Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ...

189
IRORO: JOA Volume 18 Numbers 1 & 2, 2019 189-209

SEXISM BETWEEN THE MALE AND THE FEMALE GENDER:

AN EXPOSITION OF WHO THE OPPRESSOR IS

Daniel OBASOOTO
Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Email: impeccabledaniel@gmail.com

Abstract
Sexism is a central issue that engages the attention of many living within
the shore of Nigeria and beyond. There is apparently intractable
disagreement about which individuals, practices and institutions are sexist.
The question of who is oppressing who or who is really the oppressor
cannot be overemphasized. This paper attempts to critique the allege
subjugation of women by men. The feminists assume that the subjugation
of women and the suffering of women are as a result of the patriarchal
society and, therefore, advocate an egalitarian society whereby both the
male and the female gender have equal rights and opportunities. This
paper argues that feminists’ approach to sexism is one-way traffic.
Patriarchy is arguably alleged as the number one enemy of women’s
development in many societies. Giving this to be true for the sake of
argument, can matriarchy be an alternative to patriarchy? Will the
problems faced by women go if they are allowed to take the place of men
in their society? Finally, who is really oppressing who? This paper proposes
one of the ways by which we can have a balanced feminist approach to
sexism which none or few feminists have sufficiently articulated.

Keywords: Gender, Sexism, Patriarchy, Feminism, Beliefs

Introduction
According to Aina (2012, p. 6),the definition of gender is hinged on
the fact that the situation of men and women must be analysed in
relationship to each other, and not in isolation. However, culturally
and socially constructed differences between female and male
genders based on meanings, beliefs, and practices that are associated
with femininity or masculinity have raised a gender problem. These
perceived differences that are culturally and socially constructed
bring up the range of attitudes, beliefs, policies, laws, and behaviours
that discriminate on the basis of gender. This results in sexism or a
system of gender inequality and power and male hegemony, as it is
190 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

popularly believed. By male hegemony, it means the male political

and ideological domination of woman in society. The power and
legitimizing of male hegemony is encouraged as a result of some
factors, which include: religion, traditional culture and societal
norms. For example, traditionally the role of wife and mother has
been a subordinate one in society. The feminists, therefore, react
against the subjugation of women and the patriarchal society. The
statement below further summarises the major thesis of the feminist:
Almost all those who rule and manage are male:
interesting and important phenomena are identified
from a male perspective as well as from the perspective
of those who manage and control. Women are largely
absent from this world: the female domain of
production and reproduction that provides necessary
infrastructure for the male world is, despite its
importance, invisible, uninteresting to many social
scientists, and largely unconceptualised. (Acker, Barry
and Eseveld, 1991, p. 137)
Three theories or concepts can be deduced from the above
statement which is considered to be the major thesis of the feminists.
Those theories include: sexism, patriarchy and feminism. The
feminists often make references and allegation to the fact that
women are excluded, distorted, misrepresented, exploited and
neglected by men. As such, feminism is an open reaction against
patriarchy. This development has raised several questions and has
equally attracted many gender-related studies and intellectual
discourse on gender-related matters. Against this background, this
paper attempts to address some of these questions and argues that
feminists approach to sexism is one-way traffic. The paper, therefore,
shows one of the ways by which we can have a balanced feminist
approach to sexism which none or few feminists have sufficiently
articulated. Thus, constitutes a gap in the ever-increasing literature
on gender studies.

Literature Review
For a better understanding of this paper, three terms: sexism,
patriarchy and feminism, must be clarified before proceeding with
the discussion that connects the three and their application to the
Nigerian situation.
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 191
Sexism
According to Acholonu (1995),”masculinity or male chauvinism is
really a disease of the present generation…, which unfortunately is
spilling over to infest women”(p.109).Gender inequalityinNigeria
is influenced by different socio-cultural beliefs and practices. In most
parts of Nigeria, women are considered to be subordinate to their
male counterparts. This is however based on the pervasive cultural
beliefs and practices in the society.
In the pre-colonial era, some customs and practices in the society
are considered antithetical to women’s development and make the
female subjugated to the male. Some of those customs and practices
include: Early Marriage, Marriage, Seclusion of Women, Female
Genital Mutilation, Male Child Preference, Widowhood rite, etc.
Enemuo (1999) opines that “Nigerian communities approve such
practices as preference for male child, payment of bride price, female
circumcision or female genital mutilation, FGM, negative attitude
(to women) towards childlessness, degrading widowhood practices
and inheritance practices that discriminate against women…giving
away girls in marriage early and without their consent”
(p.230).These practices will be further elaborated and discussed in
the course of this paper.
In the colonial era, women were also marginalized and
disadvantaged in relative to men. Although in the pre-colonial
societies, “women were politically active and relatively less exclusive
in decision-making process, the advent of colonial administration
with its anti-women policies gradually transformed a hitherto
politically gender-unbiased to a predominantly male-dominated
political scene” (Awofeso & Odeyemi, 2014, p. 105).For example,
among the policy and decision-makers in the Yoruba land are female
individuals such as the Iyalode and Iyaloja. Another powerful
political force who occupied a very sensitive position in the overall
political hierarchy in northern Nigeria is Queen Amina of Zaria. As
such, the colonial era did not only promote patriarch, the Nigerian
political scene was characterized by patriarchism. (Awofeso and
Odeyemi, 2014).
In the post-colonial era, the men, having tasted political power
and found it appealing, continued to consolidate their position by
fencing out their female counterparts from the mainstream political
activities where the real power lies. (Awofeso and Odeyemi,
192 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

