INTRODUCTION
Every society
has a peculiar/stratified way of doing things prescribed to particular gender,
even the means of livelihood is socio-culturally constructed according to male
and female sex and all these are enshrined in a term called gender norm. It is
this gender norm that shapes what males and females do, how they do it, their
behaviour, the roles of males and females concerning who will cultivate, who
plants, who harvests, who does fishing, who makes a decision, the opportunity
available to men and women and so on. Therefore, it is as a result of this
issue of gender inequality as a problem across human societies and one of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the United Nations want to curb by
2030 that this paper sets to explore the gendered norms of the riverine people
of Umuoba-Anam to investigate the implications on
their livelihood and the general well-being of both male and female. A report
from rural riverine Amazonia supports the above fact and noted that gender
simultaneously shapes what riverine livelihoods mean for men and women (Langill, 2020). Thus,
gender norm breeds gender-differentiated vulnerabilities which according to (Ferdous & Mallick, 2019) , results
from norms that define roles and responsibilities, access to and control over
resources, decision making, mobility, and opportunity to participate in public
forums. In essence, gender norm shapes the livelihood pattern as well as the
access to the healthcare system of the people of a community.
In south
eastern Nigeria, differential gender norms shape daily life activities in both
rural and urban settings. It is more compounded in riverine communities as
there are many cultural beliefs associated with the expressions of gender
norms. This is typical of the many riverine communities in Nigeria and Umuoba-Anam community in Anambra
State Nigeria is not left out. This paper therefore is set to explore the gendered
norms and how they shape daily lives, and livelihood patterns of the riverine
people of Umuoba-Anam.
Gender Norms
and Sex
Gender norm
which is common across cultures play a vital role in almost all access-related
issues among genders and this brings to the fore the issues of power dynamics.
Gender norms define who occupies leadership positions, whose contributions are
valued, whose needs are accommodated and so on in society. The term gender does not imply same thing as
sex, because gender is socially constructed while sex refers to the biological process.
Distinguishing gender from sex, Best,
Griffiths and Hope in (Nnonyelu Au, 2009:193) refers gender to social processes that occur because of
your sex, such as behaving in a feminine way if you are female. Human beings
are mammals hence are born as male or female. But the process of bringing up of
children converts them into gendered beings. This social cultural machinery
aims to turn them into men and women who are masculine and feminine respectively,
they are therefore made to internalize the patterns of behaviours,
thinking and feeling. Ezeh
(2016) notes that while sex
relates to the anatomy of a human person, the gender of a human person is
socially constructed. He states that there is ample ethnographic
evidence of societies where, depending on the cultural circumstances, someone
of male sex maybe culturally constructed as feminine gender and vice versa. The
binary, male/female, refers to sex. The binary, masculine/feminine, refers to gender
and that the gender stereotypes of masculinity and femininity are associated
with gender; not sex. Femininity is a quality of being feminine whereas
masculinity is manly characteristics that distinctively describe men and boys
and it is based on that that gender norms are socially established. The term gender norm answers the question, how
would the life of a person born a male instead of a female, or a female instead
of a male be different. It also addresses the issues of how the person’s sex
should be defined, constructed, constrained, or has expanded his/her
opportunities and experiences.
Cislaghi & Heise (2019) see gender
norms as social norms that define the acceptable and appropriate actions for
male and female genders in a given group or society. Gender norms play a role
in shaping women and men’s access to resources and freedoms, thus affecting
their voice, power and sense of self. Pearse & Connell (2016) on the other hand noted
that gender norms do not exist in vacuum but are embedded in every aspect of
cultural life and institutions, and need to be understood as a set of
inter-relationships between individuals and groups that have the power to both
reproduce them and also exercise agency to change them. By conforming to the
gender norms and expectations of their culture, people can gain several
approvals as they convey and re-enforce their masculinity or femininity
accordingly. The culture makes a gendered division of labour
is one in which women and men are supposed to take up certain tasks. This
association is further reinforced by the general idea of femininity which
defines women as mothers, caring, nurturing, self-sacrificing, self-effacing
etc. At the heart of this division of labour also
lies the exploitation of women labours because most
of the jobs are underpaid or not paid for and it is based on that, that (Fleming & Agnew,
2015)
stated that gender norms can constrain people’s power especially that of the
women and limit their ability to take control of their health.
