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A review by blessing_aj
Women and Leadership in Igboland: Omoku, Ime Chi and Omugwo Institutions by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo
informative
fast-paced
3.0
In this very short book, Akachi Ezigbo attempts to contradict Basden G.T.’s claim that the condition of Igbo women - in the early twentieth century when he lived amongst the Igbos - was pitiable and totally subjugated. She argues that Igbo women enjoyed a measure of independence the management of their affairs and in empowering themselves economically. Citing the Umuada and Alutaradi groups as evidence of socio-political organizations controlled by women as well as the in-house autonomy expressed through the Omoku, Ime Chi and Omugwo Institutions. However, this monograph is only concerned with the latter.
This was an informative read. Moreso when one considers that the Ime Chi and Omoku rituals are no longer being practiced and were only ever practiced in specific parts of Igboland.
As far as the argument goes however, I’d argue that the nature of these practices does not inherently prove that women could be said to be independent in their exercise of power. Men are and have always been known to defer to women in domestic affairs and other spheres of the society that they have no interest in dominating. If anything, some of these practices have been seized as opportunities to uphold the structures of patriarchy, as seen in certain cases where older women condition younger women to remain docile in their marriages in other to keep the peace. The argument also doesn’t taken into account the position of childless or unmarried women, in these practices.
In summary, a subject as deep as female leadership in Igbo land needs to be as broad as possible in the scope of its research and documentation. This book did not do justice but it started something that I hope feminist scholars of this generation and the next can build on
This was an informative read. Moreso when one considers that the Ime Chi and Omoku rituals are no longer being practiced and were only ever practiced in specific parts of Igboland.
As far as the argument goes however, I’d argue that the nature of these practices does not inherently prove that women could be said to be independent in their exercise of power. Men are and have always been known to defer to women in domestic affairs and other spheres of the society that they have no interest in dominating. If anything, some of these practices have been seized as opportunities to uphold the structures of patriarchy, as seen in certain cases where older women condition younger women to remain docile in their marriages in other to keep the peace. The argument also doesn’t taken into account the position of childless or unmarried women, in these practices.
In summary, a subject as deep as female leadership in Igbo land needs to be as broad as possible in the scope of its research and documentation. This book did not do justice but it started something that I hope feminist scholars of this generation and the next can build on