2014).Given these as a negation of women’s rights and privileges

and subjugation of women, then what is sexism?
EncyclopediaBritannica (2015) defines sexism as “prejudice or
discrimination based on sex or gender, especially against women
and girls”.It functions to maintain patriarchy, or male domination,
through ideological and material practices of individuals, collectives,
and institutions that oppress women and girls on the basis of sex or
gender”.New Oxford American Dictionary (2010) defines sexism
as “prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against
women, on the basis of sex”. Lorraine (1991) defines sexism as “a
social relationship in which males have authority over females”
(p.64).Sexismmay also include the belief that one sex or gender is
intrinsically domineering and superior to another. Put differently
and in the view of the feminist, sexism is the subordination of one
sex, female, based on the assumed superiority of the other sex, male.
Given the definitions above, sexism more often than not is
believed to be against women. The questions then that immediately
dotted on one’s mind are: Is it only women that are being
discriminated against? And is it only the men that discriminate,
subjugate and dominate the women always?Feminists see sexism
as prejudice plus power. As such,given the historical and continued
imbalance of power, where men are privileged over women, feminists
thus, reject the idea that women can be sexist towards men since
women lack the institutional power that men have. Nevertheless,
sexism is a gender problem that could affect any of the sex. However,
feminists approach to sexism is one- way traffic. The feminists
believepatriarchy is the enemy of women’s development in many
societies, but typically ignoring the injustice of women against
women.

Patriarchy
Patriarchy can be defined as a hierarchical system of social
organization in which cultural, political, and economic structures
are controlled by men. In the words of Albert (2002:60), patriarchy
refers “to the sub-culture in which a man naturally sees himself as
having a domineering influence on a woman”.Patriarchy can also
bedefined as a system of male authority that oppresses women
through and bydominating the social, politicaland economic
institutions. In other words, patriarchy is a socio-political cum
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 193
economic system that asserts the superiority and domination of the
male over the female. The male sees it as inherently and naturally
endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the female who
they consider to be weak. Males are classified as having the following
qualities: strength, vigour, virile/powerful courage, self-confidence
and the ability to ward off enemies away from the society. These
qualities are however reflected in the kinds of work that men engage
in. Men are responsible for much of what is thought of as “hard”
labour. JessieBernard in a way gives credence to this when he asserts:
It is not so much the specific kinds of workmen and
women do – they have alwaysvaried from time to time
and place to place – but the simple fact that the sexes
dodifferent kinds of work, whatever it is, which is in
and of itself important. The divisionof labour by sex
means that the workgroup becomes also a sex group.
The very natureof maleness and femaleness becomes
embedded in the sexual division of labour. One’ssex
and one’s work are part of one another. One’s work
defines one’s gender.(Jessie,1981, 3).
However, given this seeming classification of qualities and
gender which tends to be defined along the line ofsexual division of
labour, one way to argue for this division is that in pre-colonial
society, women are not to be exposed to hard labour and hardship.
As such, such treatment is a sign of dignity, respect and honour
given to the women. Nevertheless, while the men see their role as to
dominate and rule in everything, they see that of women as to give
birth, nurture the children and support male dominance or assume
a subordinate role in relation to the powerful men. In an attempt to
understand and solve the problems of women, the feminists argue
that patriarchy is the major enemy of women. The feminists who
react to patriarchy refer to it as a”systematic organization of male
supremacy and female subordination”(Cheris, 1992).Ferriera (2007,
p. 395)describes patriarchy as a system that is both oppressive and
discriminatory.By oppressive, she means patriarchy is oppressive in
virtually every area of the society such as social, economic, political
and cultural anddiscriminatory in its control of access to power,
management of resources and benefits, and in the manipulation
ofpublic and private power structures.While Sylvia Walby(1990)
defines patriarchy as”a system of socialstructures and practices in
194 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