Cislaghi & Heise (2019) see gender
norms as social norms that define the acceptable and appropriate actions for
male and female genders in a given group or society. Gender norms play a role
in shaping women and men’s access to resources
and freedoms, thus affecting their voice, power and sense of self. Pearse & Connell (2016) on the other hand note
that gender norms do not exist in vacuum but are embedded in every aspect of
cultural life and institutions, and need to be understood as a set of
inter-relationships between individuals and groups that have the power to both
reproduce them and also exercise agency to change them. By conforming to the
gender norms and expectations of their culture, people can gain several approval as they convey and re-enforce their masculinity or
femininity accordingly. The culture makes a gendered division of labour is one in which women and men are supposed to take
up certain tasks. This association is further reinforced by the general idea of
femininity which defines women as mothers, caring, nurturing, self-sacrificing,
self-effacing etc. At the heart of this division of labour
also lies the exploitation of women labours because
most of the jobs are underpaid or not paid for and it is based on that, that (Fleming & Agnew, 2015) stated that gender norms can constrain people’s power especially that of the women and limit
their ability to take control of their health.
In this way,
discriminatory gender norms reproduce and strengthen power hierarchies, both
between and among women and men, boys and girls, and gender minorities in
society. The issue of division of labour, patriarchy, stereotypes, son
preference among other gender norms deprive men and women of access to certain opportunities
in life. It is also common knowledge in some parts of the Igbo land in South-eastern
Nigeria among different families that some men whose wives are unable to give
birth to a male child refuse to take their sick female child/children to
hospitals especially if the man is the only son of the family and in Umuoba-Anam, a man cannot stay without a male child.
Something must be done in order to get a male child who is considered to
continue the family’s lineage else, the marriage/family will be in shambles.
Functionalist
and Feminist Approaches as Explanatory Framework
Functionalism and radical
feminist theory form the framework of this research because they both seem to
be more appropriate in the understanding of gender constructs and challenges
posed by social and ecological structures like patriarchy, riverine
environment, and gender norms.
Functionalism and Functionalist perspective and theory
achieved its greatest popularity in the 20th century between 1940s
and 50s and the major proponents of functionalism as used in this work are
Emile Durkheim, Bronislaw Malinowski and Radcliffe- Brown.
The main thrust of functionalism is that the society is made up of a system of
interrelated parts that work together to maintain the smooth operation of
society. They start their discourse with a basic postulation that everything in
society whether positive or negative has a function (Nnonyelu Au, 2009).
Gender
from the functionalists’ perspective is something that comes with loads of
roles and functions which we refer to as the gender norms. Therefore, for these
roles and functions to be performed, they have to be shared among the male and
female genders for easy and proper flow of the work and hence, the need for the
division of labour. Both males and females contribute
to the overall functioning and maintenance of society, and that is why it appears that there are discriminatory gender norms. It is
discriminatory in the sense that functions/roles have to be divided for each
gender to know what to do at each point in time so that there will not be a
gender role clash. Therefore, gender roles have to be discriminatory
irrespective of society, whether pre-industrial, industrial, or post-industrial
society according to the capacity and capability of males and females.
More so, from the feminist
theory of gender inequality reviewed, radical feminism is adopted as one of the
theoretical frameworks of this study because Umuoba-Anam is a patriarchal community and radical feminism
best explains the subject. Feminism is in diverse forms. Ezeh (2016) states that there are probably up to 40 variants and Chandler
and Munday in (Ezeh, 2016) enumerate nine common varieties; socialist or Marxist
feminism, radical, cultural, liberal, psycho analytic, lesbian, black and postcolonial,
ecofeminism and postmodern or poststructural
feminism. Each of these reflects the concerns of particular theorists or
advocates. In the course of this work, we are going to look at the radical
feminism.
Radical feminism begins within the context of second wave
feminism that started in the early 1960s and became famous in 1968. Andrea Dworkin, Valerie Solanas,
Catharine Mackinnon and Alice Walker are notable among the radical feminists. They say that society is a
patriarchy and that in patriarchy, men have more power
than women. They harm women by oppressing them. They emphasize that patriarchy is the root of inequality
between men and women, or more specifically, the social domination of women by
men. They
believe that men and women are situated in society not only differently but
also unequally. Radical feminism contends that women are of absolute positive
value as men and that women are everywhere
oppressed-often violently-by the systems of patriarchy. To them, the reason for
the discriminatory gender norms and practices is a patriarchal culture, so that
men will continue to oppress women because women are treated as inferior
beings. Women get less of the material resources, social status, power, and
opportunities for self-actualization than men do who share their social
location. In confirmation of the above, a study by (Ferdous & Mallick, 2019) reported that women are discriminated against and oppressed by the
patriarchal norms and practices in accessing resources and opportunities in
every sphere of life, which limits their capacity to respond to both climatic
and socioeconomic stressors. This inequality results from the organization of society,
for although individual human beings vary in their profile of potentials and
traits, no significant pattern of natural variation distinguishes the sexes.
