Women, schoolchildren in Nigerian communities suffer as Gender Policy remains beauty on paper (1)
Years after the adoption of the National Gender Policy in Nigeria, women, schoolchildren and others at the grassroots are yet to feel its impact, JULIANA FRANCIS reports.
Ikaare women live in communities without healthcare services
Residents of Ikaare Community in Oriade Local Council Development Area, a riverine suburb of Lagos State, are used to taking precarious and unpredictable boat rides to get to different destinations. These people have come to accept the inevitability of death.
It was in this rustic community that our reporter met with Damilola Gbadamosi, who shared her near-death experience during labour 15 years ago, and the situation in the community remains unchanged to date. Gbadamosi blamed her traumatic experience on the unavailability of a Primary Health Centre in Ikaare, which has about five other villages nearby – without a single PHC.
The woman narrated that she went into labour at about 10pm and it continued till 4pm the following day. The peculiar challenge for women like Gbadamosi and other residents who experienced medical emergencies in Ikaare is that someone will first grab a phone to make frantic phone calls to boat riders, begging them to come and pick up the patient. Gbadamosi, who said that boat fares were expensive, added that for speedboats, which are mostly used in emergencies, it costs N10,000 for charter and to wait for a full load is N1,000.
She added that the nearest hospital to Ikaare is located at Ibeshe, which is about five minutes movement on speedboats, but not sure about the minutes on a canoe.
She recounted: “The labour pain was so intense that I couldn’t walk. There was no hospital here and no help, nobody to carry me to the jetty or even get a boat. I was forced to have the baby here and, at a point, I lost consciousness. I was later told that the baby came out not breathing; elderly women had to resort to local remedies, by adding salt to the water, which was poured into the mouth of the baby before she started breathing. If we had a health Centre here in Ikaare, a doctor or a professional staff would have attended to me.”
Gbadamosi recalled another incident when an emergency occurred and no hospital to deal with it. She said: “One of my children doused himself in hot oil, it was an emergency and there was no hospital to rush him to, I started running around like a mad woman, screaming and asking God to save my child.” She recounted that on that fateful, distraught and not thinking straight, she ran to the next community and then with the help of sympathisers, a speedboat was called, which rushed her and the boy to a hospital in Ibeshe.
Most Nigerians, especially women, continue to encounter these sorts of trying situations in local communities. Sometimes, the situation can become fatal adding to the statistics of maternal and likely infant mortality.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria is 814 per 100,000 live births. Macrotrends.net states that the current infant mortality rate for Nigeria in 2023 is 54.740 deaths per 1000 live births.
The Statistical Report On Women and Men in Nigeria 2020 says: “Gender inequality persists in the provision of health services and women often find it challenging to access proper healthcare.”The report also says that tackling “gender inequalities in the provision of health services will enable all women and men to enjoy healthier lives, which will ultimately lead to greater gender equality in all spheres of life and the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goals.”
The National Library of Medicine says that in Nigeria, maternal mortality accounts for 59,000 deaths of women annually, emphasising: “Nigerian women are 500 times more likely to lose their lives in childbirth when compared to most advanced nations of the world.”
Also, the Journal of Global Health Reports states that the high incidents of maternal and neonatal mortality in Nigeria are connected to delays in deciding to seek maternal health care, locating and arriving at a medical facility and receiving skilled pregnancy care at a healthcare facility.
Advocates for the National Gender Policy have argued that if the policy is fully implemented, it will tackle issues relating to health facilities, and therefore, maternal-infant mortality ratio in local communities like Ikaare.
The NGP, among other goals, is: “To build a just society devoid of discrimination, where the needs and concerns of women, men, girls, and boys are mainstreamed equitably into all sectors of national development.”
The Director of Gender Affairs Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Friya Kimde Bulus, said that the NGP is informed by “the guiding principles of social justice; human rights, equality and equity; good governance, accountability, transparency, and participation.”
Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, a lawyer and founder of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center, said that the NGP aims to promote gender equality in various areas of national development, including political equality, education, health, economy, and culture. Akiyode-Afolabi added: “The policy seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and to ensure that women have equal access to opportunities and resources. It seeks to promote the participation of women in decision-making processes and to remove all forms of gender bias in policy planning and implementation.”
According to her, gender inequality in Nigerian politics has shown women in Nigeria face numerous barriers to participation in politics, including limited access to opportunities, lack of support, and societal norms that discourage their involvement. Women, said Akiyode-Afolabi, are underrepresented in politics, with only 21 out of 469 members of the current National Assembly being women. She added: “Women make up about 49 percent of Nigeria’s population and their representation in government is a far cry from what’s been envisioned in the NGP.”