which men dominate, oppress and exploit women” (p.20),Cynthia

Cockburn(2004)describes it as a system in which leadership,
authority, aggressiveness and responsibility reside in men
andmasculinity; while nurture, compliance, passivity and
dependence are the part of women and femininity.Sefinatu Aliyu
Dogo (2014) in her submission defines apatriarchal society as”one
which strengthens the “masculine-feminine dichotomy” by favouring
andperpetuating male domination; and as such, in all areas of
society, structures are manipulated to maintain and foster this
domination of women by men” (p.263).Patriarchy is
thereforecharacterized by male domination and power. Feminism
is, therefore, a reaction against patriarchy. This forms the next
discussion in this paper.Feminists believe, therefore, that gender
differences between the two sexes result from cultural practices
andsocial expectations which every individual is exposed to from
childhood, and which are peculiar to respectivesocieties. As such,
Chua and Fujino(1999) argue that”it is not biology, therefore, but
patriarchal social institutions, interactions, and practices that limit
each sex to those characteristics and activities defined as feminine
and masculine” (p.392). This means, the patriarchal system instituted
by the various aspects of society, such as culture, community,
upbringing, peers, media and religion, influence and shape people’s
understanding, view of gender and therefore sexism between the
sexes.

Feminism
Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social
movements that share a common goal: to define, establish and
achieve political, economic, personal, and social rights for
women.(Hawkesworth,2006, pp. 25-7). Succinctly put, feminism is
the belief that men and women should have equal rights and
opportunities.Such right includes seeking to establish educational
and professional opportunities for women that are equal to such
opportunities for men. In other words, women should be at par
with their male counterparts. Feminism is a general term that covers
a range of ideologies and theories which pay special attention to
women’s right and women’s position in the society. As such, feminism
is used for women’s movements that campaign for political, social
and economic equality between women and men. Suffice to mean
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 195
that feminists are united by the idea that women’s position in society
is unequal to that of men and that society is structured in such a
way as to benefit men to the political, social and economic detriment
of women. As such, feminism is a reaction against patriarchy. For
Udokang and Awofeso,(2012) feminism can be considered as “both
a critique and an ideology” (p.159).As a critique, feminism opposes
patriarchy, that is, “a system of male authority, which oppresses
women through the social, political and economic
institutions”(McLean, 2003, p. 196). As an ideology, feminism is a
belief system which preaches equal rights for women and their
emancipation from all forms of domination exerted by
men.(Udokang & Awofeso, 2012)Feminism has equally been
regarded as both an intellectual commitment and a political
movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all
forms. (Awofeso and Odeyemi, 2014: 106).

Exposition and Critical Analysis

Sexism, patriarchy, and feminism will be critically analysed under
the pre-colonial era, colonial era and post-colonial era in Nigeria.

Pre-colonial Era
Inthe pre-colonial society,althoughwomen were politically active but
relatively less exclusive in the decision-making process, there existed
some traditional customs and practices that undermine the right of
women. As such, those customs and practicesin the society are
considered antithetical to the development of women in the society
and as well make the female subjugated to the male. Some of those
customs and practices include:
(i) Early Marriage: In the pre-colonial society, girls are given
out early in marriage because it is believed that women are for men
to own. More so, poverty is a critical factor that contributes to early
marriage. As such, giving women out early in marriage will save
the unnecessary and what is believed as wasteful spending on them.
It is in view of this that women will either not be sent to school or
have their education aborted. As if this is not enough, early marriage
exposes the girls to early pregnancies and Visico Vaginal Fistula
(VVF) a disease that leaves its victimsdeformed and unable to control
urination.
196 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

(ii) Bride Price: In pre-colonial society,payment of bride price is

an indirect sale of the girl child. As such, the pre-colonial societies
considered women as part of men’s possession such that their wives’
virginity is exclusively “part of the personal estate of their
husbands”(Izugbara, 2013, p. 283) and the absence of which
attracted severe punishment, which may include the return of the
bride price. In some pre-colonial societies and cultures like Esan
(which is still in practice), a woman is considered as full property of
a man when her bride price or dowry is paid and is only death that
can bring her back to the community. In other words, her life is
given to the man who pays the bride price but her death is for her
own community to keep. Put differently, once married, the woman
has very little or no chance of leaving the man, even when violently
mutilated. As such, abuses and discriminatory practices against
women in marriage are often rooted in financial payments such as
dowry or bride price. Such a transaction, more often than not, serves
as legitimizing coercive control of the wife by her husband and giving
the man authority over the wife. Nevertheless, if a woman wants to
leave a marriage, her husband may demand back the bride price
that he had paid to the woman’s family; this more often, no family
wants to pay back.

(iii) Marriage: In pre-colonial societies, women, more often than

not, lose their rights in marriage. As such, marriage in the pre-
colonial societies is considered as slavery to most women. Women
are frequently treated as property, sold into marriage and to sexual
slavery since their sexual life is determined and controlled by their
husbands.The woman in marriage does not have right over her body.
In other words, women in marriage cannot refuse to have sexual
relations with their husbands and have no say in whether they use
contraception.The first crucial step towards achieving substantive
equality between women and men is ensuring women have full
autonomy over their bodies. Issues such as when and how sex should
be had,the number of children to have in a marriage and when to
have them should be in accordance with the women to dignify their
life. In the pre-colonial societies, women suffer more when accused
of promiscuity while the societies see nothing wrong in men having
many affairs with women, either married to her or not. The male
child is also preferred to the female child and the blame of the inability
of the woman to give birth to a male child is put on the woman.
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 197
However, it has been scientifically proven that the sex of a child is
determined by the man.