Radical feminists view patriarchy as dividing societal rights, privileges, and
power primarily along the lines of sex as a result, oppressing women and
privileging men. They, therefore, oppose existing political and social
organization in general because it is inherently tied to patriarchy. They then
sought a solution in the defeat of patriarchy, which must begin with a basic
reworking or reorganization of gender norms that will be void of patriarchy. To
them, men are not inherently bad or oppressive but it is those gender norms
imposed on them by the society in form of patriarchy that made them oppressive,
they, therefore, call for the abolishment of patriarchal culture for equal
self-actualization of men and women. In a similar vein, from a functionalist
perspective, the riverine environment provides a lot of opportunities for the
members of the Umuoba-Anam community but also poses a
great impediment in accessing livelihood strategies. The river presents unequal
opportunities for both genders as it accords better livelihood opportunities
for males than females. Many females find it difficult to navigate through the
river except they are ferried by males. This is also dependent on the willingness
of males to ferry such women across the river which could cost more monetarily
for women who do not own canoes and other means of transportation.
Description
of Study Area
Umuoba-Anam is a
riverine community in Anambra East Local Government
Area of Anambra State, South Eastern Nigeria which is
located in the town of Otuocha with part of the
community known as Aboegbu-Anam residing across the
river. The town consists of five villages which are Umuoji,
Umuoke, Umuezeanya, Umuobalichi and Umuoche. It is
among the eight villages that make up the riverine community of Anam, and these Anam people hail
mainly from such towns as Umuenwelum, Oroma, Umudora, Umuikwu, Umuoba, Iyi-Ora, Otuocha, and Mmiata (Okonkwo, 2012). The Anam communities are
surrounded by the lower Niger River and Anam River
which they depend on for sustainable livelihood and a small income. The Omamballa River is located in Otuocha,
Anambra state, in valley-like scenery. It is large
and deep surface water, with its bank extending a long distance through Otuocha, Anam, Umuoba, Aguleri, Umuleri, and so on, all in Anambra
State, Nigeria. All the Anam communities were
situated across the river but Umuoba migrated to the
hinterland in 1910 during the birth and reign of Umueze
age grade, while part of their kinsmen known as Aboegbu-Anam
still resides on the Ireland till date. They are hospitable people who welcome
visitors but they do have problems with the Aguleri
people who borders them. Their political organization
is well structured in the sense that they respect their elders because they
organize things with age grades. Formerly, the eldest man became their king but
it is no longer that way now but they still accord great respect to the eldest
man in the community. It is a low-lying riverine community with parts of its
land covered by water. As a result of its geographical position and
socio-economic conditions, the community is mainly known for agriculture and
trading whereby men and women perform different roles for their livelihood. They
have about five farming camps: The Ebenebe, Mmanya, Oshii, Elopu, and Omagwu camp where
their major farming activities take place. These camps are situated on the
river banks very far away from the town which is why the farmers spend most of
their lives there because they settle there with their families throughout the
farming period till the flood time when they start harvesting to go back home
before the flood devastation which normally occurs around September. The rest
of the people left at home do their farming in Umuoba
camp 3 and other communal lands also located across the river but the
difference is that this group of people do not reside in the camp as they are
situated close to the community therefore, they ferry back home once they are
done with the day's activity unlike their other counterparts whose farming
camps are located very far away from the community. They are also involved in
fishing, trading, and so on. Most of their ceremonies including funeral rites
are generally performed mainly from the ninth or eleventh month of the year depending
on the environment when all the camp dwellers must have returned home and when
there would no longer be issue of flood because it is a flood prone area
because they are heavily affected whenever there is flood invasion almost annually
and they are one of the most affected community this year.
METHODOLOGY
The study is based on a qualitative ethnographic research
design. The choice of the design is because the study is set out to give an
in-depth and detailed descriptive account of the issue under study and
ethnography as a form of qualitative research is used as the main data
collection approach. Onyeme et al., (2019) noted that the qualitative method is a
systematic and subjective approach used to describe life experiences and give
them meaning as stated by Burns and Grooves (2003). This method produces
non-numerical and descriptive data, which is often the in-depth data required. Okpoko & Ezeh, (2011) in the same vein defined qualitative research as the
collection and analysis of virtually any information that is not numerical.
The researcher used participant observation (PO), key
informant interviews (KII), in-depth interviews (IDI), and Focused Group
Discussion (FGD) as data collection methods because the study wished to examine
and describe the gender norms, livelihoods, and access to the healthcare system
among the Umuoba-Anam people. Thematic analysis was employed
after the transcription of the recorded interviews. For this paper, the data
used were those gotten from the above methods and the findings have been described
in detail based on the paper’s objectives aimed at examining how the gendered
norms of the riverine people of Umuoba-Anam shape
their daily lives and livelihoods.
