WOMEN AND ANTI-COLONIAL STRUGGLE IN EASTERN NIGERIA,1929-1960

To be able to effectively discuss women and their form of nationalism in Southern Nigeria before independence, one may need to understand the role women played in precolonial Southern Nigerian societies, how women were viewed, their rights and privileges, the impacts colonial rule had on them, and how they responded to this rule. In precolonial Nigeria, the position of women was a reflection of their subordinate status. Men held the premiums in the society, and women had the sole purpose or responsibility to be mothers of the children of these men. The ability of a woman to give birth won her the closest attachment of her husband while barren women were always the object of scorn in the society. An instance is the Esan woman who is socially not recognized. She is always represented by her husband in any social affair even if the issue at stake directly concerns or affects her. Whatever contribution she has to make, she does so through her husband who is her voice and mouthpiece. This is only when she is respected, recognized and her contributions highly welcomed and valued. Also, as long as a woman is not married in sanland, no matter how successful she may be, her views and
contributions are not welcomed or accepted. She is considered to be an outcast and is treated as one without an owner. She is ot also recognized in and among the women community. Women are seen through the lens of marriage in a homestead.