Women Aren’t People in Nigeria.
How much oppression can happen in a country with open borders? So much more than you would imagine. Those of us who live in first world countries don't know half of what goes on in African countries like Nigeria, simply because no one cares. To most Americans, Nigeria just seems like one of those countries in Africa with no significance. In fact, Nigeria is a very significant country - in good ways and bad. It is Africa’s largest oil producer, but it’s also one of the worst human trafficking sites.
Nigeria, like the rest of the countries in Africa, is a third world country. In addition to not being as developed as first world countries, and having a high poverty population, it is not as free a country as America. One major issue in Nigeria is women not having any freedoms.
Nigerian women are robbed of all ability to make decisions. The men in their lives tell them how to live. Their fathers tell them who they will marry and when they will marry him. Their husbands tell them where they will live, and dictate everything they do (Mungai). Nigerian laws were not created with the welfare of women in mind. Adult men are the only ones who benefit from the law. As a matter of fact, “The Penal Code of Northern Nigeria provides that beating a woman is not an offense if she is your wife” (Mungai). Men can abuse their wives as well as their children for “corrective purposes”. Everyone living in Nigeria thinks this is acceptable because they've never learned any better. The “Nigerian Hollywood” represents this behavior in all of their films.
You’d think that the country with the second largest film industry in the world would know how to create accurate female characters. You would, however, be wrong. Nollywood is the clever name of the Nigerian film industry, but what isn't so clever is the character design. Women in Nollywood movies are portrayed as objects - if a woman is considered a ‘good guy’, then she acts submissive and obeys her husband. If she is the ‘bad guy’, she is dressed scantily and cheats on her husband. Some popular movie tropes normalize rape, and involve a woman falling in love with her rapist and raising the baby he forced her to have (The Citizen).
In conclusion, Nigerian women have it really rough in their homeland. They face abuse, sexism, rape, and male dominance. When they try to speak up for women's rights, they are dismissed because “women are weak and can't change anything”. As soon as the Nigerian government listens, they'll realize they have a revolution against them. The laws that allow these things to happen need to change.
Annotated Bibliography: Improper Treatment of Women in Nigeria “ABORTION IN NIGERIA: What Does The Law Say?” NaijaLegalTalk, Naija Legal Talk, 9 Feb. 2017, www.naijalegaltalkng.com/article/other-important-legal-info/269-abortion-in-nigeria-what-does-the-law-say. Adeleke, David I. “Na Woman Dey Drive: Discussing Patriarchy and Sexism on Nigerian Roads.” Ventures Africa, Ventures Africa, 15 Oct. 2016, venturesafrica.com/na-woman-dey-drive/. Aghadiegwu, Ukwueze Cornelius. “Portrayal of Women in Nigerian Television Commercials.” Journal.ijcunn.com, International Journal of Communication, 2017, www.journal.ijcunn.com/index.php/IJC/article/download/230/205. Blay, Zeba. “Women Are Revealing The Everyday Sexism Of #BeingFemaleInNigeria.” Huffpost, Oath Inc., 30 June 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/beingfemaleinnigeria-trending_n_7697796.html. Falae, Vivian. “What Are the Major Causes of Human Trafficking in Nigeria?” Nigeria News, Media Limited, 10 Oct. 2017, www.naija.ng/1127555-what-major-human-trafficking-nigeria.html. “Human Trafficking in Nigeria.” Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 7 Mar. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_Nigeria. “Is Nollywood All about Sexism and Misogyny?” The Citizen, Thecitizen, 21 Oct. 2016, www.thecitizen.co.tz/magazine/thebeat/Is-nollywood-all-about-sexism-and-misogyny-/1843792-3424826-64twi6z/index.html. Martin. “Human Trafficking & Modern-Day Slavery - Nigeria.” GVNet, N.p., 2009, gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Nigeria.htm. Mungai, Christine. “INFOGRAPHIC: It Can Be Tough Being a Woman. Meet Africa's Most Sexist Laws.” MG Africa, Mail & Guardian Africa, 24 Feb. 2015, mgafrica.com/article/2015-02-24-infographic-africas-most-sexist-laws.
How much oppression can happen in a country with open borders? So much more than you would imagine. Those of us who live in first world countries don't know half of what goes on in African countries like Nigeria, simply because no one cares. To most Americans, Nigeria just seems like one of those countries in Africa with no significance. In fact, Nigeria is a very significant country - in good ways and bad. It is Africa’s largest oil producer, but it’s also one of the worst human trafficking sites.