(iv) Preference for the Male Child: In pre-colonial society, it

is believed that the lineage of the family is kept and preserved by the
male child, as such, the male child is preferred to the girl child. Hence,
every family prefers to send the boy to school and not the girl since
she is duty-bound to stay at home to help in the house chore and
nurture her siblings,more so that the girl will soon be given out in
marriage. Azodo and Eke (2007, p. 3) in a way, corroborate this
view when they opine that, in traditional African societies, like
Nigeria, a woman’s place is seen to be in the home space, where she
is confined to domestic chores, bearing and rearing of children,
whereas the man roams the wild looking for adventure in work
and war. Suffice to mean that while the women are primarily
responsible for the bearing, rearing of children and nurturing the
family and the home, the men as the head of the family and society
should provide for the needs of the family. This is therefore one of
the major reasons women constitute the majority of the illiterate
population in most societies.

(v) Seclusion of Women:Seclusion of women which normally

takes the form of purdah or pardah, is prevalent among the Muslims
in the Western and Northern parts of Nigeria. Purdah is a religious
and social practice of secluding women and restricting women’s
social mobility and engagement in the economic, social and political
activities of the society. Some scholars, such as Asha, argue that
purdah was initially designed to protect women from the public
gaze, being harassed and hardship (Asha, 2008, p. 48). In other
words, the seclusion of women to the domestic sphere can be argued
to be a demonstration of higher socio-economic status and prestige
since women are not needed for hard and manual labour outside
the home. It has even been argued that it is only the poorest, most
desperate families that will throw the purdah practice to the mud
when given the opportunity and take the social risks entailed when
women engage in a paid job. Nevertheless, the feminists see the
practice as a way to justify efforts to subjugate women and limit
their mobility and freedom.
198 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

(vi) Female Genital Mutilation: Female genital mutilation,

also known as excision or clitoridectomy, is defined by the World
Health Organization (WHO) (2008) as “all procedures that involve
partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other
injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons”. WHO
(2008) further states that “the procedure has no health benefits for
girls and women” and “procedures can cause severe bleeding and
problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as
complications in childbirth increased risk of newborn death,”and
“is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of
girls and women” and “constitutes an extreme form of
discrimination against women” (WHO, 2008).Succinctly put, this
practice though maintains the traditional custom of which women
are seen as the objects and properties of men, it, however, goes against
the value of equality between women and men. Nevertheless, this
injustice against the girl child in the society is perpetrated and done
by the elderly women and not men. As such, men can argue that it
is the elderly women that prepare and created the avenue for the
girl child to be mutilated and subjugated by men.

(vii) Widowhood Rite: The widowhood rite is a practice where

the community subjects the widow to physical, emotional and
psychological abuses such as being made to sit on the floor; being
confined from a month to one year, depending on the society; having
their hair scraped off with razor; not being allowed to bathe; being
made to routinely weep profusely in public; being forced to drink
the water used to wash their husbands’ corpses; being forced to
sleep in the room the husband corpse is laid, etc. These practices,
however, vary from society and culture.
The feminists may allude to those traditional practices discussed
above to justify their argument that women and their rights in pre-
colonial societies are subjugated. However, it is imperative to end
on this note that in the pre-colonial era, women occupied a
significant place in the political, economic, religious and family life
settings. Arguing from the viewpoint of the Yoruba women in pre-
colonial societies, Odeyemi (2013) asserted that “Yoruba womenhave
not always been subjugated as some western feminists would want
us to believe. Research points to the fact that prior to the slave trade,
colonialism and missionary incursion into Yoruba land; women
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 199
enjoyed a great role with equal privileges as their male counterparts”
(p.2).