Akiyode-Afolabi also maintained that women face numerous barriers to accessing quality healthcare services, recollecting that the World Bank had stated that gender equality in Nigeria was reported at 0.33333 percent in 2020, indicating a significant gap in access to healthcare services between men and women. She said: “The Policy also seeks to eliminate gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted widespread gender inequality in Nigeria across areas of economic opportunities, emphasising that these inequalities have led to substantial macroeconomic losses in terms of growth, income equality, and economic diversification. The IMF also noted that Nigeria’s real GDP per capita growth could be higher by 1¼ percentage points annually if gender inequality was reduced significantly.”
The Policy recognises the need to address challenges in education, equalising legal rights, jettisoning widowhood harmful practices, Female Genital Mutilation, and land and property ownership, which are some of the cultural inequalities against Nigerian women, stated Akiyode-Afolabi.
Aside from access to quality healthcare at the subnational level, Nigerian women face other inequality challenges. A public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls shows women are faced with a lack of financial empowerment, poverty, access to quality education, gender inequality, domestic violence, sexual abuse, cultural discrimination, and gender discrimination, harmful practices and forced marriages to mention but a few. Again, NOIPolls stated that women are important contributors to development in different countries, yet they continue to be excluded and given low participation in politics and decision-making roles despite constituting 49 per cent of the total population.
The disregard for this Policy by the Federal Government of Nigeria and political leaders continues to cause equalities at the sub-national levels, with the exclusion of women from decision and policy-making processes.
The group Political Editor of New Telegraph Newspaper, Felix Nwaneri, argued that if the NGP is fully implemented, it will cause more women to be in powerful positions and ensure they fashion out solutions to the sufferings of women and children at the grassroots. Nwaneri’s words: “If we have women in Executive and Legislative positions, they will naturally be duty-bound to fight causes and issues that affect them as women. In state assemblies where we have majority men, those men are only going to bother themselves with issues that concern men.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Brenda Anugwom, said that politicians in Nigeria have clearly shown that their primary allegiance is to their political parties and not the Nigerian citizens that elected them. Anugwom maintained: “It is not a surprise that federal and state governments are not appointing more women to ensure that the 35 percent affirmative action as provided in the NGP 2006 is met. The truth is that having more women in decision-making positions would improve Inclusivity and edge the country towards equitable representation. This would in effect reduce inequalities in the long run.”
Oloyede Oluyemi of the National Bureau of Statistics presenting a paper on monitoring the participation of women in politics in Nigeria, said that the return of democracy in 1999, witnessed that the Senate has been dominated by males. Oluyemi said that in 1999 there were only three women out of the 109 members representing 2.8 percent of the members of the Senate. In 2007, the number increased to eight (7.3 per cent). However, there was a decrease from eight women members in 2007 to seven in 2011, which is 6.4 per cent and 8 in 2015.
Similarly, in 1999, she said the number of women in the “House of Representatives was 12 out of 360 members which was about 3.3 per cent but increased to 21, 5.8 percent in 2003. It was 26, 7.2 per cent in 2011, and in 2015 the number of women in the House of Representatives decreased to 19, 5.3 percent out of 360 members.”
Akiyode-Afolabi opined that political leaders in Nigeria, including those at the subnational levels contravene the NGP through their actions, inactions and policies. She noted that governors have been criticised for using their influence to cause a high turnover of members in the National Assembly, which undermines the democratic process and is unfavourable to women. She added: “Nigerian lawmakers and executive council have over the years shown their lack of commitment to gender equality in politics. In March 2022, five gender bills presented to the National Assembly were thrown out. These violations undermine the goal of promoting gender equality in various areas of national development, including political equality, education, health, economy, and culture. The display of indifference about women’s rights on the national level undermines the voices of grassroots women where cultural inhibitions are even stronger. It is crucial to hold these actors accountable for their actions and to promote a gender-sensitive and gender-responsive culture in policy planning and national development. This will entrench, by law and action, the protection of women’s rights economically, culturally, politically, and across all spheres.
Ibasa community yearns for school, health centre
Ibasa is another community in Oriade LCDA, where residents struggle to go about their daily activities without a health centre or a secondary school. Parents usually watch with hearts filled with trepidation as their secondary schoolchildren risk their lives by braving lagoon currents every day to acquire education.
Chinyere Nnochiri said that residents of Ibasa, including children, had no choice but to go through the water route. This situation, she observed, has led to the loss of lives many times. Ibasa is said to be one of the largest communities in Oriade LCDA and has several towns/villagers under it.
