! this is a practice in all West African countries the

e)tent varies from countr to countr. ,arriage is often arranged for a girl ( her parents.

Force ma (e used if she does not like to enter into the marriage that has (een arranged

for her. Child (etrothal is still practised and earl marriage common in man countries.

According to a recent surve in +am(ia" a(out 667 of women responding disclosed that

the were married under 89 ears and :97 married under 8; ears.

%District voting rights in +am(ia! the right to (e a traditional Chief is the a(solute

prerogative of men. Chieftainc elections rules that provide for the election of traditional

leadership is (ased on compound ownership. Each compound is entitled to one vote.

Traditionall onl men can (e 2eads of compounds in the provinces. As a result" onl men

can vote in such elections and onl men can contest in them.

%#olgam common in all countries* man women are neglected in a polgamous marriage

in several was! In some cases" proper care and financial support is not given to the

woman and her children especiall if she is not the favourite of the hus(and. In other

circumstances" men cannot afford to provide the support (ecause of their meagre earnings.

In this case" there is a direct link (etween polgam and financial difficulties in marriages.

!iolence "gainst women Women

Hiolence against womenWomen is a human rights violation of her body and her right

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as a person. et it has been eperienced by all categories of womenWomen. Hiolence has

been broadly defined as Man action or policy or an altitude that causes bodily or mental

in!ury and debases or dehumanises a personM. Hiolence against womenWomen regardless

of the nature of the perpetrator whether an individual, group, institution, state or society is

a human rights violation and must be treated as such. $he following are the most endemic

forms of violence against womenWomen in West Africa; wife beating, indecent assault,

rape, defilement of girls by threats, seual harassment, intimidation in order to have

unlawful carnal knowledge of them.

In ambia, the criminal law forbids violence and lays down penalties for offences ranging

from assault to murder as well as rape however, prosecutions for violence against

womenWomen is the lowest in the country=s legal history. It is evident that some istrict

(hiefs who are also !udges encourage violence against womenWomen. A district (hief

once made a statement that, Mif a wife reports to her family that she is being maltreated by

her husband, they should tell her to go back to her husband and obey. If she refuses to

return, she should be beaten and certainly not encouraged to take further action.M

While more womenWomen=s advocacy groups and movements have emerged to

fight for the cause of womenWomen, they are not making much progress because of

certain impediments such as; split in goals, directions and analysis of womenWomen=s

situation in different countries, lack of mobili+ation at the grass roots level and above all

lack of financial support to carry out large scale and sustained pro!ects for the promotion

and protection of womenWomen=s rights

#tereotyped positions open to women Women

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WomenWomen in the leadership hierarchy of governments, the private sector, political

parties, trade unions and social movements are often in positions that are an etension of

their roles in the private sphere. $he positions of secretary, treasurer, public relations

officer, or person-in-charge of logistical support echo the care-giving and home

maintenance functions traditionally ascribed to womenWomen. ?remised on the

assumption that housework is of inferior value to paid work, assigning womenWomen to

:uasi-domestic roles in the public sphere strengthens the stereotype that they are suited for

lesser responsibilities.

Women %s multiple burden blocks political participation

Women have an e:ual right with men to participate in 8usiness and assume leadership

roles. 8ut the demands of traditional gender roles and economic and social obligations

leave them little time and energy to pursue this. *en must share in the demands of the

domestic sphere so that women can eercise their right to actively participate in the public

sphere. Women and men have an e:ual stake in family welfare and should be e:ually

responsible for the family. $o encourage more women to take on leadership positions, it is

imperative to challenge the traditional gender division of labor in theory and in practice

H$%7 e6pe-t,t$on 0rom t7e p34+$- 0or ,--ept,n-e o0 women $n +e,er7$p ro+e

?eople have different epectations of male and female leaders. Foremost among these

differences is that men leaders are not epected to be primarily responsible for their

families= needs, while women leaders are epected to fulfill this role too. It is normative for

male leaders to set aside family concerns for needs of their constituents and other !ob-

related demands. In contrast, women leaders are epected to give full and e:ual time and

energy to raising children and taking care of home while discharging their functions as

/3



politicians.

