GENDER ISSUES AND THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA.
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GENDER ISSUES AND THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Gender is the social construction and codification of sex differences as well as the social relationships between men and women (Oppong 1987; Mason 1984).
Women’s important contributions to their households and national economy are becoming more widely recognised in Nigeria and around the world, owing to their tireless efforts to organise, communicate their issues, and make their voices heard. At both the grassroots and national levels, more women’s organisations are using new political opportunities to express their leadership.
Gender concerns and the challenges of rural development in Nigeria have sparked national debate among academics, economists, cultural and political figures. They advocate for increased economic and social opportunities for women, as well as the growth of women’s rights.
Women improve their personal standing, which benefits the country’s overall development possibilities. Thus, it is important to recognise that women in Nigeria continue to confront huge challenges.
A country’s population is almost evenly divided between males and females, except under unusual circumstances such as war or highly selective immigration, which typically effect males more than females.
Furthermore, Fapohunda (2012) notes that, throughout history, the distribution of power, wealth, influence, employment, and so on between men and women has faced severe problems such as unemployment, a lack of a source of income, widowhood, and single parenthood.
Despite these limitations, women’s contributions to rural development in Nigeria, as well as other aspects of human endeavour, have been respectable and significant.
Thus, increased recognition of women’s contributions to rural development has not resulted in considerably enhanced access to resources or decision-making power.
Neither has the energy that women bring to their rural communities’ economic, cultural, and social life through their associations and informal networks been channelled into the development of new models of participation and leadership.
Aside from political issues, the material conditions in which most rural women live and work continue to deteriorate as a result of conflict, economic and social degradation, disease spread, and disregard for rural women’s rights.
Nigeria is the most populated country in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it is ranked tenth in the world (Fapohunda 2012). According to the 2006 National Census, Nigeria’s population is at 150 million, with women accounting for around half of the total.
Many Nigerian women reside in rural areas, where they face extreme poverty. Their personal poverty and contribution are far more pervasive than that of men, threatening their life, national health, and development in Nigeria’s rural areas.
In its 2005 Human Development Report, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided instances to demonstrate that, despite significant progress in improving women’s capacities, men and women continue to live in unequal societies.
Poverty, for example, has a female face, as women account for 70% of the world’s 1.3 billion poor. This is a problem to rural development because the majority of women reside in rural regions, are unemployed, and rely on their husbands and family members for survival.
However, women in Nigeria have always worked productively. According to the National Report for the 2004 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, women account for at least 40% of agricultural production activities and 85% of agricultural produce, processing, and commercialization.
Women make up the vast majority of Nigeria’s poor and illiterate populations, both urban and rural. In 1994, about 3,000 women gathered at the African Women’s Preparatory Conference to discuss the African perspective for the fourth World Women’s Conference in Beijing.
The resulting African Platform for Action outlined a number of priorities. These include combating the increasing poverty of African women, improving women’s access to education and health services, with a specific focus on reproductive health
addressing the involvement of women in the peace process, advancing the legal and human rights of women, highlighting the special concerns of the women and girl-child (issue of female genital mutilation (FGM), and “mainstreaming” gender concerns with economic and development policy-making by disaggregating
The Beijing summit in 1995 emphasised women’s empowerment as a key development goal for the twenty-first century. It approved an Action Platform that advocated for the incorporation of a gender perspective into the design, implementation, and monitoring of all policies and programmes, including development initiatives.
Countries have committed to developing their own specialised initiatives and activities in collaboration with women’s groups and other non-governmental organisations to implement the Beijing Platform for Action.
Despite such significant steps, local administrations and the government have shown insufficient political will and a lack of persistent commitment to supporting the needs and interests of women.
Women account for around 31% of rural households. According to academics, in many rural areas, women contribute unpaid labour to the household’s agricultural production and spend up to 50 hours per week on domestic labour and subsistence food production, with little task sharing by spouses or sons in the household.
If Nigeria’s rural development challenges are to be addressed head on, the issue of gender disparity must be addressed through aggressive policy formulation, implementation, and political will.
Improving women’s income is both a matter of equity and a prerequisite for child survival and welfare; otherwise, the problem will persist.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Women’s gender discrimination, poverty, and powerlessness in rural society are all linked to rural development. Despite the fact that women bear the primary responsibility for food security in Nigeria, development agencies have allocated limited resources to researching the impact of their development policies and techniques on the well-being of Nigerian women.
The seeming gender lethargy and disparities in resource accessibility have reduced women’s roles and contributions to rural development in Nigeria, despite the fact that their significance in resource development is considerable.
Active policies to combat gender discrimination are either absent or ineffective, and even when they are available, access to any of the agencies is sometimes difficult.
In its 2005 Human Development Report, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided instances to demonstrate that, despite significant progress in improving women’s capacities, men and women continue to live in unequal societies.
Examples include the following: Poverty affects women, as women account for 70% of the world’s 1.3 billion poor.
Women’s increasing poverty is caused by their unequal labour market situation, status, and power in the household, among other factors. Women’s labor-force participation increased by only 4% over 20 years (from 36% in 1980 to 40% in 2000). The question is, how do women contribute to the development of Nigeria’s rural areas?
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
The research questions that guided this study include:
1. To what extent do gender concerns hinder rural development?
2. To what extent has the substantial impact of gender hampered rural development?
3. To what extent do gender concerns limit women’s engagement in rural development?
1.4 Statement of the Objectives
The overarching goal of this study is to assess gender issues and the constraints of rural development in Nigeria. Specific aims include:
1. To identify the challenges of gender issues in rural development.
2. Evaluate the substantial impact of gender on rural development.
3. Determine the barriers that gender issues present for women’s engagement in rural development.
1.5 Statement of the Hypothesis
Based on the study questions listed above, it is hypothesised that:
1. HO1: Gender concerns have not presented any substantial hurdles to rural development.
2. HO2: Gender concerns have no substantial effect on rural development.
3. HO3: Gender concerns do not present substantial barriers to women’s engagement in rural development.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The outcomes of this study will be extremely important to the feminine gender, or women folk, as well as the general public, who have lost faith in women’s contributions to rural development.
The study will assist Nigerian women in committing solely to economically productive pursuits. Furthermore, Nigeria must commit to eliminating gender inequities, mainstreaming gender, and rethinking women’s roles in rural development.
It will also enable the Nigerian government to establish appropriate measures to strengthen women’s status, hence accelerating rural development. Furthermore, the findings of this study will encourage and promote women’s engagement in economic, social, and legal areas of interest, so promoting rural development.
This study would encourage Nigeria to execute United Nations-ratified agreements, such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which guarantees women equal rights and protection against discrimination.
It will also show Nigerians how rural national development is hampered by the exclusion of half of the population’s viewpoints, skills, and energy.
This study will be extremely beneficial to women’s networks, associations, and groups in terms of raising gender awareness and providing avenues for women’s education in Nigeria.
Without meaningful commitment in the form of policy changes and the provision of resources to address the root causes of women’s conditions, the country of Nigeria cannot hope to see a breakthrough in rural development and revival.
This programme will help males comprehend the role of women in peacekeeping, which is a key component of rural development and national building.
1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study
Because of financial constraints and declining economic fortunes, including the time to perform this research, the time available is insufficient to conduct additional research, and the lack of data to process this research limits this work to a certain area.
Similarly, respondents’ unwillingness to take the necessary steps to complete the questionnaire slowed the completion of this task. Other issues, such as a shortage of relevant textbooks for the study, were another setback.
Due to the difficulties encountered in the field and the low rate of women’s participation in rural development as a result of gender issues, the research work is restricted to the Ikwo Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State.
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