Ayodele Adéwọlé
1 Gender
Equity[1]
Equity has been defined in various
ways. Salwan and Narang (2007: 133) define equity as ‘rules considered all
prevailing due to their excellence and universality. Historically, equity
developed as a separate body of law in England
a term denoting the mitigation of the ordinary
rules of law where the application of these would operate harshly in a
particular case; sometimes it is regarded as an attempt to achieve natural
justice. So understood, equity appears as an element in practically all mature legal
systems and in a number of modern codes, the judge is instructed to apply to
the decision of particular cases both the rules of strict law and the
principles of equity.
Oni (2001: 34) says that the word ‘equity’ can be used
in two different waysm- the broad sense and the narrow sense. The former means
fairness. If, for instance, one says, ‘You should distribute what you have
equitably’, he or she means that one should be fair and just in the
distribution of what one has. On the other hand, equity can be used in the
narrow technical sense to mean the effect of the doctrines and maxims of Equity
as established in England
Fabunmi (1974: 86) says that the expression ‘natural
justice, equity and good conscience’ simply means ‘fairness’ and gives the
following case[2] to
support his claim.
The court rejected a rule
of Igbira Customary Law that any child born within ten months of a divorce
belongs to the divorced husband and not the new husband. Accordingly, in Mariyana
v. Sadiku Ojo, a child was born about fifteen months after the parties last
had intercourse, but less than ten months after the divorce. Rejecting the rule
as being repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience, Holder,
J. said, ‘The native law and custom which the respondent asks us to enforce
would have this girl taken for life away from her natural parents, the
appellant and her present husband, and given to a total stranger. We feel that
to make such an order would be contrary to natural justice, equity and good
conscience and we are therefore not prepared to do so’. Though the judge
rejected the rule because its application would be prejudicial to the interest
and welfare of the child, he commended the value of the rule, when he said, ‘We
must not be understood to condemn this native law and custom in its general
application. We appreciate that it is basically sound and would in almost every
case be fair and just in its result’ (Fabunmi 1974: 86).
Gender equality is also clearly
distinguished from gender equity[3].
Gender equality is said to mean ‘that women and men have equal conditions for
realizing their full human rights and for contributing to, and benefiting from,
economic, social, cultural and political development. Gender equality is
therefore the equal valuing by society of the similarities and the differences
of men and women, and the roles they play. It is based on women and men being
full partners in their home, their community and their society’[4]. Gender equity, on the other hand, is the
‘process of being fair to men and women. To ensure fairness, measure must often
be put in place to compensate for the historical and social disadvantages that
prevent women and men from operating on a level playing field. Equity is a
means. Equality is the result’[5].
2. Culture and Tradition
Culture has been defined as ‘learned system of
beliefs, feelings, and rules for living around for which a group of people
organize their lives; a way of life of a particular society (Crapo 1993: 24)[6].
Tradition, on the other hand, is seen as the handing down from generation to
generation of opinion, beliefs, customs, etc. For example, it may be a
tradition in a given family for the eldest son to enter the army and for the
second son to become a lawyer (Hornby 2000: 1271). The examination of gender equity
in culture and tradition becomes very important because some people view gender
equity as ‘denoting an element of interpretation of social justice, usually
based on tradition, custom, religion or culture, which is most often to the
detriment of women’[7]. We
shall try to take a look and see if there is any aspect of Yorùbá culture which
supports women.
3. The Non-Gendered Yoruba Culture
Oyewumi (2004: 5-7) is of the opinion that the
traditional Yoruba family is non-gendered because kinship roles and categories
are not gender-differentiated.. According to her, the word ẹ̀gbọ́n refers to the older sibling and àbúrò to the younger sibling. The word, ọmọ, according to her, is best translated as offspring.
With regards to the categories ‘husband’ and ‘wife’, ọkọ, which is usually glossed as the
English husband is non-gender-specific because it encompasses both male and
female. Ìyàwó, glossed as wife in
English, refers to in-marrying females. The distinction between ọkọ and ìyàwó is not one of gender. It is based on lineage, which
distinguishes between those who are birth members of the family and those who
enter by marriage. The differentiation expresses a hierarchy in which the ọkọ position is superior to the ìyàwó. The hierarchy is not a gender hierarchy
because even male ọkọ are superior
to the female ìyàwó. In the same way,
the category of ìyàwó includes both men and women. Devotees of the Orisa
(deities), for example, are called ìyàwó
Òrìṣà irrespective of their biological sex.
The word obìnrin,
erroneously translated as ‘female/woman’, according to Oyewumi (1997:33),
[…] does not derive
etymologically from ọkùnrin, as ‘wo-man’ does from ‘man’. Rin, the common
suffix of ọkùnrin and obìnrin, suggests a common humanity; obìn and ọkùn
specify which variety of anatomy….There is no conception here of an original
human type against which the other variety had to be measured. Ènìyàn is the
non-gender-specific word for human.