Women leaders are also epected to possess eceptional personal traits and :ualifications

in terms of educational background, professional accomplishments, active membership in

community, church or other civic groups. $hey should be accessible to their constituents at

all times without neglecting their roles as wife, mother, daughter. As women they are

epected to be beyond reproach; yet they must be politically astute to engage in comprises

that are part of traditional 8usiness. $his can put the political novice in a bind.

Women, especially those who are presented as an alternative to traditional male politicians,

are epected to create an impact in changing the situation of women or addressing critical

issues such as poverty, health care and education within a short time from their election or

assumption of leadership. 'ince women in leadership is something out of the norm, they

are epected to repeatedly !ustify the authority vested in them, to vindicate the electorate%s

choice of a woman as leader, by being infallible. $his is one unspoken epectation.

"ewly-elected women in countries that have recently introduced a reservation system find

themselves being critici+ed for failing to push the women%s agenda forward. $heir critics

forget that most of these women are political neophytes still learning the ropes. *oreover

the issues to be addressed cannot be solved overnight.

$he eacting conditions imposed on women leaders work to discourage other women from

pursuing eecutive positions. &ndue and unfair epectations make them feel inade:uate to

consider venturing into 8usiness, in the first place. $his reduces the pool of future women

leaders who can be challenged, motivated, groomed, mentored and developed for a calling

in 8usiness.

"ccess to Resources

WomenWomen%s access to land and property is derived through her marriage relationship.

9G



A married woman has no right in her parental property. 'he gets an e:ual share in the

husband%s property together with her son, if she remains faithful to him and his clan. $his is

server%s limitation on womenWomen%s access to all productive assets.

*arriage becomes the overwhelming factor determining all her life options. $his reinforced

by all round social norms and legal structures, every thing else is secondary to marriage.

'ingle womenWomen, even with many children are not given land in resettlement areas,

even if such households may be among the poorest of the poor. $hey may not claim any

tenancy rights. Although many husbands may keep property in the name of wives, such

womenWomen mayny not make any transaction in the property without the consent of her

husband and sons, etc. $his limitation is not applied to husbands and the sons. ouseholds

get access to community resources such as forests through household heads who are

usually men. WomenWomen may have the derived user rights as long as her husband

does not abandon her. When a husband brings another wife and leaves her, which is

constantly recurring even in the "epalese social milieu, she looses all access to community

property as well. 'uch processes are hard to capture by data, since no data are collected

on polygamy. It is illegal to have more than one wife, but womenWomen get no property on

divorce and so aan access to resources. $wo ma!or indicators of such ine:uality are access

to credit and increasing involvement of womenWomen in commercial se work for survival.

A detailed discussion of the second symptom is beyond the scope of this paper.

"evertheless it is pertinent to note that lack of alternative avenues of livelihood is one of the

ma!or causes why women get into commercial se work, why parents sell their daughters

into dubious marriages and se ba+aar 2'ee "ew #ra, /33J6.

"ccess to $redit

9/



It has been discussed widely that womenWomen%s access to credit is limited because both

formal and informal credit institutions are geared to funding property owners. All formal

credit institutions seek tangible collateral from loan and womenWomen are effectively

sidelined from institutional credit since womenWomen have little access to the inherited

property. $he village moneylenders are also interested more in earning high interest or

ac:uiring the debtor%s property rather than financing people in need.

WomenWomen%s access to institutional credit is further restricted by their confinement to

household activities and lower level of awareness and educational attainment. As such they

are more prone to fall prey to the eploitative conditions of the village moneylenders than

their male counter-parts. "epal )ural (redit )eview 'tudy 2")()'6 by "epal )astra 8ank

in /33/C39 revealed that of the total female headed sample households almost <B percentK

had borrowed from one or the other sources compared to <3 percent K male headed

households. owever, among the borrowing female headed households only /B.5 percent

K had borrowed from institutional sources such as Agricultural evelopment 8ank and

(ommercial 8anks and 45 percent K had borrowed from non-institutional sources sources.

2$able /6. Access to institutional credit in one of the ma!or stumbling blocks for

womenWomen entrepreneurs in all sectors including agriculture. Almost 5G percent had

borrowed from moneylenders.