FINDINGS
Gender
Issues and Livelihoods
As a result of its geographical position and
socio-economic conditions, the Umuoba-Anam community
is mainly known for agriculture and trading whereby men and women perform
different roles for their livelihood. There is a clear gender-based division of
labour especially in agriculture whereby women
cultivate vegetable crops, such as spinach, garden eggs, peppers, okra, sweet
potatoes, pumpkin, maize, and so forth. These crops are planted either in more
upland fields or planted after the receding Lower Niger River flood. The
vegetable crops are harvested as they mature before the next inundation of the
farming plains. The men are mainly known for fishing, cultivation of yam, sweet
potatoes, rice, sand excavation and so on while women cultivate vegetable and
groundnut and equally help the men with clearing of grasses. In addition, the
women cultivate cassava which takes longer to mature and is often harvested
last before the flood transgression. These are some of the excerpts from the
IDI on activities of men and women of Umuoba:
A woman from Umuoche
said that: Men cultivate yam, they also
excavate sand used for building from the river, women plant pepper and
everything used in cooking food.
Another woman from Umuezeanya
said that: man cultivates yam, and also
engages in fishing, while woman plants pepper, groundnut, and vegetables but
she does not engage in fishing because it is a man’s job.
Another man from Umuobalichi
said that: Umuoba is well known for agriculture, men
cultivate yam, they do fishing, they cultivate rice,
potatoes, while the women help in clearing/weeding the farm and also cultivate
vegetables and groundnut.
One key observation is that Umuoba-Anam is a patriarchal community. There is male
dominance and clear gender division of labour whereby
men's agricultural products are seen as superior while that of women as
inferior. A woman from Umuoche attested to that and
stated that yam cultivation and fishing are solely a man’s job, that a woman
can only put hook in the river and leave it there till the next day when she
comes back to see if it catches any fish because it can only catch one fish at
a time unlike the net that catches as many fishes as possible which is being used
by men. She also said that a man cannot relegate himself to cultivation of
vegetable because it is a woman’s job and that he cannot make any money from it.
Men cultivate yam and also very good at
fishing. Groundnut and pepper do not give money and they are women’s job
because they are concerned with the cultivation of things used in cooking. They
do not go fishing because they cannot cast net. They can only put hook in the
river and leave it there till the next day, they now come back to check if it
catches any fish. A man cannot agree to cultivate vegetable,
he will tell you that he would not make any money from it that it is a woman’s
job.
It then means that women’s economic activity or
livelihood is such that is of lesser financial benefit and that is why men are
assigned to more beneficial tasks in order to continue their domination of
women being a patriarchal community. No wonder one of the study participants, a
woman, said that a man cannot accept or relegate himself to the cultivation of
vegetable.
Livelihood according to (Ajala, 2008) is an aggregate measure of how people or a given
population (as small as a household of a single person) make their living within
the limit imposed by the environment, social, economic and political conditions
of the society in which they live. There are some notable differences in the
peoples’ livelihood and livelihood strategies, these activities are
designed in such a way that each gender knows what is assigned and expected of
him / her at each point in time. In farming, men are solely involved in the
cultivation of yam and women need not to be reminded that yam cultivation is a
man’s job. Women can only help in doing other things like cutting of grasses,
and any other thing that the man needs their help with but are forbidden from
making yam ridges. On why women does not cultivate yam, the FGD participants
noted that it is an abomination in their land for a woman to do so because yam
is seen as a sacred thing and a woman who is usually unclean cannot do the
job.
“It is an abomination for a woman to cultivate yam
because she cannot make yam ridges unless after making the ridges, she may help
in putting the yam. A woman does not cross a yam ridge, it is a taboo”.
Potatoes, rice and so on are also cultivated by men,
although women are not forbidden this time but they are majorly men’s work.
Women of Umuoba-Anam are saddled with the
responsibility of cultivating vegetables, pepper, ground nut etc.
Fishing in Umuoba-Anam is done
by men who catch fishes using net. They do this both for commercial and for
their subsistence consumption on a daily basis except on Eke market days which
is the day all fishermen go to the market to sell their products. A woman in an
interview (IDI) told me that women can only catch fishes using ‘ngule’
(hook), that they are forbidden from making use of ‘iboro’ (net) because according to her ‘nwanyi ama efeni iboro’
which means that a woman cannot cast a net that it is a man’s job because it is
tedious. In her words:
What we are known for is agriculture, men cultivate yam
while women help in weeding the farmland, men do
fishing while women do not because they are forbidden from casting net as such
is a taboo. They can only put hook inside the river if they want to catch fish
and go home till the next day, they return back to check if it catches any
fish. They cannot cast net because it is strenuous, and hence, a man’s job.
To that end, women only catch fishes for their immediate
consumption because hook can only catch one fish at a time unlike the net that
can gather as much as possible in one cast. This gender norm can be said to be
a gender inequality against women because you cannot compare the financial
power of a man who catches fishes with net to that of a woman who uses only
hook. The implication is that the women will be dependent on men in certain
things because they will lack the financial ability to take care of their
needs.