Even in grammar, according to her, where languages
such as English clearly distinguish genders and mark them with such pronouns as
‘he’ or ‘she’ or ‘it’ as in (i) She went
there for a female (ii) He went there
for a male and (iii) It went there
for non-human, Yoruba uses the pronoun ‘ó’
for each of them. Thus, the three sentences will be translated as Ó lọ (Oyewumi 1997: 33).
Hallen and Sodipo (1986: 1-7)
corroborate the claim of Oyewumi above. They use the Yoruba àjẹ́ (witch) as an example. They say
that just as a woman can be an àjẹ́,
so also is a man. They also say that there are àjẹ́ rere (good àjẹ́) and
àjẹ́ burúkú (bad àjẹ́). A good person who becomes an àjẹ́ will be àjẹ́ rere
while a bad person who become àjẹ́
will be àjẹ́ burúkú. According to
them,
The popular stereotype of
àjẹ́ is that it is ènìyàn burúkú – malicious extremely secretive person whose
aim is to harass or to do serious injury to usually innocent victims. With
this, the oníṣègùn (medicine man) would agree but, in part, because it is a
popular stereotype, it is incomplete. Another basic piece of information with
which they provided us is that there are many male àjẹ́ as there are female.
The male àjẹ́ are said to be as or even more powerful than the women, but
obviously, they are much more adapt at concealing themselves.
Many of the oníṣègùn are
àjẹ́ … the reason a person is one of the most powerful and successful of the
oníṣègùn is because of his own special abilities, and those abilities derived
from the fact he has the àjẹ́.
It is even possible for an
oníṣègùn to have àjẹ́ and be ènìyàn rere – a good person – who works for the
positive benefit of mankind …. In fact… such people constituted some of the
most powerful babaláwo and oníṣègùn.
From a culturally
subjective point-of-view, … does a person become àjẹ́ because he is ènìyàn
burúkú? Or do they become ènìyàn burúkú because they are àjẹ́? If there can be
àjẹ́ rere (good àjẹ́) (and àjẹ́ burúkú), we would suggest that … the person …
is already ènìyàn rere or ènìyàn burúkú, before choosing to become àjẹ̀.
(Hallen
and Sodipo 1986: 1-7).
Among the Ondo-Yoruba, according to Ashcraft-Eason (1993: 92), Pupupu was said to be a female ruler who
established the Ondo royal dynasty, probably in the ninth century. And
according to her, although the Ifẹ, Ọyọ and some other Yoruba hold their
versions of the Ọ̀bàtálá-Odùduwà myth
that Odùduwà was male, a feminine
persona of this deity (Odùduwà) was
significant in the mytho-history of the ondo-Yoruba
2.2.2 Yoruba Proverbs and Gender Equity
Proverbs, according to Ibidapo-Obe (2005: 75), ‘often
convey juristic philosophy because they are based on the wisdom of the elders
and form a substantial part of oral literature’. Many Yoruba proverbs also
support equality between a man and a woman. Some of these proverbs are[8]:
(1) Bí ọmọ
kò jọ sòkòtò, á jọ kíjìpá. Ẹni bíni ni à n jọ. (If a child does not
resemble trousers, he or she will resemble kíjìpá (a kind of woman’s wrapper).
It is one’s parents that one has to resemble)[9].
(2) Ìbí kò ju ìbí, bí a ti bérú la bọ́mọ (There
is no difference in delivery, a slave is put to bed in the same way as a
freeborn of the family)[10].
(3) Ìlara àlàjù níí mú wọn gbàjẹ́, níí mú wọn
ṣẹ́ṣó (Excessive jealousy makes people seek admission into the occult
practices of witchcraft and wizardry)[11].
(4) Ìyá ni wúrà, baba ni díngí (Mother is gold,
father is glass (The mother is dearer to the child than the father but a
child is recognized in the public more through the father[12]).
(5) N
ó ṣe ìyá, kò lè jọ ìyá, n ó ṣe baba, kò lè jọ baba (A foster-mother cannot
be like the natural mother; a foster-father cannot be like one’s real father).
(1) Àìlóbìnrin ò ṣeé dákẹ́, gbogbo aye níí
bánií gbọ́ ọ (One who has no wife does not keep quiet, everybody should be
told about the situation) (p. 62).
(2) Àìsí lọ́jà obìnrin, rorooro níí dà (The
absence of women from the market makes the market desolate) (p. 63).
(3)
Àpọ́nlé kò sí fún ọba tí kò ní olorì (A king who has no queen commands
no respect) (p. 64).
(4) Baba ni alábàárò, ìyá lonírànlọ́wọ́ (Father
is a counselor, mother is a helper (p. 66).
(5) Bí obìnrin kò sí lọ́ọ̀dè, ilé kìí kún (The
absence of a woman makes the house incomplete) (p. 67).
(6) Bí orí baba bá gba obì lọ́run, ìyá rẹ̀ là á
fún (If one’s dead father requests for
ritual, it is to his mother we direct such ritual) (p. 67).