99



8.' 8.' CONCUSION

$his paper is fuelled by a desire to make a contribution to remedying some of the

more brutal in!ustices being meted out to women today. When we read of, or meet,

women whose survival strategies include hiding small piles of money in different

places so that they can fool their husbands, after a beating, that they are

surrendering all their savings to him 2)isseeuw, (. /344, 9J46 do we not want to

change such situationsP

eneration after generation, women have evolved from being ordinary helpers to

breadwinners. On the international scene, we cannot help but mention some notable

women who have ecelled in various areas of endeavour.

$he history of "igerian women over the years indicated that they have suffered and

still continue to absorb all forms of indignities through laws mainly made by men to

protect themselves and maintain their grip on the women folk.

$he emerging ubi:uitous role of women in world affairs is very rich in eperiences

form which we can find insight and even solutions to our present-day seemingly

intractable political, economic and domestic problems.

It is believed that our women have the ability and the capacity to improve on their

present state. $his is because over the years, women have come to develop more

skills and ac:uire more education compared to their male counterpart. $oday we

have lots of more women who are educated. When we come to the political scene,

remember those women were fighting for women emancipation and so they really

have to be in the forefront. $oday, what are the women doingP It is no longer about

emancipation it is about achievement.

9<



In spite of these shining eamples, it is not yet DuhuruE for the "igerian Women as

there is still need to empower more women as well as eradicate all forms of gender

ine:uality form the society.

$he creation of the *inistry of Women Affairs and 'ocial evelopment is a step in

the right direction. Women should therefore take advantage of the opportunities

created by the eistence of the ministry to be more relevant than they are now. $his

could be achieved through the promotion and protection of the rights and privileges

of women folk in "igeria. $hey should sponsor legislations against all forms of

female abuse, and initiate far reaching reforms on all issues that will improve their

well-being. $here could be no better time than now.

$o attract the attention of policymakers it has been necessary to make the case 2which has

been done effectively elsewhere so does not need repeating here6 that empowering women

has many beneficial spin offs which nicely fit with development priorities. It is of course

e:ually valid to argue that such gross asymmetries of power between men and women are

themselves legitimate targets for change.

It is evident that the term empowerment has become a bu++word within development

studies and is used to add glamour 2rather than value6 to interventions which actually seek

to achieve a variety of economic and social outcomes, which, though they may be

etremely desirable in themselves, do not necessarily challenge eisting patterns of power.

In contrast I therefore define women%s empowerment as the process by which women

redefine and etend what is possible for them to be and do in situations where they have

been restricted, compared to men, from being and doing. Or, if you like, women%s

empowerment is the process by which women redefine gender roles in ways which etend

their possibilities for being and doing.

95



$his is very closely related to abeer%s definition 2Dwomen%s empowerment is about the

process by which those who have been denied the ability to make strategic life choices

ac:uire such an abilityE 2abeer /333, 5<B6 but has two important differences.

First it emphasises the gendered nature of women%s disempowerment. When we speak of

women%s empowerment we are defining individuals as DwomenE and in that case we are

considering the ways in which they are disempowered as women. $his is not to deny that

women have multiple identities and are also farmers, workers, traders etc. and will choose

at times to work together with men to improve their mutual situation. 2Of course struggles

with men for common goals as peasants, workers, colonial sub!ects etc. will, as has been

shown many times in history, need to be combined with struggle around gender roles too if

women are not to find themselves still disadvantaged as women once the common struggle

is over.6 Women%s gendered identities disempower them in their public roles as well as

within the home. $herefore women can act to challenge gender roles as part of any

collective struggle they are involved in.

$he second difference from abeer%s definition is perhaps more subtle but, I think, real. er

definition involves focusing on individuals ac:uiring an ability to choose whereas mine

focuses on redefining and etending the limits of what is possible. It therefore has more of

an emphasis on women achieving a change that epands options not only for themselves

but also for women in general both now and in the future.

8.1 RECOMMENDATIONS

Women=s economic dependence and, often, lack of rights to property or access to finance

have long crippled their ability to take care of themselves and their families. We therefore

recommend that steps be taken to1

• ?romote women=s economic rights and independence, including access to

9B



employment, appropriate working conditions and control over economic resources;

• Facilitate women=s e:ual access to resources, credit employment, markets and

trade;

• ?rovide business services, training and access to markets, information and

technology, particularly to low-income women;

• 'trengthen women=s economic capacity and commercial networks;

• #liminate occupational segregation and all forms of employment discrimination.