Colonial Era
The effect of colonialism on gender inequality or sexism may not be
generally agreed upon by scholars.The contention is usually as to
the extent the colonial activities positively or negatively affected
gender relations? Colonialism is not without its advantage, it
benefitted some women causes, but on the overall, it caused the
decline of women’s status (Odeyemi, 2013, p. 8).In the words of
Odeyemi, (2013)”the Colonialists positively impacted women’s role
within marriage in their ability to have a say in the process of divorce
which hitherto was limited to decisions taken between families which
was mainly men dominated” (p.8).The colonialist through the
introduction of native law and customary courts prohibits force
marriage, child marriages, and permits easier access for women to
divorce (Odeyemi, 2013, p. 9).Nevertheless, in the colonial era,
women’s status was relegated in defiance of the pre-colonial setting;
women were also marginalized and disadvantaged in relative to
men. One negative effect of the advent of the colonialists is that
women’s socio-political power was unrecognized. Suffice to mean
that the colonialists with their policies advanced and promoted
patriarch in the Nigerian economic and political sphere.The British
dealt directly with the men in the administration and running of
the state since the colonialists considered “only men to be active in
the public sphere and earn a living to support their families”(Assie-
Lumuba, 1996, p. 3).The colonialist suffered from the limitation of
funds and personnel, therefore, saw the need to make use of native
indigenes in the day to day affairs of the government, as such,
education was the first consideration. Thus, the colonialist through
the aid and activities of the missionaries established some schools.
However, “women’s education was not given much consideration,
and the few women who came into the mission homes ended up as
housekeepers of the missionaries”(Omolewa, 1986, p. 143).In other
words, according to Omolewa, though the colonial system of
education was primarily geared toward meeting the manpower need
of the colonial government, yet the system obviously alienated
women from educational and economic opportunities.As such, this
act gave an undue advantage of the male over the female
200 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

counterpart, thus, marked the formal beginning of patriarchy and

women under-representation in government.Ogunniyi and
Dosunmu(2014, p. 189), succinctly express Mama’s assertion “that
colonial exclusion of women from most sectors of the formal labour
market for domestic works engagement which were largely
unrewarded has been observed as one of the most formidable factors
responsible for women’s marginal significance in contemporary
African societies”. This means the act of excluding the girl child
from education is responsible for the marginalization of women in
contemporary African societies. The colonialist act of alienating
women from educational and economic opportunities not only
subjugatedwomen but also impoverished women, as women are
harder-hit by poverty than men(Ojo, 2002, pp. 126 – 7).The control
of the economic sphereby men and bureaucracy that allows mostly
men in government in the colonial system, partly accounted for the
post-colonial domination of the Nigerian political scene by men who
could fund the cost of elections.

Postcolonial Era
The effects of colonialism, the influence of the two main religious
incursions into West Africa and the impact of these collusions have
changed the course and turn thetide of the African’s history and
fortune. The two new religions were based on a philosophy of
separate spheres where men were associated with the public world
of education and work, women were associated with the private
sphere of the home.This ideology, which was totally strange to Yoruba
culture, suddenly became the legitimate religious and imperial
justification for gender differentiation (Gulnar, F.D. 2004: 128).
Colonialism with missionary activities is not without its pains and
gains. However, with regards to gender relations, the disadvantages
obviously outweigh the advantages. Though Christianity, as a
colonialist tool, is accused of engendering this ideology of sexism or
gender differentiation,paradoxically, this impediment also became
grounds by which women, decades later claim their
liberation.(Gulnar, F.D. 2004, p. 129)Odeyemi lends credence to this
when he asserts that,
closely related to the paradox of the effects of
Christianity on the traditional Yoruba culture and
society is the same kind of ambivalent effects of western
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 201
education. On the one hand, it limited the possibilities
of what women could achieve within a British
patriarchal setup. At the same time, it setup the
possibilities for women who will eventually excel by
breaking boundaries and barriers, especially after
independence to begin to fight for women’s rights.
(Odeyemi, 2013, p. 12)
By this he means, the problem of educationalmarginalization
of the women created by Christianity later became grounds by which
women claim their liberation.Succinctly put, the work of the
missionaries contributed immensely to creating a dichotomy in
gender and subjugation of the female gender to the male gender
which was almost non-existent prior to the arrival of the missionaries
and the colonialists.However, this struggle for relevance, liberation
and equality would not have been necessary in the first place if
policies of subjugation by men against women have not been
introduced by the colonialists’.
With the passage of time and in order to struggle for relevance,
liberation from the shackles of men and equality, women’s
participation in formal education began to improve immensely.
Though women’s condition and status began to improve
tremendously with their participation in formal education, men still
take the lead in the political and economic sphere of life. Nevertheless,
women’s condition and status have improved to the point that
women were no longer passive or voiceless. In other words, the
men, having tasted political power and found it appealing, continued
to consolidate its position by fencing out their female counterparts
from the mainstream political activities where the real power lies.
In the political sphere, women were at best, reduced to the second
fiddle offices of ‘deputy’ and ‘vice’(Awofeso & Odeyemi, 2014, p.
105).
Gender differentiation has raised several questions and
approaches about this among various scholars. This is hinged on
the assumption that women are subjugated by men, as such, women
are seen as the primary victims of sexism in contemporary societies.
However, the questions that immediately come to mind are:
givenpatriarchy as the enemy of women, will the problem faced by
women go if they are on a par with the men or are allowed to take
the place of men in their society?Are men always and only the
oppressors of women and who is oppressing who?
202 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

