HOW NIGERIAN CULTURE ENABLES GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Gender-based Violence (GBV) is a form of physical, emotional, verbal or psychological abuse rationalized towards a particular gender particularly women. In Nigeria, GBV is a severe social epidemic as we live in a very cultural society, a society where culture is highly respected and held in high esteem. Our culture passes certain messages across which can be seen as "unfavorable" to women. For example, a Nigerian wife is expected to show the utmost respect for her husband; he is seen as her head. In a situation where a husband has verbally abused his wife, she is expected to take it in and not to speak back at him as this is a sign of disrespect. This can only fuel gender-based violence against women even more.

 

 

A culture which teaches women not to wear short and/or ‘body-hugging’ dresses which reveal their curves so as not to get raped but does not teach the boys not to rape in the same strength as they teach the girls against immoral dressings. In a situation where a rapist has raped a girl, she is most likely to be blamed more than the perpetrator would be punished. A culture which teaches girls to keep themselves, and offer their virginity as a prize to their husbands but it does not teach boys the importance of abstinence as well. This sort of cultural indictment would mentally and psychologically h girls and boost the ego of harm girls. They are told that the most important thing about them is their virginity and if they lose it, they become damaged– that their value as a human would decrease. This enables gender-based violence in the community as men would feel superior to women. They would feel like they have some rights of ownership to “their” women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Nigerian culture, when a man hits a woman, she is expected to endure the pain as these are the sorts of cultural elements instilled in her. The same cultural element does not teach men to exercise self-control, tolerance, and respect. Furthermore, in certain parts of Nigeria, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is practiced. An open violation of female human rights which involves inflicting physical harm on a young girl child to “protect her virginity” or to “preserve her for marriage”. The act and motif of this culture are absolutely wrong and unjust to the girl child. They are physically assaulting the girl child to emphasize the importance of preserving herself for marriage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nigerian culture emphasizes the importance of the girl child growing up to be the caretaker of her home, she is taught to 'mother' before she even grows old enough to become a mother. She is being groomed to become a wife before she is a woman of her own self, so she is not expected to desire too much for herself. Our culture manipulates women by telling them that they have nurturing elements in them, but simply teach men to “be men". “BOYS WOULD BE BOYS”. Our culture does not out the same energy in raising men to support women and to be carers of their homes as well. After all, it takes the two to create their homes.

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