Sand excavation and boat paddling are also among the Umuoba peoples livelihood. While sand excavation is
peculiarly done by male members, boat paddling is also a means whereby young
men make their living. Women may also decide to paddle their personal boat to
the market or elsewhere but the males are the main boat peddlers both for
private and commercial purposes.
Gender
Restrictions Reinforce Inequality
This has to do with the ‘dos and don’ts’ of each gender
in Umuoba-Anam which is called ‘nso ala’
in Igbo language (taboo). There are a lot of things the female gender is
restricted from doing which when violated has repercussions. For instance, it
is a taboo for a woman to catch fish with net and there is repercussion for
whoever faults that although according to my study participants, no one would
ever dare to try it because it is a well-established norm in their land and
women are quite aware that they can only use hook if there is need to catch
fish.
Moreover, a woman who is menstruating is denied of
certain privileges. She is not allowed to enter the Okpala’s
house (the eldest man in the community) for whatsoever. In an interview with
the Okpala, the researcher learnt that a woman in her
menses cannot cook for her husband or even stay in the same room with him but
that Christianity came and changed certain things and then some Christians
stopped keeping such norm while others still do it till date.
In fact, a young man I was communicating with told me
that the norm is still very strong till date especially among the traditional
worshippers and even few Christians and that it should be encouraged because a
woman in her menses is impure at the moment and should not interact with her
man or enter into secret/sacred places until she is free/clean. He maintained
that he as a pagan still hold tight to the tradition and on no account should
his wife cook for him or stay in the same room with
him during her menstruation. His exact words:
The truth is that a woman in her menstrual cycle is unclean, she is not supposed to come out and be interacting
with people until she is clean. I am a core traditionalist,
my wife does not cook food for me anytime she is in her period.
The researcher probed to know what happen when the man
and his wife live alone in the house, who then cooks the food and she was told
that there must be a neighbour or any available
person to do that until the wife is ‘pure’ the researcher also faced such
scenario the day she went to see the Okpala although
she had already entered the Obi Okpala (Okpala’s house) and started chit-chatting before the issue
was raised and one of the men with the Okpala asked
if I was pure that an impure woman does not enter the Okpala’s
house and I answered yes but what if I was not free what will happen since I
had already entered inside the house and they told me that it would not be a
taboo because I was a visitor and had no idea but that I had to leave at once.
The same scenario greeted me, the day I went to the Obi Iwele’s
shrine. My research assistant who is from that community had already told me
about it, so on reaching the entrance we stopped and greeted them and the chief
Priest told us to come in if I was clean and so we entered. Moreso,
women who are menstruating are prohibited from fetching water or even entering
certain rivers in Anam such as the rivers owned by
certain deities, the Okuiyi River and so on and
whoever violates the norm gets drowned instantly. Excerpt from the FGD:
We have many rivers that we do not fish in except once in
two years like the Okuiyi river,
a woman in her menses cannot step inside it. If they do, the water deity will
descend on them because we worship and respect deities. If she is inside the
water and then notices that her menses is coming, she has to stand up
immediately and leave the water. Any women in her monthly period is not
supposed to be interacting with people, such women do not enter inside the Okpala’s house, our people do not joke with such tradition,
if you even go to the Bible, it is also there. A man cannot sit on same chair
with a married woman or to cross a married woman but some of them have been
scrapped in order to avoid mass death. An unclean woman should keep herself pre
until after seven days before she can start interacting with people. Is seven
days too much? Such women should not enter or cross any water owned by any
deity, and if she does, she will have the deity to contend with and that is how
it is in our land.
This means that a woman who is menstruating is unclean
and therefore not worthy to interact with people because according them, Umuoba-Anam does not joke with such tradition/belief and
that it is equally in the Bible. Unclean woman should stay away from people and
certain rivers owned by the deities until she is free, else she will have the
oracle to contend with.
Other restriction is that women do not make yam ridges
(they do not cultivate yam) because it is a taboo for a woman to cross a yam
ridge because of the biological process that made them to menstruate and thus
the society sees them as the unclean beings. They do not also partake in making
mask spirits (masquerading) just as it is found in some other Igbo communities
and so on.
“Another taboo against women is that it is a taboo for a
woman to cultivate yam because a woman cannot cross her leg over a yam ridge
unless a woman who has reached menopause. A woman does not also partake in
making mask spirit, it is a taboo in Igbo land”.