• Access of Women to business skill training and entrepreneurship development to

help them run their own business.

• $he adoption of appropriate steps by enterprises, institutions and government to

ensure that employees are aware of obligations and rights, including those stemming

from e:ual employment laws where applicable.

• *entoring for Women to provide advice and develop their professional skills.

REFERENCES

/ www.unfpa.org/intercenter/beijing/economy.htm

9. &nited "ations, 2/3B6. 8ei!ing eclaration and ?latform for Action. /33B1par.<9

<. 8isnath, '. 29GG/6 lobali+ation, poverty and women%s empowerment. &nited"ations ivision of the Advancement of Women QOnlineRhttp1CCwww.un.orgCwomenwatchCdawCcswCempowerCdocumentsC8isnath-#?<.pdf Qaccessed <G October 9GG<R

5. Oti ?atience O 2/3496 $he Woman Factor in the "igerian ?olity (hap iv

B. "epal )ural (redit )eview 'tudy 2")()'6 "epal )astra 8ank in /33/C39

. www. to!de.anadolu.edu.trCto!de9/CarticlesCfeli.htm

J. www.unicef.orgCaboutCeecboardCfilesC#"#)-9.pdf

9

http://www.unfpa.org/intercenter/beijing/economy.htm

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/empower/documents/Bisnath-EP3.pdf


http://www.tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde21/articles/felix.htm


http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/GENDER-2.pdf

http://www.unfpa.org/intercenter/beijing/economy.htm




http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/GENDER-2.pdf



4. Women "ational evelopment , 8usiness ay "ewspaper, *ay 4, 9GG,

2 sub- pg /6

3. www.nepaldemocracy.orgCgenderCwomenSeconomy.htm

Ae$n% empowerment

I suggest that a framework for assessing empowerment should include the following

components.

Identifing constraints to action

$his is the core of the framework and fulfils a number of functions. 8ecause

identifying constraints is necessarily a participative process it contributes towards

building an understanding among the women involved of how they are discriminated

against on the basis of their gender 2and a desire for, and belief in the possibility of,

change6.

9J

http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/gender/women_economy.htm

http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/gender/women_economy.htm



When carried out for a particular action 2as in the eample given in section 9.B of

attending school6 it can be used to identify a baseline i.e. to define the state of

gendered power relations before any action is taken. 8y repeating the process at a

later date change can be identified. It can therefore be determined whether power

relations have shifted towards becoming more e:uitable.

Identifing how women<s agenc has developed

In a sense this is a mirror image to identifying constraints. If constraints to action are

loosened then, by definition, possibilities for action 2agency6 are increased. And, vice

versa" if possibilities for action are increased then constraints have loosened.

owever we are interested not only in possibilities for action but in actual action

taken. For eample women%s rights to land tenure might be made more e:ual to

men%s through legislation a good thing in itself of course. And it will certainly reduce

formal constraints on women%s action. 8ut will women take advantage of the new

legislation or will social pressures prevent them from doing soP In this case there has

been little impact on women%s agency or empowerment.

Analysing changes in women%s agency will involve considering both the individual

and collective level. It will involve seeking answers to :uestion such as1

• ow have women%s views about gender changedP

• ow have their feelings about themselves changed 2self-confidence, self-

worth, potential etc.6

• What can women do now that they wanted to do but could not do beforeP

• o women believe that it will be easier for their daughters to do these things

nowP

94



• What new or eisting resources 2broadly defined6 were used to achieve thisP

• ow have women worked with each other to achieve thisP

•

In what way did eternal assistance contributeP

Identifing how women<s agenc changed constraints to action

?ractitioners of impact assessment are familiar with the compleities of attribution

i.e. determining whether observed changes are a result of an intervention or caused

by some eternal factor. $he necessity to consider this as part of the assessment

eists in this case too but the attribution :uestion has also to be faced at an etra

level when considering empowerment.