Since Nigeria’s independence, statistics have shown that

“women are grossly under-represented in public life and decision-
making positions”(Awofeso &Odeyemi, 2014). However,why such
under-representation when there are new equal opportunities in
the educational and political sphere? This under-representation is
largely due to the societal attitude that creates a sense of apathy in
the women and alsoexplains the reason women are more
comfortable as voters, mobilizers, praise singers and supporters to
male candidates.
Lester Milbrath classifies political participation and activities
into three - gladiatorial activities, transitional activities, andspectator
activities.While Milbrath classifies political activities such as
holdingpublic or party offices, canvassing for party funds,contesting
an election, etc. undergladiatorial activities, other activities such as
attending political meetings or politicalrally, making a monetary
contribution to political parties,etc. are classified under transitional
activities. Spectator activities, on the other hand, include
politicalactivities such as wearing of party badges, caps,uniforms
or emblems, running errands for politicalleaders, voting at elections,
etc.Statistics have shown that women in Nigeria participate in
politics at this least level of classification of political activities
(Milbrath, 1965).
Aspersion cast on women participating in politics as being
promiscuous is another dilemma of Nigerian women under-
representation in politics.Moreover, the prevalence and politics of
‘godfatherism’ and nocturnal meetings by politicians are common
practices that deter women from active politics. It is assumed
thatonly the male gender in Nigeria can easily comply with the
demands, terms, and conditions given by the godfather, as against
the women who are naturally exposed to criticism if they comply
with those terms. More so, politics in Nigeria has become a do-or-
die affair that is characterized by hooliganism, thuggery,
assassination and death. Women are not naturally given to this kind
of indecency that characterize Nigeria’s politics. As such, Awofeso
and Odeyemi (2014, p. 109) extrapolate Ayabam’s(2013, pp. 52 -
54)view when they assert that “several factors, including funding,
women’s perception of politics in Nigeria, political violence during
election, lack of self-confidence on the part of women, women’s
marginalization in party leadership, illiteracy and low educational
status of women as well as cultural and religious discrimination
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 203
have been identified by scholars as inhibiting factors to women’s
political representation”Those factors which can be generally
subsumed and considered under the cultural and religious factors
appear to be more damming and highly entrenched in Nigerian
politics. These factors roundly signify that a woman’s place is in the
home where she is expected to care for her husband and children
and not to be rubbing shoulders with the male gender in politics.
Feminist scholars’ approach to sexism has always been one-way
traffic. It is always their belief that men unduly subdue women. In
other words, the feminists see patriarchy as the number one enemy
of women but fail to consider the hegemony and oppression of the
few females in power over their fellow women. In other words, the
feminists find it very cheap, convenient and fashionable to blame
the problem of women on patriarchy but keep mute and pretend
not to notice the injustice and inhumanity of some women against
their fellow women. Suffice to say that matriarchy can be as much
a problem as patriarchy given for example, from the way
programmes such as Better Life for Rural Dwellers and Family
Support Programme were managed in various parts of
Nigeria.While Better Life for Rural Dwellers was inaugurated in
1985 by Gen. Badamosi Babangida with the aim of empowering the
rural women, the Family Support Programme was inaugurated by
Gen. Sani Abacha. It is believed that women are worse hit by poverty
and that no nation can develop when a greater percentage of her
population lives in abject poverty, illiteracy and far removed from
the nation’s governance. As such, the two programmes were
established to improve and better the lives of women and headed by
first ladies of yore, Maryam Babangida and Maryam Abacha. These
programmes rather than improving the lives of the women, served
as sources of disempowerment and frustration to the women, more
so that all the money approved for the programmes were used for
the enrichment and glorification of the heads.
What led to the humiliation Prof. Bolanle Awe received from
Maryam Babaginda which culminated in her bowing out from
National Commission for Women which was inaugurated by Gen.
Babangida in 1990 to co-ordinate the Better Life for Rural Dwellers
can as well be described as woman inhumanity to woman. Maryam
Babaginda frustrated and humiliated Prof. Awe in order to gain
control of the NCW which was not answerable to the first lady but
204 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