Controlling
Women’s Sexualities as Abominable Acts
Women’s sexual activities are monitored and controlled
using gendered taboos and norms. This is mainly strict for married women and
unmarried girls. Female sexual activities outside established social structures
are described as sexual contraventions. Adultery is sexual intercourse by a
married person perpetuated with someone other than their spouse. In Umuoba-Anam, the first and major abominable act that comes
to the mind of every member of the community both young and old is adultery. It
is an established norm that a married man should not sleep with a woman that is
not his wife and vice-versa. Below are some excerpts from the FGD attesting to
the fact that adultery is a taboo in their community:
A woman from Umuoche: You do
not have sex with a married woman, it kills the woman.
Another woman from Umuobalichi:
If anyone engages in adultery, the land will deal with that person. A woman
from Umuoji: For a married woman to commit adultery
is an abomination.
A man from Umuezeanya: If a
married man and woman commit adultery, it is an abomination, the land deals
with whoever that commits such act.
Another Umuoji man: A married
woman should not commit adultery, and a man should not have sex with a married
woman.
Whoever does that have committed a heinous crime against
the gods and land. Almost all my study participants
frowned at it and I was told that if a woman commits adultery and confesses her
sin, that certain rites and sacrifices must be performed for her cleansing then
she apologizes to her husband. But in a situation whereby a married woman
committed adultery and failed to confess, that the wrath of the gods will
descend on her which could either kill her or strike her with a strange ailment
or it can equally affect the husband which will now signify that such an
abominable act was committed. Once that is ascertained, the woman will be made
to perform some sacrifices and after that the elderly women will roast ‘uburu okuko’ (a chicken) and cut it into seven (7) parts then
give to the woman to eat for cleansing. She would then be dragged round the
entire community with people chanting different derogatory songs for her and
after that, she would be sent back to her parent’s house except if her husband’s
family reaches consensus with her and accepts her back.
A married woman should not go and commit adultery, a man
should not also have sex with a married woman, if a woman does that, she will
have to confess and the elders will perform some sacrifices and cleansing in
order to appease the gods and cleanse that woman. The woman in question will
put on a small piece of cloth around her waist and nothing on top, then she
will be made to come to the village square but nowadays, they no longer go to
the village square. The elders will roast a chicken, cut it into seven parts
and then use a broom stick and be feeding that woman with the roasted chicken.
After that, they will drag the woman round the entire community singing
derogatory songs while the children will be chanting iyoooo!
When they are done with that, the woman will go back to her father's house from
there unless she reconciled with her husband and he accepts her back. The
roasted chicken signifies cleansing but if a woman hides her action or fail to
confess, she may die or be afflicted with a strange illness.
The irony there is that a married man who committed the
same adultery goes scot-free or is made to pay a fine which would be shared
among the elderly women and part given to the husband of the woman he committed
the act with for compensation or restitution. I found out that most of my study participants
especially the older one’s both male and female were comfortable with the norm and
this shows the gender inequality at play which could be as a result of their
patriarchal culture. To my utmost dismay, a man from Umuoche
one of my (FGD) discussants told me that it is always like that even in the
Bible and gave me an instance of Mary-Magdalene when they wanted to stone her
to death because of adultery and that nothing was done to the man she slept
with.
According to him,
“A married woman should not go and commit adultery, a man
should not also have sex with a married woman, if a woman does that, she will have
to confess and the elders will perform some sacrifices and cleansing in order to
appease the gods and cleanse that woman. The woman in question will put on a small
piece of cloth around her waist, then the elders will roast
a chicken, cut it into seven parts and then use a broom stick and be feeding that
woman with the roasted chicken while the children will be chanting iyoooo! But a man
who she committed the act with does not go through such process, he will only
pay some fine and go free because if you go to the Bible, Mary-Magdalene the
woman that was caught in the act with a man was said to be stoned to death
while the man she committed adultery with was left unhurt and not even mentioned
and that is what we are following because you know that we are the descendants of
Israel.
A boy from Umuobalich
also stated that: “For a married woman to
commit adultery is an abomination and may lead to her death if she fails to
confess but if a man does that, it is not regarded as an abomination like that
of a woman, he will go scot-free”.
Another man from Umuoji: “If a married
woman and a man commit adultery, it is a taboo. The land will hold and punish
such people, the man may go scot-free if he is lucky
or vice-versa”.
It was the youths that reacted differently to the level
of inequality and preferential treatment given to the made offenders. While the
females (girls) frown at the male’s preferential treatment, they were of the
view that there should be equal punishment for male and female offenders. The
males (boys) on the other hand were not too comfortable with the situation but
they admitted that, that is what made them men. That man must be man no matter
what and should not be equal with or compared to woman.
Patriarchal
norms enhancing gendered inequality
Patriarchy according to (Lener, 1986) is ‘the manifestation and institutionalization of male
dominance over women in society in general’. Most Igbo communities are known
for their male dominance and Umuoba-Anam is not an
exception. Men’s opinion must first be sought for before any decision is being
taken and their approval is of utmost importance from my observation, women are
seen as the lesser being who are nothing without men.