(7) Ẹni tó fún ni lóbìnrin ni kò jẹ́ ká kú
àkúrun (One who gives one a wife wishes one to leave a legacy behind) (p. 70).
(8) Ìyá ni à bá ní, baba kò ṣe ti ẹnì kan
(9) O rí kìí pọ̀ lọ́jà ká má mọ tìyá ẹni
(There are not many heads in a market that one fails to recognize one’s mother)
(p. 74.)
(10) Ọmọ kìí bá ìpele ìyá rẹ̀ kí ó ṣí aṣọ mú
((A child cannot but distinguish her mother’s wrapper from others) (p. 74).
Daramola
(2005) also notes the following positive proverbs about women:
(1) Bọ́kùnrin réjò tóbìnrin pa á, ṣe bí kéjò má
sáà ti lọ ni (If a man sees a snake and a woman kills it, all is to get the
snake killed) (p. 20).
(2) Òwò tóbìnrin ò ṣe rí, kokooko níí le (A
trade that is never practiced by a woman is painfully tough) (p. 20)[14].
On the other hand, Ogunwale (1998) compile some Yoruba
proverbs in which negative
characteristics are attributed to the male[15].
Some of the proverbs are as follows:
(1) Ẹni tó gbọ́n tó lẹ́nì kan ò gbọ́n, akọ
were ló n ṣe onítọ̀hún (A self-asserted) wise man who refuses to acknowledge
the wisdom of any other person except him is being troubled by serious
(masculine) sort of malady)
(2) Àṣ̣ejù baba àṣetẹ́ (Obstinacy is the
father of disgracefulness).
(3) Alágbára má mèrò baba òle (An
unscrupulous-powerful fellow is the father of a lazy individual).
(4) Àìgbóràn baba àfojúdi (Disobedience is the
father of insolence).
(5) Ojú kòkòrò baba ọ̀kánjúà (Covetousness is
the father of avarice).
(6) Ààlọ̀ àṣejù baba ojo (Too much of crinching
is the father of cowardice).
(7) Alápá-má-ṣiṣẹ́ baba ọ̀lẹ (A loafer is the
father of indolence).
(8) Agbowóòká baba àsúsan (Receiving money on
behalf of someone and failure to cross-check the amount (will lead to) is the
father of incurring debt on oneself).
(9) Àìlówó lọ́wọ́ baba ìjayà (Poverty is the
father of obsession)
It
would be noted from the examples above that masculine labels are used to convey
obstinacy, covetousness and unscrupulousness among others. The use of masculine
in all the examples is derogatory.
In the news-line of 2nd August, 2009 , the first lady of Nigeria Brazil Brazil Brazil Nigeria
In an Ijaw myth, titled, ‘The Woman Who “Tried” to
Change Her Fate’, women said they wanted children. Men said they wanted wealth.
One woman called Ogboinba said she
wanted mystic powers. She and men and women went to earth to live their lives
for the advancement of humankind. Some women had children while some had
wealth. Some men had wealth. Some women and men had wealth and children. Some
had mystic power but it was Ogboinba
alone who had super-human mystic power (Ashcraft-Eason 1993: 83).
4. Ifá and
Gender Equity
Ibidapo-Obe (2005: 64) shows how men and women are
considered as equal in some Nigerian deities. One of his examples is that of Osun, a female deity. According to him,
all the other 200 male deities failed to consult Osun while they were organizing the earth. Things continued to go
wrong for them until they consulted Osun
when everything started to go well. They then praised womanhood thus:
A f’imọ je t’Ọsun
Iya wa, a ba wọn pe bimọ
Awa f’mọ jẹ t’Ọsun[16].
We give reference to Osun
The Unseen mother ever present at every gathering
We give reference to Osun.
(Ibidapo-Obe
2005: 64).
A
female (Ìyánífá) can be an Ifá diviner just as a male (babaláwo) can also be an Ífá diviner. According to an Ífá verse in Èjì Ogbè,
Arówó dífá
Awo ilé jàgbè
Ifá pé ìwọ Ọ̀rúnmìlà
Níjọ́ tí n tọ̀run bọ̀ wáyé
Wọ́n ní yóò ní obìnrìn
Wón ní obìnrin náà yóò bímọ
méjì lóòjọ́
Gẹ́gẹ́ bí ọ̀rọ̀ Ifá, Ọ̀rúnmìlà
níyàwó, ó lóyún, ó sì bí ìbejì - ọ̀kan jọ́kùnrin, ọ̀kan jóbìnrìn.
Láti kékeré ni àwọn
méjèèjì ti n wo baba wọn bí ó ti n gbé ọwọ́ ifá
Bí ọkùnrin ti mọ Ífaá dá
ni obìnrin náà mọ Ífáá dá.