to the President. As such, NCW was restructured by Decree 42 of

1992, making the First Lady the new head of the Commission and
humble exiting of Prof. Awe from the Commission.With this
situation, it is difficult to differentiate between patriarchy and
matriarchy since where women are given the opportunity they too
would like to behave like the patriarchs they much condemn. As
such, the problem with women’s development has less to do with
patriarchy than feminists make us believe. As such, Albert (2002)
asserts that “to understand the problems of the Nigerian women,
therefore, it might be more rewarding to look at how the entire
society is structured. What are those salient factors in it that make
life difficult for all? To what extent do those factors particularly
affect women?” (p.69)By this, he means what we need to fight is
not really patriarchy but a system that makes life difficult for
everybody – men, women and children.
In the political scene, in Nigeria for example, market women’s
organizations are active in the election period. They endorse,
campaign for, finance, and generally participate in the political
process but they hardly ever think of supporting women candidates
or believing in their own political strength (O’Barr, 1991, p. 148).As
such, Okoronkwo-Chukwu (2013) in a study on the 2011 general
elections in Nigeria, refers to women “as active participants in the
success of their male counterparts during elections”(p.40).Statistics
showthat women turnout more than the men in elections in
Nigeria.Women are also known to have registered as voters more
than men in voters’ registration exercises. As such, if women can
harness their political strength and ‘will’ to supporting a female
candidate in an election, perhaps, such a female could emerge a
winner in an election. For example, in 2015 Nigeria’s Presidential
Election, Prof. Comfort Oluremi Sonaiya stood as the only female
candidate contesting for the presidential race. She asserted, during
her address to some of Nigeria’s most influential businesswomen
and company executives at the meeting on Women’s Participation
in Politics, that women “have done enough of cheerleading. Women
cannot keep on being cheerleaders in this country”(Sonaiya, 2015).
Though, Sonaiya lost the election since she never received enough
support and vote from the electorate and particularly from her
female folks who were believed to have the highest number of
registered voters. She brought a welcomed fresh voice and hope to
the campaign of women’s participation in politics.
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 205
Conclusion
Before the advent of Christianity, the Arabs had brought Islam into
Nigeria through the north. Islam wiped away much of the culture
of northern Nigeria. Eurocentric contextualization of male-gender
privilege, impact of tenets of Christianity (and Islam) as well as the
colonial ‘ideology of domesticity’ all combined together to lay the
foundation for women’s subjugation, However, prior to the advent
of Islam, Christianity and colonial hegemony, the issues of gender,
especially as it relates to male and female relationship, differ from
culture to culture. From the Yoruba worldview, gender did not exist
in the sense in which we understand it today. In other words, the
Yoruba see the relationship between the male and the female gender
as complementary rather than male-domination dynamics versus
female-submissiveness as it is now. In pre-slavery and pre-colonial
era, the Yoruba woman occupied a significant place in the political,
economic, religious and family life setting. The British patriarchal
culture was embraced by the Yoruba men who suddenly found
themselves in charge. This factor played a huge role in the relegation
of women in education and especially in the political sphere. The
work of the missionaries also contributed immensely to creating a
dichotomy in gender and subjugation of one gender to the other
which was almost non-existent prior to the arrival of the missionaries
and the colonialists. After independence, Nigeria could not divest
itself of its British heritage, as such, lost much, if not all, of its identity.
Unlike India who rejected the British religion and culture (which is
in form of the name, dressing, food, and even language) but only
embraced British technology, Nigeria embraced the British religion
and culture and rejected British technology. Nigeria takes little pride
in its heritage, a situation that has affected the nation’s heritage,
nationalism and development. It is good if Nigeria can re-claim
some of its ancient practices which are of value and can add to the
quality of its integral human development. I do not suppose it is
wrong to learn from a culture that places equal value on men and
women especially as the society claims to be more civilized and more
advanced intellectually? Part of societal intellectual growth and
maturation is the ability to appropriate and synthesize moral and
ethical conduct from past traditions, civilizations and cultures.
However, women themselves must identify with themselves as well
as overcome self-limiting identification and classification.
206 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

Nevertheless, it is the coming together of men and women for

harmonious survival where there is no victor nor vanquished that
makes gender equality and justice.