The norm is ingrained in the mind of every male both young and old and they
will always remind you that they are male and should not be spoken to anyhow
and the female folk do not see anything wrong in that especially the older
women. They see it as a way of life.
Son
Preference / Training Pattern
Son/male child preference syndrome is always
obtainable in a patriarchal society. Some of my study participants told me that
there is no preferential treatment in the training of a male and female child
but that a male child is preferred over a female child while few participants
were of the view that a male child deserves a better training because he is the
one to continue the family’s lineage while the female child will be married off
to another family. Therefore, based on that, some families make sure that their
male children get the best in life and the best education to any level they can
afford while such a ‘risk’ cannot be taken for a girl child except if the
family is well to do. Below are some of the IDI participants attestations, a
man said:
The training
pattern for boys is different from that of the girls,
a boy is being trained well because the family look up to them as the heirs.
They get the best education because they are the pillar of the family. If you
train them well you know that you and your unborn generation will be happy. Another woman, nowadays,
parents train their male child better than the female children because they are
the ones to keep the family going.
In such situation, giving birth to numerous female
children without a male child can be compared to being childless and peace and
harmony lack in such families. Both husband and wife will be restless until an
alternative thing is done in order to get a male child. Most of the (FGD)
participants admitted that marrying another wife is the best option they
consider.
A male participant said that:
If a man got married and the wife only gives birth to
female children, such a man will never be happy because he will not have anyone
to inherit his properties. It hurts both the man and the wife, sometimes it
even brings problem between the husband and the wife. A woman who lacks moral
will go and sleep with another man to see if she can birth a male child. Peace
and tranquility lack in such family but the best thing for such people is to
get another wife.
Another male participant:
A male child is the foundation of the house,
that is how it is because a woman cannot be addressed as “Obinna”. A woman does not occupy the father’s house, you can only find such in Onitsha.
A female participant:
Any child is good but a male child is better because of
the family’s lineage. A woman who does not give birth to a male child should
discuss with the husband for him to get a second wife.
They maintained that, although every child no matter the
sex is a gift from God, but that the value of a male child outweighs that of a
female child and cannot be compromised. This gender norm however, made male children
to always see themselves as the superior being while their female counterparts
are the inferior ones. This, I observed from my experience and the daily
chit-chats with some younger ones. A boy once told me that:
A man is extremely important because they are
the ones that keep the family’s lineage going, a family cannot stay without a
male child and that is what made us unique.
Which means that a male child is very important and that
a family cannot do without a male child, and that made them unique.
DISCUSSION
We have so far described in detail the gendered norms of
the Umuoba-Anam people and their implications on
livelihood pattern in an ongoing ethnographic research on gender norms,
livelihoods and access to healthcare among the riverine community of Umuoba-Anam in Anambra East L.G.A
of Anambra State, Nigeria. The study revealed that there
is a clear gender division of labour in Umuoba, while men are involved in more strenuous and
lucrative jobs, women take charge of the less strenuous with lesser income jobs
and they are also restricted from performing certain tasks as a result of their
gender. Heise et al., (2019) observe that
discriminatory gender norm play out in a scenario whereby gender norms sustain
hierarchy of power and privileged that typically favours
that which is considered male or masculine over that which is female or
feminine, reinforcing a systemic inequality that undermines the rights of women
and girls and restricts opportunities for women, men and gender minorities to
express their authentic selves. Akeju et al., (2016) noted that
the status of women is low and families are patriarchal with men responsible
for key decisions. The patriarchal family structure rests on men’s control over
property which often extends to wife as his possession. It is within this
cultural milieu of male dominance that women enter into marriage, child
bearing, and child rearing in Nigeria, (Akeju et al., 2016). The patriarchal culture gives women little or no power
to decide when they become pregnant or how, and when, and where to seek care
during complications (Ambreen & Mohyuddin, 2012). In this village, girls and women are expected to
maintain the household, care for children and old and sick members of the
household (usually within the household) without remuneration. Men, on the
other hand are expected to earn income and to protect the family from violence
of the outsiders. Masculine norms and requirements govern and dominate the
so-called feminine sphere. There is this
age- old system of inequality and stereotyping of the women and son preference
syndrome. This attitude prevents the parent from taking appropriate care of the
girl child should she fall sick. More so, various studies have supported the
prevalence of division of labour in creating gender
stereotyping. The implication is that division of labour
in Umuoba is done according to the established law of
the land (gender norm) which prohibits women from performing certain tasks
which when violated becomes a taboo thereby depriving the women certain
opportunities.
