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3 The Subordinate Role of Women in the Private and Public Spheres Given the observations in Chapter Two, one can infer that the determination of men to exclude women from politics, that Longwe (2000), and Ibrahim and Salihu (2004) had observed, is traceable to what most men (and women) assume to be the roles of women in the public and private spheres of life, opinions which they derive from their own understanding of women’s nature, from their upbringing, and from religious injunctions. We recollect that Denzer, cited in Mama (1996), had observed that, ‘Nigerian and British attitudes concerning female roles had much in common’ (p. 14). The point that Denzer made was that colonialism, with its patriarchal nature, met unequal relations of power among men and women in Nigeria that it then worked with, and that fed into it. The British colonialists brought their own conception of human nature and women’s nature, which had roots in theories of ‘human nature’ and ‘women’s nature’, particularly 17th century patriarchalism, to Nigeria. There were obviously other influences on the colonialists from within Britain and other European countries, especially the ideas of philosophers such as Plato, John Locke and Hegel (Fashina 1998). Fashina indicated that patriarchalists justified the domination of women by men through reference to a theory of human nature derived from the scriptures. John Locke, in spite of his view that human beings were born ‘free’ and ‘equal’, still took the position that the subjugation of wives to husbands had a ground in human nature. Hegel was of the view that if the state were to be ruled by women, it would be placed in jeopardy because women were guides, not by universality and reason, but by feelings and lack of abstract reason; that women were good wives, but not good public lawyers and judges. Fashina concluded that from essentialist premises, the philosophers drew conclusions validating views that women were, by nature, inferior to men. No doubt, this was the frame of reference for the British colonialists who took over our country, and who fused their attitudes with existing ones and also wrote their beliefs (which were essentially patriarchal and Christian) into laws. 50 Women and Power: Education, Religion and Identity Concerning the influence of Islam, although Islam was said to have been present in Hausaland in the northern part Nigeria before the jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio in 1804, Pereira observed that, ‘the narrowing of women’s roles to those connected with domestic life began as a consequence of the reinterpretation of Islam that followed the Shehu’s jihad’ (Perreira 2005:79). She noted that prior to the jihad, women in Hausaland were visible and active in the public sphere; and that although Uthman Dan Fodio’s ‘position was relatively liberal and supportive of women’s education, his proponents interpreted Islam more narrowly than he did’. While making the case for women’s education, Uthman Dan Fodio spoke to the subordination and maltreatment of women, and the need for women to know as much about business transactions and economic regulations as they did about religious rites. Fafunwa (1974) recorded Uthman Dan Fodio as having said: They treat their wives and daughters like household implements which are used until they are broken and then thrown on to the rubbish heap. Alas! How can they abandon their wives and daughters in the perpetual darkness of ignorance while they daily impart their knowledge to their students. This is nothing but error because they are instructing their students in this manner out of sheer egotism and hypocrisy (p. 56). Fafunwa (1974) further recorded that Uthman Dan Fodio said: if anyone says that a woman is generally ignorant of these matters [for example matters relating to business transactions] my reply is that it is incumbent upon her to endeavour to know these [commercial regulations] as it is binding upon her to know about other matters pertaining to her religion like ablutions, fasting and praying (p. 56). Forty-four years after the end of formal colonialism, with Christianity and Islam being omnipresent in the polity and competing for the souls and hearts of Nigerians, in the face of glaring economic changes that have affected many women and men, and also in the context of the existence of formal International Declarations of equality of all persons, of all races, gender, religion, etc, we asked female and male respondents, and religious leaders to talk about the roles of women, and what the roles of women ought...

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