Analysis of Socio-Cultural Barriers to Rural Women Empowerment in North-Western Nigeria
Saheed, Zakaree S. & Zainab Abdul, A.
Department of Economics
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna
Email: zakss_1@yahoo.co.uk, zainab_akpa@yahoo.co.uk
Corresponding Author: Saheed, Zakaree S.
ABSTRACT
This study highlights the socio-cultural barriers to rural women’s empowerment in North-Western Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted. The study utilized mainly primary data obtained through the administration of structured questionnaire, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The analysis of data using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Logit Regression) with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20.0 reveals that family restriction on doing certain jobs, restriction on female education, early marriages and domestic work burden are the main barriers to rural women empowerment. On the other hand, male-centric barriers to rural women empowerment, Purdha(veiling), misinterpretation of religious injunctions, dependence on males, discrimination in family assets, restrictions on women’s mobility, prevalence of gender discrimination in economic sector and condemnation of mixing boys and girls were rejected as socio-cultural barriers to rural women empowerment. Based on the findings, it is recommended that government at all levels should ensure improved gender equality in access to basic services (schools, health care, child care) in rural areas, by investing in their supply (infrastructure, staff, etc.) so as to reduce women’s vulnerability and increase their capacity to access more remunerative jobs and opportunities. It is equally recommended that efforts to expand rural women’s access to science, technical education, mobile phones, computers, and other information and communication technologies should be of utmost priority.
Keywords: Phurdha, Women Empowerment, Socio Cultural Barriers
