The Race Called Woman

[Clifford Black]

The problems of oppression, exploitation, discrimination and subjugation of women are neither new phenomena nor peculiar to Nigeria alone but the word at large. Millions of women across the globe live under the condition of abject deprivation and attack against their natural and fundamental human rights. It appears that majority of womenfolk suffer discrimination, exploitation or oppression because they are women and, therefore, regarded as members of a "subordinate" class. In the recent past, women's right has been a great concern all over the world (Nigeria inclusive). This therefore, calls for the need to examine the historical background of women's rights in Nigeria with view to determining their status and rights available to them before Independence.