Arowo divines
The priest of jagbe
Ifa said, you Orunmila
When he was coming from heaven to earth
They said he would have a wife
The said the wife would have two children in a day
Just as Ifa had said, Orunmila had a wife, she got
pregnant and gave birth to a set of twins – one was a male, one was a female.
Right from youth, the two of them have been watching
their father as he performed Ifa divination.
As the male knew how to divine so also the female knew
how to divine.
(Ajayi
1982: 3).
From this Ifá
verse, it is clear that nothing
stops a woman from performing Ifá
divination.
The equality of men and women in child
bearing is always emphasized in Ifá
verse thus:
Bá à lóbìnrin
A à lè bímọ
If one does not have a woman as a wife
One cannot have children
(Oyesakin
1980: 6).
Ifa even states further that a man becomes more
responsible when he takes a wife because he will be expose to all sorts of
things. Ifa states this in one of its
verses thus:
Tá a bá láya tán
Ẹni gbangba là á jẹ́
As soon as one takes a wife
One is exposed to the world.
(Oyesakin
1980: 7).
Ifa goes further to say that a woman is indispensable to a man when it
comes to economy. This is because when the man produces, the woman sells. The Ifa verse goes thus:
Moróunfólú bá ní òun ó fẹ́
Tinúawẹ̣̣̀, ni Tínúawẹ̀ náà bá ní òun ó fẹ́ ẹ. Ní wọ́n bá fẹ́ ara wọn, ló bá
di pẹ́ Tínúawẹ̀ ní máa gbé ọjà lọ láti ọ̀dọ̀ Moróunfólú, a lọ tà á, a mú owó
wale. Ìgbà tí yóò fi tó ìgbà díẹ̀, wọ́n tì là, wón ti kọ́ ilé.
Morounfolu sought the hands of Tinuawe in marriage and
Tinuawe agreed. They eventually got married. Since then, Tinuawe usually
carried whatever he produced to the market and brought the proceeds back home.
Within a short time, they became rich and built a house.
(Oyesakin
1980: 8).
The
interdependence between a man and a woman is further depicted in the following
verse where a husband and a wife is likened to a kola-nut and a leaf. When the
kola-nut and the leaf quarreled, Ewé n rọ,
Obì náà sì n rọ (The leaf was withering and the kola-nut also was
withering). (Oyesakin 1980: 9). When Ifa
was divined for them, they were instructed to remarry, Ni àwọn méjèèjì bá tún fẹ́ ara wọn, ló bá tún bẹ̀rẹ̀ síí dára fún wọn
(The two of them remarried and things turned out for the better for them again)
(Oyesakin 1980: 9).
Daramola (2005) also cites some Ifa verses which depict women’s
favourable images. Some of them are:
Òwú dúdú ni ò yá ran bíi
funfun
Ìgbàlẹ̀ obìnrin ò yá kù
fìrì wọ̀
Aṣọ tá a dá fókùú dègbé
Esúsú níí ti í jẹ
(Black cotton
is not easy to spin like the white
It is not easy to get into women’s enclave
The cloth sewn for the dead is lost
It becomes food for ants)
(Daramola
2005: 16).
In
this verse, women are regarded as powerful and dreadful such that even men fear
or rather find it difficult to enter their enclave. Another Ifa verse is taken from ìyẹ̀rẹ̀ ifa where homage is being paid
to women. It goes thus:
Ìbà obìnrin
Egbin tó bÓlú
Egbin tó bỌ́ba
Egbin tíí bere bere ọmọ
ní igban ghun[17]
.
(Hail to you all women
I salute you who are mothers of nobles
Hail to you who are mother of kings
It is you that produce all types of men.
(Daramola
2005: 16)
In
the following verse from ìyẹ̀rẹ̀ ifa,
women are also being hailed:
Mo ṣèbà Ẹ̀lè[18]
Tó bí Baálé[19]
Tó bí Jagun[20].
(I pay obeisance to womanhood
That gave birth to Baale
That gave birth to Jagun).[21].
In Ifa,
which Abraham (1958: 274) describes as ‘the god of divination’, just as we have
male names embodying Ifa such as Fábí-unjọ (Ifa had a share in giving birth to something), there are male or
female names such as Fábùnmi (Ifa gave me) and female names such as Fáfún-unkẹ́ (Ifa gave me as a pet) (Abraham (1958: 275).
To show that equality is equity,
Ibidapo-Obe (2005: 39) cites the following Ifa
verse:
Omo Lawore
Ka pin ko dogba
Okan ko gbodo ju okan
l’Offa
Olalomi bo kan kan
Oba ni ko won rooro[22].
(The child of Lawore, let us divide it equally: One
portion must not exceed the other in Offa.
Olalomi,
where the division is unequal,
It is the
king who deals with the matter).
Iyewà
was one of Òrúnmìlà’a wives. She was
a wealthy woman. She saved Òrúnmìlà
from death and gave him a safe home, food and a child and often Òrúnmìlà will exclaim ‘iyewà!’ meaning, ‘She saved me from
perishing’(Abimbola 1975: 131-157).