Nnochiri said that most pregnant women, as in the case of the Ikaare community, resort to patronising local caregivers during medical emergencies. She added: “When a child suddenly starts running temperature, the ideal thing would be to rush him to the Health Centre, but there’s no health Centre. If you must seek professional health care, you must cross the lagoon. Now, try to imagine what can happen if a woman falls into labour at midnight.”
She opined that the situation was part of the reason for maternal-infant mortality and other complications. She recalled a neighbour who was pregnant with twins; during labour, one of the twins came out a stillbirth, but the other did not. “She had to be rushed to the jetty, a boat rider was called and then she was taken to the hospital, but she died on the way,” said Nnochiri She said the community had land for a secondary school and health Centre but is praying for the government to come and do the needful.
Ondo communities lament absence of school, water, clinic
In the Akure South LGA in Ondo State, several communities lack signs of governance. Aba-Okuta, Abasoosi, Fakile/Ologunmeta, Jerusalem and Ayetoro communities are all located in Ward 9, Akure South LGA, but none of them, with over 5,000 population, has a health centre, a primary school, a source of potable water or a motorable road. The closest government primary school to Aba-Okuta is the Local Authority Primary School Oke-Obere, which takes about two hours to reach from the nearest of these communities, which is Aba Soosi.
Ezekiel Oladele, 35, popularly known as Omo Alase, who was born and raised in Aba Okuta, described the pains of the residents. Oladele recalled that growing up in Aba Soosi was “a big challenge which has affected many people’s education.” He said that the only school that was available and which is still available for the communities is LA Primary School in Oke-Obere, which is quite a distance away. He said that due to the distance, he and his mates attended school only twice a week. Oladele told this reporter that he had to relocate from the community just to pursue his secondary school education, with the closest being Alakunre Comprehensive High School, which is still farther than LA Primary School.
Ifeoluwa Oni, an SS1 student of Alakunre Comprehensive High School, said it takes him precisely two hours to get to school every day, adding: “Some of my mates come from communities farther like Aba Soosi, Fakile and others.”
As in many grassroots communities in South West Nigeria, Oladele described how infants die due to a lack of health facilities and poor water. He said: “Babies continue to die due to the absence of a primary health facility. Many of them need basic healthcare attention at birth but were delivered at the homes of traditional health attendants who don’t have the required knowledge.”
He recounted how his younger brother narrowly escaped death after being bitten by a snake due to a lack of clinic. He said they had to place him on a bicycle and ride miles for him to receive treatment. This was also as he remembered his friend, who died due to loss of blood after he sustained a machete cut.
The Chairman of the Residents Association of Ayetoro Community, Oluwafemi Oni, described pregnancy as risky in the area. “Getting pregnant women during the crisis to the nearest hospital at Obere is tough. Vehicles will break down on the way and this is why we want the government to come to our aid concerning the provision of schools and hospitals,” said Oni. “We’re fed up with our children getting to school at 9:30 am. We don’t even have a source of clean water!”
Residents of the area told this reporter that politicians from different political parties usually come to the communities for the campaign, with life-changing promises, but disappear as soon as the election is over. The situation has been on for decades, they said. Oni added: “The LA Primary School Oke-Obere was founded in 1956 and our children had to still trek miles to school the same way our grandfathers trekked almost 70 years ago.”
Ayodeji Ologunmeta, who served as a councillor representing Ward 9, where the communities are located, described the situation as unfortunate. Ologunmeta said some of his family members could not get an education due to the distance of the schools.
Faith Sunday, 23, said: “Most of the women in these communities do not have any form of employment beyond following their husbands to their farms and petty trading in perishable farm produce. Their situation is worse now because most of the farmlands they used to farm on are being sold by landowners leaving their husbands without jobs and the women without hope.”
They opined that economic empowerment for women in these communities, even those who desperately want to support their husbands, is a challenge. “These women survive on the little they can get from selling farm produce. I have seen many die of simple ailments due to lack of basic health centres and absence of funds to treat them,” Sunday said.
Another resident, Titilayo Peter, noted: “We trekked to school and many girls could not complete primary school. My parents had to rent a house for me in Akure town for me and my brother. That was the simple reason I was able to attend and complete my primary school. Many of my mates dropped out and never had a chance to go back to school. It’s still the same today.”
This reporter engaged many of the residents. Only about one out of five could read in any language. Most of these communities still drink from streams.
Ologunmeta narrated efforts made to establish a school in the community, but the effort suffered setback due to lack of funds and the land they had in mind was under litigation. He said: “We can’t continue to produce children without access to education in that axis, in the state capital, Akure South, it’s a serious matter. We expect that we will have at least a primary school in that area.”