The study also found out that the gendered norms of the Umuoba people favours the male
folk more than the female especially as it concerns the male child preference
and the case of adultery which are not unconnected with the patriarchal norm
because it is a strong patriarchal community. A study by (Ferdous & Mallick, 2019) supported the above finding and also revealed that
asymmetrical gender divisions make women disproportionately vulnerable and
decrease their coping and adaptive capacity in changed situations. The study
showed that women are the most vulnerable amongst vulnerable groups, not simply
as a result of their gender roles and responsibilities, but more as a result of
discriminatory social norms and practices such as lack of property ownership,
lack of education, early marriage, the dowry system, and acceptance of domestic
violence against women, which further create barriers to women’s mobility and
economic empowerment. Women are conditioned to remain at home and not
participate, or to wait for men to accompany them to most activities taking
place in the public space. Again, the few women
the first author met on her various visits in the area were not free to say
anything against or for their men. Similarly, in line with findings of
this paper, (Okorie & Williams, 2009) reported that there exists cultural belief that tends to
prohibit women in menstruation from accessing anywhere near the lake as they
would provoke the anger of the river deity and consequently affect the lake’s
productivity. These prevailing culturally imposed gender inequities in African
communities reduce the efficiency of labour and
allocation of resources, both within the households and within the community.
Gender inequality exacerbates poverty among the women, particularly widows and
single, separated, and divorced women.
The paper reported that the study is based on a
qualitative ethnographic research design. The choice of the design was because
the study sets out to give the descriptive account of the issue under study and
ethnography involving participant observation (PO), In-depth Interviews, and
Focused Group Discussion (FGD) as methods of data collection. The findings so
far revealed gendered livelihood with some notable differences in the peoples ‘livelihood and livelihood strategies and
gender restrictions as among the gendered norms of Umuoba-Anam
people. These have great socioeconomic implications on women as it has been
reported that such women in riverine communities hardly have access to river
resources (Shitima, 2018). The paper also highlighted that patriarchy was an
issue, especially in limiting women’s rights, privileges and opportunities as
proven from the case of male child preference, subjugation of the women who are
menstruating, the preferential treatment given to a male adulterer and so on. The
implication is that the situation created a differential opportunity for men
and women because women lack access to certain resources and opportunities due
to their poor living standards and male dominance and this weakens women’s
position in society and makes them vulnerable to violence (Hadi, 2017). Generally, embodied identities impact negatively on
women (Carbado et al., 2013; Crenshaw, 1989). Issues of unequal access to healthcare for both genders
(Onyima, 2019), especially as it pertains to access to reproductive
health information (Carroll & Kapilashrami, 2020) crop up in riverine communities. Put differently, in
certain riverine geographies, women’s access to river resources are limited (Shitima, 2018). Even in decision making, age and gender rear up when
decisions are to be taken because women are not supposed to talk in the
presence of the elderly and when men speak in many traditional rural
communities in Nigeria (Shitima, 2018). All these put together affect women’s health and there
is need to address issues around the rights and healthcare of vulnerable populations
in riverine communities (Tangcharoenathien et al., 2018). Efforts need to be continuously made to bring lasting
solutions to inhibitions triggered by embodied identities in women (Yacob-Haliso, 2016).
CONCLUSION
So far, we have been able to present some of the gendered
norms of the riverine community of Umuoba-Anam and
their implications on livelihood and have also made an input on gender, sex and
livelihood discourse of Umuoba-Anam. The researcher
faces some challenges in the course of this ethnographic work and some of them
border mostly on security and finance. There is an age long dispute between Aguleri and Umuleri, in which the
Umuoba-Anam normally join forces with Umuleri and you must pass through these warring communities
before you get to Umuoba-Anam except you travel on
water. It also happened in early 2021 at the beginning of this research work
and also, there was a murder case around Awkuzu in Oyi L.G.A which led the Anambra
state government to issue curfew within the environment, therefore, getting to
the study area became a very big problem due to security.
Again, means of transportation to travel across the water
to get firsthand information to ascertain whether there is any relationship
between gender norms, livelihood and the entire life pattern of the people
living at the farming camps was a problem. This is because to travel to the
farming camps using government speed boat costs a huge amount of money
according to the residents because the camps are located very far away and to
travel by local boat/canoe can take up to three days depending on the camp.
The water level at the moment has started rising as at
the time of writing this paper because the community is prone to flood
devastation and people have started running helter-skelter. Therefore, all
these have affected the processes and outcomes of the research of ethnographic
research in one way or the other because it will be difficult to give an
accurate report on the ways of life of the people especially those residing in
camps if they are not closely observed but the objective of this paper which is
to investigate the gendered norms of Umuoba-Anam
people was not affected.
Government, stakeholders, and other organizations are
thereby advised to join efforts and support researchers by providing adequate
security and transportation means that would be affordable to be able to study
the entire sample of the population for a better result and for the eradication
of some harmful practices or discriminatory gender norms that are harmful/detrimental to the female gender.
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