References
Acholonu, C. (1995)Motherism: The Afrocentric Alternative to
Feminism. Owerri: Afa.
Acker, J., Barry, K. and Eseveld, J. (1991). Objectivity and Truth:
Problems in doing Feminist Research, in Fonow, M.M. and J.A.
Cook (Eds): Beyond Methodology: Feminist Scholarship as Lived
Research, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University
Press, pp.133-153.
Albert, I.O. (2002)Rethinking the Impact of Patriarchy on Feminist
Epistemology and Methodology in Nigeria, In C.E Ukhun (ed):
Critical Gender Discourse In Africa Vol.1., Ibadan: Hope
Publications.
Aina O.I (2012). Two Halves make a Whole: Gender at the Grassroots
of the Nigerian Development Agenda Being the 250th Inaugural
Lecture Series Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. P.6
Albert, I.O. (2002) Rethinking the Impact of Patriarchy on Feminist
Epistemology and Methodology in Nigeria. Op.Cit. p.69.
Asha, S. (2008) Narrative Discourses on Purdah in the Subcontinent,
ICFAI Journal of English Studies Vol. 3, no. pp.41-51
Assie-Lumuba, N.T. (1996). “Behind and Beyond Beijing: An African
Perspective on the Fourth World Conference on Women” in
CODESRIA Bulletin. p. 3.
Awofeso, O and Odeyemi, T.I. (2014). Gender and Political
Participation in Nigeria: A Cultural Perspective, Journal Research
in Peace, Gender and Development, Vol. 4(6),pp.104-110.
Awofeso and Odeyemi., Op.Cit. p. 109; CF Ayabam AT
(2013).”Women in Politics and Decision-Making in Nigeria:
Challenges and Prospects”, European Journal of Business and
Social Sciences 2(8): 52-4.
Awofeso, O. and Odeyemi, T.I. Op.Cit. p.106.
Azodo A. U., & Eke M. N. (2007). Gender and Sexuality in African
Literature and Film. Eritrea: Africa World Press, Inc.Dogo, S.A.
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 207
(2014). The Nigerian Patriarchy: When and How, Cultural and
Religious Studies, Vol.2, no 5, pp.263-275.
Beasley, C. (1999). What is Feminism?New York: Sage.
Cheris, K (1992). The Condition of Patriarchy In Kramarae Cheris
and Spender Dale (eds.) The Knowledge Explosion: Generation
of Feminist Scholarship. Athen Series, Teachers College Press,
London. Cf: Stacey, J. (1993) Untangling Feminist theory In
Richardson D. and Robinson V. (eds.) Introducing women’s
Studies: Feminist Theory and Practice. Macmillan, London.
Chua, P., & Fujino, D. (1999). Negotiating New Asian American
Masculinities: Attitudes and Gender Expectations. Journal of
Men’s Studies, Vol.7.no.3, pp.392-413.
Code, L(1991).What Can She Know?: Feminist Theory and the
Construction of Knowledge, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Corkburn, C. (2004). Militarism, Male Power and the Persistence of
War. Paper at a seminar: Militarism and Male Violence.
Enemuo, F.C (1999). Gender and Women Empowerment In
Anifowose, R. and Enemuo, F. C. (Eds) Elements of Politics,
Lagos: Sam Iroanusi Publishers.
Ferriera A. M. (2007). Patriarchy. Molefi Kete Asante and Ama
Mazama [Electronic version]. Encyclopaedia of Black Studies.
Izugbara C.O (2013). Contemporary Gender Studies; Roots,
Approaches and Future Director In Ekpe, A. E. and Akpan, O.
(Eds) Readings in Int. Pol. Economy, Yaoundé, Cameroon: Book
House.
Gulnar, F.D. (2004). The Gendering of Missionary Imperialism: The
Search for an Integrated Methodology, InUrsula, K. & Tina, B.
(eds.). Gender, religion and Diversity: Cross Cultural perspectives.
New York: Continuum Press, pp.125-137.
Hawkesworth, Mary E. (2006). Globalization and Feminist Activism.
Lanham:Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Jessie, B. (1981) The Good-Provider role: Its Rise and Fall,American
Psychologist. Vol. 36, No. 1, pp.1-12.
John Segun Odeyemi, Gender Issues Among the Yorubas, The
International Journal of African Catholicism, Winter 2013.
Volume 4, Number 1, p.2.
208 IRORO: A Journal of Arts

McLean L, &McMillan A. (2003).Concise Dictionary of Politics,

Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Milbrath, L. (1965). Political Participation: How and Why Do People
Get Involved in Politics?, Chicago: Rand McNally College
Publishing Company.
O’Barr, J.(1991). African Women in Politics and Policy, In Hay, M.J.
and Stichter. S. (eds.) African Women South of the Sahara,
Longman and New York, p.140-155.
Odeyemi, J.S. (2013).Gender Issues Among the Yorubas.The
International Journal of African Catholicism, Volume 4, Number
1, pp.1-22.
Ogunniyi, O.J. and Dosunmu, A.G. (2014). Historical Background
and Impact of Women’s Involvement in Formal Education in
Nigeria.European Scientific Journal September Special edition
Vol.1, pp.188-192
Ojo, A (2002); ‘Socio-economic Situation’, in Africa Atlases
(Nigeria), Paris France, Les editions, J.A pp 126-127.
Okoronkwo-Chukwu, U. (2013). Female Representation in Nigeria:
The Case of the 2011 General Elections and the Fallacy of 35%
Affirmative Action, Research for Humanities and Social Sciences.
3(2), pp.39-46.
Olu Awofeso and Temitayo Isaac Odeyem, Op.Cit. p.105.
Omolewa, M. (1986).Certificate History of Nigeria, London & Lagos,
Longman Group Limited.
Sonaiya, C.O. Nigeria’s First Female Presidential Candidate done
with ‘Cheerleading’, Vanguard News Paper, March 18, 2015.
This definition of ‘Sexism’ is quoted from the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Online Academic Edition. 2015.
This definition of ‘Sexism’ is quoted from theNew Oxford American
Dictionary (3 ed.). Oxford University Press. 2010.
Udokang, J.C.& Awofeso, O. (2012).Political Ideas: An Introduction.
Lagos, Nigeria: MacGrace Publication.
Udokan & Awofeso. Op.Cit.
Sexism between the Male and the Female Gender: An Exposition of ... 209
Walby, S. (1990) Theorizing Patriarchy, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
World Health Organisation, Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation:
An Interagency Statement, 2008. Cf Female Genital Mutilation/
Cutting: A Global Concern UNICEF, New York, 2016.