Also, to show that women are never relegated to
subordination in African society, Ibidapo-Obe (2005: 165) cites the following Ifa verse which immortalizes the basic
attitude of the African man to the African woman
The people of Sabe have poison
The people of Togun have arrows
None of them dares lay a siege to the city of women
I would have killed many
I would have sold many into slavery
And I would have taken some more as wives.
Generally, it is believed that in the
Yoruba traditional cults, there are more women than men, hence the saying:
Ká má dẹ̀ póbìnrin ò mawo
Awo méjìlélógún lobìnrin mọ̀
Méjì tó lé réè tọkùnrin
Gbogbo ogún yòókù, tobìnrin
ni
(We should not say women are uninformed about cults
They are initiated into twenty-two cults
Only the last two are for men
The remaining twenty belong to women-folk).
(Daramola
2005: 17).
As
a matter of fact, it is also believed that if there is no woman in a cult, the
cult is not fully recognized, hence the saying:
Tí ò bá sí obìnrin nínú awo
kan
Kò tíì kún tó
Awo obìnrin ló jìnlẹ̀ ju
gbogbo awo okùnrin lọ
(Any cult that has no female member
Is not full yet
It is the female cults that are deeper than male’s)
(Daramola
(2005: 18).
In Osugbo[23]
cult, a female person, Erelú, is
eminently presented thus:
Dági ké
Dági ké
Àkéké ò lè dági ké
Dági là
Dági là
Àkéké ò lè dági là
Bí ò ṣÉrelú
Òṣùgbó ò lè dáwo ṣe.
(Able to cut the tree solely
Able to cut the tree solely
The axe cannot solely cut the tree
Able to split the tree solely
Able to split the tree solely
The axe cannot solely split the tree
In the absence of Erelu
The Osugbo members cannot hold any meeting).
(Daramola
2005: 18-19).
Also among the Ògbóni,
according to Abraham (1958: 453), ‘there is always at least one woman
titleholder (also called) the Erelú:
there may be a second female titleholder Olórí
Erelú or even more’ (our bracket).
In Opa cult,
the Iya Agan is also very eminent.
Daramola (2005: 19) again cites the following poetry:
Ọpa á palúwa rẹ
Ẹni tó bá fojú dÌyá-Agan
Ọpa á palúwa rẹ
Ẹni tó bá fojú dÌyá-Agan
Ẹni mọ̣jàa Ṣàngó
Kò jẹ́ fosé ṣeré
Ọpa á palúwa rẹ
Ẹni tó bá fojú dÌyá-Agan.
(Opa will kill the person
He who disregards the Iya-Agan
Opa will kill the person
He who disregards the Iya-Agan
He who had experienced the wrath of Sango
Will never fiddle with ose staff
Opa will kill the person
He who disregards the Iya-Agan.
In
the traditional Yoruba society, according Harper (1970” 67-68),
The counterpart of Olódùmarè
is the Earth mother who in some areas is known as Onìlẹ̀ (sic), in others as
Oòduà: among the Western Yoruba of Òkèehò (Òkè-ihò) district near Ọ̀yọ́, she is
simply called Ìyánlá, the graet mother. Unlike Olódùmarè, she may be approached
directly through prayer and sacrifice, and appeased by means of appropriate
ceremonies.
He
goes further to say that the purpose of Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́
ritual is to propitiate the great mother and assure that the àjẹ́[24]
or women on whom she bestows mystic powers, are placated and so induced to turn
their talents to the service rather than the destruction of the community.
Ìyáláṣẹ
is another priestess of ìyánlá
described by Harper (1970: 68). Ìyáláṣẹ,
according to him, is the leading woman in the Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ society and the key figure in the ritual activities of
the cult. She takes an active part in the Ifa
rituals held before and after the Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́
ceremonies to ensure success for the festivals and performs the sacrificial
rites to propitiate Èṣù and persuade
him not to distrupt the flow of events. As the priestess of Ìyánlá, she plays a central role in many
religious societies and important rituals may not be held without her consent.
She is of ritual significance in king-making and generally holds a position of
political power and social prestige.
References
Abimbola, Wande (1972), Sixteen Grat Poems of Ifa. Paris
Abraham, R.C. (1958), Dictionary of Modern Yoruba. London Stoughton
Adewole, Ayodele (2009), ‘Gender equity in Africa in the Context of Women’s Rights under
International Law.’, B.L. Long Essay, Obafemi Awolowo
University
Ajayi, Bade (1989), ‘Ipa Obinrin ninu Awo’, Paper
Presented at the Yoruba Studies
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Egbema-Ijo Goddesss of Destiny’, in Nigeria
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of Ijio
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Appendix
The Concept of Gender
Gender is said to comprise of a range
of differences between men and women extending from the biological to the
social[25].
