Abstract
Nwankwor explores the processes through which women in Nigeria gained suffrage and how women’s political participation shaped the trajectory and outcome of politics in contemporary Nigeria. She argues that women have always participated in politics but gains from political participation have historically predominantly devolved to men. Women gained suffrage more than three decades after men, despite comparable levels of engagement before and during colonial domination. The chapter positions women’s enfranchisement within a historical framework marked by colonialism, and its conditioning effect on the course of politics in Nigeria. It also demonstrates the capacity of claims making and contestation to effect changes in regimes and governance, which shapes inclusion/exclusion. Nigerian women have maintained the history of claims making and challenging their marginalization with increasing success. Women now constitute the majority of voters in Nigeria.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agina-Ude, A. 2003. Strategies for Expanding Female Participation in the 2003 Elections and Beyond. The Nigerian Social Scientist 6 (1): 3–7.
Ako-Nai, R.I. 2005. Gendered Institutions: Women and Politics in Nigeria. In Elections and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria, ed. G. Onu and A. Momoh, 489–501. Lagos: NPSA.
Andersen, Kristi. 1975. Working Women and Political Participation, 1952–1972. American Journal of Political Science 19 (August): 439–453.
Arowolo, D., and F. Aluko. 2010. Women and Political Participation in Nigeria. European Journal of Social Sciences 14 (4).
Awofeso, O., and I. Odeyemi. 2014. Gender and Political Participation in Nigeria: A Cultural Perspective. Journal of Research in Peace, Gender and Development (JRPGD) 4 (6): 104–110. http://www.interesjournals.org/JRPGD.
Bakare-Yusuf, B. 2003. “Yoruba’s Don’t Do Gender”: A Critical Review of Oyeronke Oyewumi’s the Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses. African Identities 1: 121–143.
Barkow, J.H. 1972. Hausa Women and Islam. La Revue canadienne des études africaines [Canadian Journal of African Studies] 6 (2): 317–328.
Bauer, G. 2008. Fifty/Fifty by 2020: Electoral Gender Quotas for Parliament in East and Southern Africa. International Feminist Journal of Politics 10 (3): 348–368.
Bauer, G., and H.E. Britton. 2006. Women in African Parliaments. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Bruce, A.A. 2004. Essentialsing Gender Justice Andwomen’s Empowerment. In Paradox of Gender Equality in Nigerian Politics, ed. Akinboye. Lagos: Concept Publications.
Chuku, G. 2009. Igbo Women and Political Participation in Nigeria, 1800s–2005. The International Journal of African Historical Studies 42 (1): 81–103.
Ibrahim, J. 2004. The First Lady Syndrome and the Marginalisation of Women from Power: Opportunities of Compromises for Gender Equality? Feminist Africa 3. http://www.feministafrica.org.
Iloh, E.C., and M.A. Ikenna. 2009. Electoral Process and Gender Discrimination in Nigeria: A Case Study of 2003 and 2007 General Elections. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 10 (4): 113–128.
Izugbara, C.O., and C.B. Onuoha. 2003. Gendered Governance and the Agenda of Gender Justice: Framing the Discourse with Lessons from Nigeria. South-South Journal of Culture and Development 5 (1): 1–20.
Johnson, Cheryl. 1982. Grass Roots Organizing: Women in Anticolonial Activity in Southwestern Nigeria. African Studies Review 25 (2/3): 137.
Johnson-Odim, C. 2009. ‘For Their Freedoms’: The Anti-imperialist and International Feminist Activity of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti of Nigeria. Women’s Studies International Forum 32 (1): 51–59.
Lewu, M.A.Y. 2005. Women in Nigerian Politics. In Nigeria Under Democratic Rule: 1999–2003, vol. 2, ed. H.A. Saliu, 62–76. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.
Mama, A. 1995. Feminism or Femocracy? State Feminism and Democratization in Nigeria. Africa Development: A Quarterly Journal of CODESRIA 20 (1): 37–58.
Mba, N. 1982. Nigerian Women Mobilized: Women’s Political Activity in Southern Nigeria, 1900–1965. Berkeley: University of California.
McIntosh, M.K. 2009. Yoruba Women, Work, and Social Change. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Meyer, J.W., J. Boli, G.M. Thomas, and F.O. Ramirez. 1997. World Society and the Nation-State. American Journal of Sociology 103 (1): 144–181.
Okeke-Ihejirika, P.E., and S. Franceschet. 2002. Democratization and State Feminism: Gender Politics in Africa and Latin America. Development and Change 33 (3): 439–466.
Okonjo, I.K. 1976. The Role of Women in Social Change Among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria Living West of the River Niger. London: University Microfilms International.
OkoronKwo-Chukwu, U. 2013. Female Representation in Nigeria: The Case of 2011 General Elections and the Fallacy of 35% Affirmative Action. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences Online 3 (2): 39–46.
Omotola, S.J. 2007. What Is This Gender Talk All About After All? Gender, Power and Politics in Contemporary Nigeria. African Study Monographs 28 (1): 34–46.
Oyěwùmí, O. 1997. The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Palmer, H.R. 1928. The Origin of the Name Bornu. Journal of the Royal African Society 28 (109): 36–42.
Umerah-Udezulu, I.E. 1999. The State and Integration of Women in Ibo: Patriarchy and Gender Advancement. In The Feminization of Development Processes in Africa: Current and Future Perspectives, 131. Westport: Praeger.
Van Allen, J. 1972. “Sitting on a Man”: Colonialism and the Lost Political Institutions of Igbo Women. La Revue canadienne des études africaines [Canadian Journal of African Studies] 6 (2): 165–181.
Weale, A. 1999. Democracy; Issues in Political Theory. London: Macmillan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nwankwor, C. (2019). Nigeria: Women’s Suffrage, Change, and Continuities in Political Participation. In: Franceschet, S., Krook, M.L., Tan, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59073-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59074-9
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)