Essay
Gender Ideologies in Igbo Societies From Pre Colonialism to Present
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- Loyola University New Orleans
Investigates how gender ideologies developed throughout Nigerian history comparing pre-colonial ideas to present trends.
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Gender Ideologies in Igbo Societies From Pre Colonialism to PresentThroughout the world, women are granted dif ferent levels of rights and freedoms.
However , there is no society where a fight for women’ s rights doesn’ t exist. The global demand
for women’ s equality has persisted for as long as patriarchy has, however the success of these
movements is limited. In Nigeria, the feminist movement is also strong. Women fight for more
accessibility to education, work, and politics. In
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in
Fifteen Suggestions
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the
author discusses how to raise a feminist
in Nigerian contexts. She describes a girl who was pressured to act less “like a boy” and she
questions “what parts of herself she had needed to silence and stifle, and I wondered about what
her spirit had lost.” The author says “if we don’ t place the straitjacket of gender roles on young
children we give them space to reach their full potential.”
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It is clear that the restrictive attitudes
directed towards women in Nigeria are not too dif ferent than in other parts of the world. It is also
apparent that the fight for feminism is not just a fight for rights, it is also a fight for personal well
being. It is a fight for the ability to be oneself. It is a fight for the ability to be whole.
Attitudes toward women in Igbo societies, however , have not been stagnant. In fact,
despite modern feminist movements, one could still perceive the present status of women to be
lesser than it was before colonialism. The introduction of European ideals greatly changed the
attitudes internal to the Igbo culture. This paper will investigate the role colonialism played in
the construction of gender ideologies in Igbo societies. This question is critical to understanding
one example of the long-term ef fects of colonialism. It can also be helpful in demonstrating the
role colonialism has played on African nations, and can also be applied to other societies.
Colonialism in the 1900s forcefully transformed life in Igbo cultures. By tracking gender
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist
Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
, 4th Estate, 2016,
pg 10 ideologies throughout history , I will ar gue that in pre-colonial times gender roles and
expectations were much more flexible than during colonialism and that these colonial changes to
ideologies can continue to be seen today .
My research began with the source
The Female King
of Colonial Nigeria: Ahebi Ugbabe
written by Nwando Achebe. The story of King Ahebi takes place during colonialism as British
governments looked to set up a new political system in Igbo societies requiring the appointment
of rulers. Achebe ar gues that a major reason Ahebi was able to be recognized as King was due to
the flexible gender roles in pre-colonial Igbo society . Ahebi’ s status as King can be inspirational
to women, giving them representation in the political fields. Unfortunately , however , Ahebi is
often seen reinforcing patriarchal ideals despite being a woman herself. She has gone down in
history as the epitome of female masculinity , however , this was done by placing herself above
others.
The second source that I looked at was
Male Daughters,
Female Husbands: Gender and
Sex in an African Society
by Ifi Amadiume. This book,
divided into three parts, discussed gender
roles in pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial Igbo societies. This source ar gued that a major
cause for the change in gender ideologies stemmed from economic changes limiting women’ s
role in society .
Another great cause for change was
the imposition of Christian faith which
attacked the importance of goddesses and thus limited the role of women. One major limitation
of this source is that it is dated, leaving a lot of unanswered questions concerning modern
attitudes.
The third secondary source was
Negotiating Power and
Privilege Igbo Car eer W omen in
Contemporary Nigeria
by Philomena E. Okeke-Ihejirika.
This source of fers a more modern
perspective on women’ s role in Igbo societies. It discusses the challenges women face in
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