At the biological level, men and women are typically distinguished by the
presence of Y-chromosome in male cells and its absence in female cells. At the
social level, however, there is a debate regarding the extent to which the
various biological differences necessitate differences in social gender roles
and gender identity which has been defined as ‘an individual’s self-conception as being male or female as
distinguished from actual biological sex’[26] .
Crapo (1993: 195) distinguishes
between sex and gender. According to him, ‘the term sex refers to biological
distinctions such as the chromosomal, hormonal or physical differences between
males and females. Gender defines the social statuses and roles that people are
socialized into based on cultural concepts about the sexes’ (Crapo (1993: 195).
As for Marcionis (1989: 314-315), sex is the division of humanity into
biological categories of male and female while gender refers to human traits
linked by culture to each sex.
Reeves and Baden
(2000: 30) also clearly differentiate sex from gender. They said that sex
refers to the biological characteristics that categorise someone as either
female or male, whereas, gender refers to the socially defined ideas and
practices of what it is to be female or male. They say that sex is biologically
determined as female or male according to certain identifiable physical
features which are fixed while gender is how a person’s biology is culturally
valued and interpreted into locally accepted ideas of what it is to be a woman
or man.
Crapo (1993: 196-197) again defines
gender as learnt roles. He says that
A social
identity that consists of the role a person is expected to play because of his
or her sex. Whereas we are born with sexual characteristics, our gender is
something we must learn. All cultures recognize the existence of at least two
genders: females are usually socialized into the roles that lead them into a
social identity as women, while male learn men’s roles.
Gender, therefore, has been regarded
as ‘a complex social construct based upon biological sex, but it is not the
same as sex. It can also be argued that gender alone drives us, and that sex is
an incidental feature’[27].
Gender facilitates sexual interaction and reproduction. It is intertwined with
identity, expression, presentation, relationships, child-rearing, societal
roles and structure (Crapo 1993: 196-197)[28].
The most comprehensive concept of
gender to be used in this work is given by UNESCO (2003). It states that
Gender refers
to the roles and responsibilities of men and women that are created in our
families, our societies and our cultures. The concept of gender also includes
the expectations characteristics, aptitude and likely behaviours of both women
and men (femininity and masculinity). Gender roles and expectations are learnt.
They can change over time and they vary within and between cultures. Systems of
social differentiation such as political status, class, ethnicity, physical and
mental disability, age and mores, modify gender roles. The concept of gender is
vital because, applied to social analysis, it reveals how women’s subordination
(or men’s domination) is socially constructed. As such, the subordination can
be changed or ended. It is not biologically predetermined nor is it fixed for
ever.
UNESCO (2003).held about
the
The Concept of Human Rights
On December 10, 1948 , the General Assembly of the
United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. The 30 articles in the Declaration are attached as an appendix to this
work.
The 30 articles show that the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a non-binding declaration
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly partly in response to the
atrocities of World War II[29].
Although the UDHR is a non-binding resolution, it is now considered to be a
central component of international customary law which may be invoked under
appropriate circumstances by national and other judiciaries. The UDHR urges
member nations to promote a number of human, civil, economic and social rights.
Asserting these rights is part of the ‘foundation of freedom, justice and peace
in the world’[30]. The
declaration was the first international legal effort to limit the behaviour of
states and press upon them their citizens following the model of the
‘rights-duty-duality’[31].
Human rights have been said to refer
to ‘the basic rights and freedom to which the humans are entitled’[32].
Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as
human rights include civil and political rights such as the right to life and
liberty, freedom of expression and equality before the law and social and
economic rights including the right to participate in culture, the right to
food, the right to work and the right to education. Human rights law is a
system of laws, both domestic and international, designed to promote human
rights[33].
Human rights have been split into
civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Civil and
political rights are enshrined in articles 3 to 21 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the International Covenant and Political Rights
(ICCPR). Economic, social and cultural rights are enshrined in articles 22 to
28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International
Covenant and Political Rights (ICCPR)[34].
The United Nations Human Rights
Council, created at the 2005 World Summit to replace the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights, has a mandate to investigate violations of human
rights. Human rights violations occur when any state or non-state actor
breaches any part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights treaty or other
international rights or humanitarian law. Article 39 of the United Nations
Charter designates the Council (or an appointed authority) as the only tribunal
that may determine UN human rights violations[35].
The Human Rights Council is a
subsidiary body of the General Assembly and reports directly to it. The Human
Rights Council ranks below the Security Council which is the final authority
for the interpretation of the United Nations Charter. Forty Seven of the one
hundred and ninety-one member states sit on the council, elected by simple
majority in a secret ballot of the United Nations General Assembly. Members
serve a maximum of six years and may have their membership suspended for gross
human rights abuses. The Council is based in Geneva
situations[36].
The following are areas pertaining to human rights in the Nigerian
Constitution:
Section 33: Right to Life.
Section 34: Right to Dignity of Human Person.
Section 35: Right to Personal Liberty
Section 36: Right to Fair
Hearing.