Nigeria, like the rest of the countries in Africa, is a third world country. In addition to not being as developed as first world countries, and having a high poverty population, it is not as free a country as America. One major issue in Nigeria is women not having any freedoms.
Nigerian women are robbed of all ability to make decisions. The men in their lives tell them how to live. Their fathers tell them who they will marry and when they will marry him. Their husbands tell them where they will live, and dictate everything they do (Mungai). Nigerian laws were not created with the welfare of women in mind. Adult men are the only ones who benefit from the law. As a matter of fact, “The Penal Code of Northern Nigeria provides that beating a woman is not an offense if she is your wife” (Mungai). Men can abuse their wives as well as their children for “corrective purposes”. Everyone living in Nigeria thinks this is acceptable because they've never learned any better. The “Nigerian Hollywood” represents this behavior in all of their films.
You’d think that the country with the second largest film industry in the world would know how to create accurate female characters. You would, however, be wrong. Nollywood is the clever name of the Nigerian film industry, but what isn't so clever is the character design. Women in Nollywood movies are portrayed as objects - if a woman is considered a ‘good guy’, then she acts submissive and obeys her husband. If she is the ‘bad guy’, she is dressed scantily and cheats on her husband. Some popular movie tropes normalize rape, and involve a woman falling in love with her rapist and raising the baby he forced her to have (The Citizen).
In conclusion, Nigerian women have it really rough in their homeland. They face abuse, sexism, rape, and male dominance. When they try to speak up for women's rights, they are dismissed because “women are weak and can't change anything”. As soon as the Nigerian government listens, they'll realize they have a revolution against them. The laws that allow these things to happen need to change.
Annotated Bibliography: Improper Treatment of Women in Nigeria “ABORTION IN NIGERIA: What Does The Law Say?” NaijaLegalTalk, Naija Legal Talk, 9 Feb. 2017, www.naijalegaltalkng.com/article/other-important-legal-info/269-abortion-in-nigeria-what-does-the-law-say. Adeleke, David I. “Na Woman Dey Drive: Discussing Patriarchy and Sexism on Nigerian Roads.” Ventures Africa, Ventures Africa, 15 Oct. 2016, venturesafrica.com/na-woman-dey-drive/. Aghadiegwu, Ukwueze Cornelius. “Portrayal of Women in Nigerian Television Commercials.” Journal.ijcunn.com, International Journal of Communication, 2017, www.journal.ijcunn.com/index.php/IJC/article/download/230/205. Blay, Zeba. “Women Are Revealing The Everyday Sexism Of #BeingFemaleInNigeria.” Huffpost, Oath Inc., 30 June 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/beingfemaleinnigeria-trending_n_7697796.html. Falae, Vivian. “What Are the Major Causes of Human Trafficking in Nigeria?” Nigeria News, Media Limited, 10 Oct. 2017, www.naija.ng/1127555-what-major-human-trafficking-nigeria.html. “Human Trafficking in Nigeria.” Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 7 Mar. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_Nigeria. “Is Nollywood All about Sexism and Misogyny?” The Citizen, Thecitizen, 21 Oct. 2016, www.thecitizen.co.tz/magazine/thebeat/Is-nollywood-all-about-sexism-and-misogyny-/1843792-3424826-64twi6z/index.html. Martin. “Human Trafficking & Modern-Day Slavery - Nigeria.” GVNet, N.p., 2009, gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Nigeria.htm. Mungai, Christine. “INFOGRAPHIC: It Can Be Tough Being a Woman. Meet Africa's Most Sexist Laws.” MG Africa, Mail & Guardian Africa, 24 Feb. 2015, mgafrica.com/article/2015-02-24-infographic-africas-most-sexist-laws.
I thought that it was really interesting and effective how you used examples from the movie industry. I also thought that you did a great job integrating the quotes you used. My main take away is that this issue is being largely overlooked. How do other countries combat this type of issue?
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job integrating quotes to fully explain just how overlooked this major issue is. Do other African countries have similar issues with media & its portrayal of women, and would you say that any of those countries are better for women's rights than Nigeria or are they all relatively the same?
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you addressed the inequality of women in Nigeria through various examples. I appreciated how you talked about the legislative aspect of women's rights, and also mentioned the more casual side of things, like female representation in the movie industry. The most shocking thing to me was that the Nigerian law specifically states domestic abuse is acceptable with marriage! For the government to blatantly approve beating of wives really goes to show how dire the situation of women's rights is. How has this issue changed throughout history - do you it is improving at all?
ReplyDelete