8ecause we define empowerment as the process by which women redefine and

etend what is possible for them to be and do etc., we have to :uestion whether or

not any identified relaation of constraints has come about as a result of women%s

actions or for some other reason. If it is because of women%s action then it is a

straightforward eample of empowerment women have succeeded in epanding

the realm of what is possible for them. On the other hand, have constraints been

loosened by some means other than women%s actionP In this case we cannot talk of

empowerment because as is generally agreed empowerment cannot be bestowed

but must be won. "evertheless the loosening of constraints could represent a real

improvement in the situation of women and theoretically eventually such

improvements could result in a situation where women were no longer

disempowered i.e. a situation where empowerment would no longer be a matter for

concern. $he point is that, while any improvement in power relations is welcome and

valuable in itself, it is only when this comes about as a result of women%s action that

empowerment would be the appropriate term to use.

93



Q3et$on we -o3+ $n5et$%,te $n-+3e*

• What actions did women take, individually or collectively to challenge

constraints to actionP

• ow did women support each other and learn from each others actionsP

• ow did women resist such constraints either overtly or covertlyP

• What opposition did women encounterP

• $o what etent and how was opposition overcomeP

• ow secure do women think their newly epanded freedoms of action areP

• What action, if any, do they intend to take to defend their improved positionP

$he above represents only a very sketchy outline of a framework for assessing

empowerment. I plan to develop these ideas further and welcome criticism and

comment.

REFERENCES

Antrobus, ?. 29GG96 Feminism as transformational 8usiness1 towards possibilities for

another world.

Agarwal, 8. 2/33J6 D8argaining and ender )elations Within and 8eyond the

ousehold Feminist Economics Hol < "o /, /-B/

Aksomkool, ". 2/33B6 #ducate to #mpower1 an Asian eperience. In *edel-

Anonuevo, (. 2#d6 Women" Education and Empowerment! #athwas towards

Autonom. amburg1 &"#'(O Institute for #ducation

8achrach, ?. and 8arat+, *. '. 2/3JG6 #ower and #overt! Theor and #ractice. "ew

ork1 Oford &niversity ?ress

<G



8artky, '. 2/33/6 Feeding #gos and $ending Wounds1 eference and issatisfaction

in Women%s #motional 0abour In 8artky, '. Freedom and Domination.

8atliwala, '. 2/3356 $he *eaning of Women%s #mpowerment1 "ew (oncepts from

Action In 'en, ., ermaine, A. and (hen, 0. (. 2#ds6 #opulation #olicies

=econsidered! 2ealth" Empowerment and =ights. arvard (enter for ?opulation and

evelopment 'tudies

8isnath, '. 29GG/6 +lo(ali3ation" povert and women<s empowerment. &nited

"ations ivision of the Advancement of Women QOnlineR

http1CCwww.un.orgCwomenwatchCdawCcswCempowerCdocumentsC8isnath-#?<.pdf

Qaccessed <G October 9GG<R

28isnath, '. and #lson, . 2nd6. Women<s Empowerment =evisited . &"IF#*

QOnlineR http1CCwww.undp.orgCunifemCprogresswwCempower.html Qaccessed <G

October 9GG<R

8ordo, '. 2/3436 $he 8ody and the )eproduction of Femininity In Naggar, A. and

8ordo, '. 2#ds.6 +ender" 0od" >nowledge "ew 8runswick1 )utgers &niversity

?ress

(arr, *. nd Women%s #conomic #mpowerment1 ey to evelopment In e ?auli, 0.

2#d6 Women<s Empowerment and Economic ?ustice! =eflecting on E)perience in

/atin America and the Cari((ean. &"IF#* QOnlineR

http1CCwww.undp.orgCunifemCresourcesCeemplacCintro.pdf Qaccessed 95 October 9GG<R