Section 37: Right to
Private and Family Life.
Section 38: Right to Freedom of Thought,
Conscience and Religion.
Section 39: Right to
Freedom of Expression and Press.
Section 40: Right to
Peaceful Assembly and Association.
Section 41: Right to
Freedom of Movement.
Section 42: Right to
Freedom from Discrimination.
Section 43: Right to Acquire and Own
Immovable Property anywhere in Nigeria
(Yakubu
2003: 362-427).
Rawls (1971: 60-61) says that, ‘Each
person is to have an equal right to extensive basic liberty compatible with
liberty to others’.
Women’s Human Rights
The term women’s rights refers to freedoms and entitlements of women and
girls of all ages[37].
Human rights accords everyone, irrespective of circumstances of age, health,
sex, race the capabilities of realizing well-being (Obbo 2005: 19). Thus,
women’s equal dignity and human rights as full human beings are enshrined in
the basic instrument of today’s international community. From the Charter of
the United Nations’ endorsement of the equal rights of men and women to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the subsequent treaties and
declarations, the rights of women are central to our vision of a democratic
society[38].
To the advocates of women’s rights, men are complementary to women and, they
too are part of humanity in its entirety (King’ei 1995: 137).
The following are some human rights
violations that frequently affect women in particular:
(1) Economic exploitation,
including the failure of government to provide minimum wage laws for
occupations filled primarily by women and the lack day-care rights.
(2) Lack of equal treatment
of women by family law (such as the failure of governments to grant women the
right to obtain a divorce and the imposition of greater punishments for crimes
such as adultery and the lack of inheritance rights).
(3) Denial of reproductive
rights (including the right to contraceptive information, access to safe
contraceptive techniques, the right to obtain medically safe abortion and the
right to bear children).
(4) Violence and
exploitation (including domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment and coerced
prostitution).
(Schuler
1986: 155-156).
The following are the measures with
which women’s social power could be judged: (i) female’s control of material
things such as land, produce and crafts outside the domestic unit (ii) demand
for women’s produce outside the family unit locally or in external markets
(iii) women’s right to participate in the political process in a way that
influence policy affecting those outside their domestic unit, and (iv) the
presence of female solidarity groups that protect women’s political or economic
interest (Crapo 1993: 2002).
Issues commonly associated with
notions of women’s rights include, though not limited to, the right to bodily
integrity and autonomy; to vote (universal suffrage), to hold public office, to
work, to fair wages or equal pay, to own property; to education, to serve in
the military or to be conscripted; to enter into legal contracts; and to have
marital, parental and religious rights[39]
The first women’s rights convention
was held at Seneca Falls , New York London
[1] This
paper is part of a long essay submitted to the Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University
[2] Mariyana v. Sadiku Ojo, NLR (1961), p. 81.
[3] Other
concepts which are relevant to gender equity but which are not of immediate
relevance to this paper are attached to this paper as an appendix.
[4] http://portal.unesco.org/es/files/11483/106490496990Definition.s.doc
(accessed on16/6/09).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Layiwola (2009: 10) also defines culture as ‘the totality
of the way of life of a people and it is also an index of identity. When you
know the totality of the way of life of a people, then you can identify their
identity, their local as well as international identity. And there is a
differentiation between identity in the context of a man and his family or his
lineage, or of the local government, or of the nation. And I believe that the
strength of a culture can be used as the launch for the strength of a national
identity …. Culture, just like your outlook, garment or costume is just one
index of the indices that identity could have. So, culture is just one thing
that can be used to determine your identity. Ethnicity, religion, costumes and
cuisine can also be used to determine your identity. Haralambos (1984: 1-3)
also defines culture as the learned shared behaviour of members of a society.
It is the way of life of the members of a society. Thus, culture is the
learned, shared behaviour of members of a society. Without culture, society
would not exist. Culture is not only learnt but shared.
[7] See www.un.org/womenwatch/osago/pdf/factsheet2.pdf
(accessed on 16/6/09 ).
[8] The following
proverbs are taken from Ajibola (1971).
[9] Sòkòtò stands for the father of the
child while kíjìpá stands for the
child’s mother.
[10] If a slave could be equated to a freeborn, then, a male
and a female should be equal.
[11] While men practice wizardry, women practice witchcraft.
[12] According to Daramola (2005: 21), ‘Gold is a precious
metal and glass has the metaphor of sight. Although both materials are far away
from nature because they are finished products, their import is significant.
Significantly also, gold is far more precious than glass that is attributed to
the fatherhood – a mirror of good qualities, though. Ogunwale (1998: 106)
regards this proverb as depicting that masculine is inferior to feminine and
that the proverb deliberately ranks the mother more valuable and higher than
the father.
[13] The pages where the proverbs are taken are in put in
bracket in front of the proverbs.