According to the United Nations Educational Scientific And Cultural Organization, a child is not expected to walk more than half a kilometre before getting to an elementary school.
Insecurity in Ibadan as miscreants take over primary school
IMG Government Primary School, Mokola, Ibadan in Oyo State has become home for miscreants, therefore endangering the lives of pupils and putting pupils learning in a hostile environment. The National Dropout Prevention Centre (SPN) states that many students miss school because they fear physical harm. SPN also stressed that students cannot learn in an unsafe environment. It said: “A welcoming environment is particularly important for those students who are struggling in school and need extra support. Students drop out of school for many reasons, but violence and conflict are contributing factors to placing students at risk.”
A former student of the school, Bolanle Williams, said that the school used to be the best in Oyo State, with people lobbying for their children and wards to be accepted into the school in the early 70s and 80s before its present reality today. The school has been taken over by touts, homeless folks and miscreants.
Williams said that it was when she and old students came to mark the 48th anniversary of the school that they discovered the frightening insecurity and dangers to the pupils. She added: “The students and teachers said that sometimes they’d come to school and find miscreants in the classroom, some would be drunk or high on substances. There was a day when students came to school and discovered a drunk miscreant sleeping on the ceiling. He would later fall from the ceiling; he fell when students were around and a gun fell with him. The teachers and students started running. Everyone had to leave the school. I was told that there was a time when some parents built a well for the school, and put an overhead tank. They fixed the gate, but before teachers and students came the next morning, someone or some persons had come to remove the overhead tank and the pumping machine inside the well.”
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Williams said that some concerned parents via radio programmes had repeatedly called on the government to see about maintaining the public school which is under Ibadan North-West Local Government. According to her, teachers dared not speak on the insecurity in the school or it would cost them their job or be attacked by the miscreants who see the school premises as their home.
Williams said the safety of the teachers and students has become paramount, stressing that every day at the school was a risk to the pupils, teachers and residents of nearby neighbouring communities. She however urged the government to find a lasting solution to the insecurity. She also suggested that the array of land unused on the school premises could be used as a local vigilante base for Ibadan North-West. “I believe that public schools can still thrive in this era if all amenities are put in place. All the school needs are for security measures to be put in place. I started this school in 1976 and graduated in 1982.”
Crossing treacherous lagoons, trekking long distances and learning in hostile environments no doubt affect the deliverables of Sustainable Development Goals (4), which is quality education According to Sustainable Development Goals, “Education helps reduce inequalities and reach gender equality.”
According to UNESCO, Nigeria has about 20 million out-of-school children, and the situation continues to worsen no thanks to the worsening insecurity in Nigeria.
Rise Programme said that children who are out of school are common in rural, isolated or deprived areas in general. The group also states that early child marriages, economic barriers, conflict, socio-cultural norms, and lack of inclusive Policies and practices in schools contribute to out-of-school children.
The Chief of the UNICEF Field Office, Kano State, Rahama Farah, said in 2022 Nigeria had a record of 18.5 million out-of-school children, out of which 10 million are girls.
Statista maintained that as of 2018, the Literacy rate among men living in rural areas of Nigeria reached roughly 60 per cent, whereas the female literacy rate in the same areas was 35 per cent.
The Federal Ministry of Education states that adult basic literacy in “female enrolment rate in 2016 was 48.49 per cent, it decreased to 45.57 per cent in 2017, increased to 50.48 per cent in 2018 and decreased slightly to 49.19 per cent in 2019.”
The factsheet on Women’s Economic Participation in Nigeria, states that lack of government commitment and poor funding hurts the education of the girl-child. It further states: “The latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (2021)5 shows that female enrolment in adult/basic literacy education in 2016 was 48.49 per cent, it decreased to 45.57 per cent in 2017, increased to 50.48 per cent in 2018 and decreased slightly to 49.19 per cent in 2019.” It also noted: “The number of girls who completed their primary education is about 66% compared to more than 80% for boys. In terms of the out-of-school rate, 32% of girls are not enrolled in school which is higher than 28% for boys.”
A report by Dataphyte, Gender in Nigeria 2020: An Advocacy Brochure, states that 35 percent of women aged 15 to 49 have no form of education, as against 22 percent of the men. Again, most employed women earn less than their husbands do. It said: “Within the age category of 15-48, 65% of women have jobs as against 86% of men.”
* This report was facilitated by the Africa Centre for Development Journalism as part of its 2023 Inequalities Reporting Fellowship supported by the MacArthur Foundation through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.