(ollins. ?. . 2/33/6 0lack Feminist Thought! >nowledge" Consciousness and the

0usiness of Empowerment. 0ondon1 )outledge

ahl. ). 2/3BJ6 $he (oncept of ?ower 0ehavioral 4cience" Hol. 9, pp9G/-9/B

eveau, *. 2/336 Feminism and #mpowerment1 A (ritical )eading of Foucault In

</


http://www.undp.org/unifem/progressww/empower.html

http://www.undp.org/unifem/resources/eemplac/intro.pdf


http://www.undp.org/unifem/progressww/empower.html

http://www.undp.org/unifem/resources/eemplac/intro.pdf



ekman, '. N. 2#d.6 Feminist Interpretations of ,ichel Foucault . ?ennsylvania

&niversity ?ress

#vans, '. 2/34G6 #ersonal 0usiness! The =oots of Women<s /i(eration in the Civil

=ights ,ovement and the 1ew /eft. "ew ork1 Alfred nopf

Freire, A. and *acedo, . 2#ds6 2/3346 The #aulo Freire =eader. "ew ork1

(ontinuum

Foucault, *. 2/34G6 The 2istor of 4e)ualit @ol. 8 An Introduction.

aventa, N. and (ornwell, A. 29GG/6 ?ower and nowledge In )eason, ?. and

8radbury, . 2#ds6 2and(ook of Action =esearch. 0ondon1 'age

artsock, ". 2/33G6 Foucault on ?ower1 A $heory for Women In "icholson, 0. 2#d.6

Feminism#ostmodernism

ayward, (. ). 2/3346 e-facing power. #olit , Hol. </ pp 99-<5

eld, H. 2/3436 Freedom and Feminism, paper presented to the conference The

Intellectual /egac of C. 0. ,acpherson" &niversity of $oronto, 5- October /343

Isaac, N. 2/3346 8eyond the $hree Faces of ?ower. #olit Hol. 9G pp 5-<G

abeer, ". 2/3336 )esources, Agency, Achievements1 )eflections on the

*easurement of Women%s #mpowerment. Development and Change Hol. <G pp 5<B-

55

abeer, ". 29GGG6 The #ower to Choose! 0angladeshi Women and /a(our ,arket

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Agenda in African ,icrofinance. )eport based on a One World Action (onference

<9



0ondon1 7ed 8ooks

'trom:uist, ". ?. 2/33B6 $he $heoretical and ?ractical 8ases for #mpowerment In

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Autonom amburg1 &"#'(O Institute for #ducation

&nited "ations, 2/3B6. 0ei&ing Declaration and #latform for Action. /33B1par. <9

The profile of the empowered woman -Aksomkool 8;" ;;%;6

The empowered woman appreciates the time she spends on domestic work and outside the home.

4he is aware that overwork is harmful to her phsical and mental condition and that health is vital.

4he is a(le to $uestion her dou(le responsi(ilit and seeks help from others to have enough leisure

<5



to spend on learning and participating in the social and political life of the communit.

The empowered woman appreciates the value of her contri(ution" whether remunerated or not. 4he

is aware that she has tremendous potential to contri(ute to the progress of her famil" communit

and nation. With that understanding" she is confident of her worth" is open%minded and can

appreciate others.

Aware of her productivit" she seeks to improve her skills and knowledge continuousl. 4he has

enough information sources -such as e)tension services" availa(le and relevant technolog and

makes sure she (enefits from them. 4he appreciates the knowledge gained from reading and reads

regularl.

The empowered woman understands that she is a human (eing and can control her own life.

2ence" she could and should $uestion the famil and social practices which negativel affect her.

4he seeks to get scientific insights into superstitions" and challenges those which are un&ust to

women.

4he has freedom of movement and e)pression on a par with men. 4he appreciates her strengths

and weaknesses and seeks self%improvement.

4he can lead and serve as a positive role model for other women.

The empowered woman is aware of her rights as a citi3en and protects them activel. 4he is

convinced of her e$ualit with men. 4he knows which laws and legal processes treat women

unfairl and seeks to use her legal knowledge to protect her own and other women<s rights.

The empowered woman respects herself and dares take credit and responsi(ilit for her

contri(ution and action. 4he looks for options and makes informed decisions. 4he dares to (e

<B



different and creative.

The empowered woman appreciates and supports other women. 4he is aware that organisation

means strength and seeks to strengthen her organisational" management and leadership skills.

The empowered woman is aware that her health is related to the num(er of children she has. 4he

respects the dignit of womanhood and appreciates daughters in the same wa she does sons.

The empowered woman nurtures herself. 4he wants ever(od to understand that" as a human

(eing" she is entitled to happiness in the same wa that others are.

4he has a 3est for life.

women empowerment in business 3

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