[14] This is not to say
that there are no Yoruba proverbs which portrays women negatively. The
following are some of them taken from Daramola (2005):
(1)
Awo egúngún lobìnrin lè ṣe, awo
gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ lobìnrin lè mọ̀, bóbìnrin fojú korò, orò á gbé e (It is the egungun
cult that a woman can take part in; a woman can also know the gelede cult; if a
woman sees oro cult, oro will deal decisively with her (p. 200.
(2)
Obinrin sọ̀wà nù, ó ní òun kò
mórí ọkọ wáyé (A woman is mannerless, she says she was not destined to have a
husband) (p. 20).
(3)
Obìnrin lọ̀dàlẹ̀, obìnrin lèké,
obìnrin lọ́kọ méjì, ó fìkan pamọ́ (Women are betrayals, women are dishonest,
when a woman keeps two men, she hides
one) (p. 21).
(4)
Obìnrin bímọ fún ni, kò ní kó
má pani (The fact that a woman bears children for one does not stop her from
killing one) (p. 21).
[15] Even in Yoruba greetings, according Ogunwale (1998: 105), Ọdún á yabo o (May the new year be
(feminine) prosperous) is believed to be
desirable while Ọdún á yakọ (May
the new year be (masculine) tough, rough, difficult) is, in fact, contextually,
anomalous.
[16] Some of the other female deities recognized by Awolalu and
Dopamu (1979: 87-90) are Ọya and Ayélála.
[17] The text is from Yagba Yoruba. The dialect has the gh which is not available in standard
Yoruba.
[18] The word, ẹ̀lẹ̀, is a euphemistic reference to the
female private part.
[19] This is a traditional title conferred on eminent
personality in villages, towns and cities (e.g.. chiefs).
[20] It is a title iften conferred on leading warlords.
[21] This is not to say that there are no Ifa verses which portray women negatively. The following are
examples:
Ọ̀kan soso póró lobìnrin dùn mọ
lọ́wọ́ ọkọ
Bí wọ́n bá di méjì
Wọn a dòjòwú
Bí wọ́n bá di mẹ́ta
Wọn a dẹ̀ta n túlé ….
(The ideal is for a man to marry one wife
Should they be two in number,
They turn jelous cats
Should they be three in number,
They become the unlucky number, ‘three’, that breaks up the
home ….)
(Oyesakin
1980: 15).
Another one is:
Obìnrin lèké
Obìnrin lọ̀dàlẹ̀
Kéèyàn ó mọ́mọ̀ finú hàn
fóbìnrin
(Women are hypocrites
Women are traitors
One should never reveal one’s secret to a woman)
(Oyesakin
1980: 16).
[22] With the modern Yoruba orthography, the verse should be
written as follows:
Ọmọ Láwóore
Ká pín in, kó dọ́gba
Ọ̀kan kò gbọdọ̀ ju ọ̀kan lỌ́fà
Ọlálọ́mí, bọ́kan jùkan
Ọba níí kó wọn rooro.
[23] Abraham (1958: 492) says that Osugbo is the Orò-cult.
The term Osugbo, according to him is
applied especially to the Orò-cult
practice among the Ogboni of Ijebu.
[24] Àjẹ́, according to Harper (1970: 67), are not witches in
the European sense of being the personification of evil.
[25] En.wikipedia.org (n.d.), ‘Gender’, in
En.wikipedia.org/Gender (accessed on 16th May, 2006 ).
[26] En.wikipedia.org (n.d.), ‘Gender’, in
En.wikipedia.org/Gender (accessed on 16th May, 2006 ).
[27] www.omnetteonthenet.com
(n.d), ‘Gender – the Concept, in www.omnetteonthenet.com/gender
- the concept.html (accessed on 16th May, 2009 ).
[28] Although, apart from these two genders – male and female –
Crapo (1993: 201) also recognizes two other genders which are (1) The hijra in
India who are expected to undergo a surgical removal of their external
genitalia in order to identify themselves with Hindu god Siva and (2) The
Berdache who could be found in a number of North American societies. They are
neither males nor females. They adopt sex roles that mix the gender
characteristics of both sexes. We shall not be concerned with any of these two
in these work.
[29] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’,
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights (accessed on 26th June, 2009 ).
[30] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’,
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights (accessed on 26th June, 2009 ).
[31] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’,
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights (accessed on 26th June, 2009 ).
[32] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’, En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights
(accessed on 26th
June, 2009 ).
[33] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’,
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights (accessed on 26th June, 2009 ).
[34] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’,
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights (accessed on 26th June, 2009 ).
[35] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’,
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights (accessed on 26th June, 2009 ).
[36] En.wikipedia,org (n.d.), ‘Human Rights’,
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights (accessed on 26th June, 2009 ).
[37] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wome’s_rights
(accessed on 25/5/09 ).
[38] See http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/womenpuh2000.html
(accessed on 3/7/09 ).
[39] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wome’s_rights
(accessed on 25/5/09 ).
[40] Mrs. Mott went with her husband from the United States of America London
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