Submit your papersSubmit Now
For Enquiries: [email protected]
IIARD LogoIIARD

Intersectionality and the Lived Realities of Nigerian Women: A Postcolonial Feminist Analysis

Ginika Vitalis Nwankwo, Boyede Banke Motunrayo

Abstract

This paper interrogates the lived experiences of Nigerian women in a society marked by intersecting systems of oppression. Drawing from Black feminist thought, especially the works of bell hooks, and grounded in qualitative content analysis, it explores how poverty, region, culture, and religion shape women’s lives and reproduce structural inequalities. Using interviews from the University of Michigan’s Global Feminisms Project, the study highlights how Nigerian women resist and reimagine their realities in the face of practices such as child marriage, widowhood rites, and female genital cutting. The findings reveal that women’s strategies of resistance are often rooted in their cultural and religious contexts, and that intersectional oppressions are most acute in rural and economically marginalized regions. The study further reveals how feminist engagement must navigate the dual challenge of resisting patriarchy while respecting cultural frameworks. As a Black African feminist, we propose that effective feminist interventions in Nigeria must be community-based, context-sensitive, and open to negotiation rather than confrontation. This research contributes to ongoing conversations about feminist solidarity, gender justice, and the philosophical implications of intersectionality in African contexts.

Keywords

IntersectionalityAfrican FeminismGender and CultureBlack Feminist Thought

References

Adebowale, S. A., Yusuf, B. O., & Fagbamigbe, F. A. (2010). Differential effect of wealth quintile on modern contraceptive use and fertility: Evidence from Malawian women. BMC Women’s Health, 10, 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-10-23 Aidoo, A. A. (1998). The African woman today. In O. Nnaemeka (Ed.), Sisterhood, feminism and power: From Africa to the diaspora (pp. 39–50). Africa World Press. Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). Routledge. Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167. Daru, P. H., Garba, I. D., Shehu, D., & Jatau, E. D. (2011). Epidemiology of vesico-vaginal fistula at the National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Katsina, Northwest Nigeria. Tropical Doctor, 41(1), 18–23. https://doi.org/10.1258/td.2010.100286 Dosekun, S. (2007). Defending feminism in Africa. Postamble, 3(1), 41–48. Effah-Chukwuma, J. (n.d.). [Interview]. Global Feminisms Project. University of Michigan. https://globalfeminisms.umich.edu Ezeilo, J. N. (n.d.). [Interview]. Global Feminisms Project. University of Michigan. https://globalfeminisms.umich.edu Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fomwan.org/ Gatwiri, G. (2016). African womanhood and identity: Re-imagining women’s narratives of trauma and loss. African Identities, 14(4), 400–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2016.1191419 Hooks, b. (2000). Feminist theory: From margin to center (2nd ed.). South End Press. Hudson-Weems, C. (1993). Africana womanism: Reclaiming ourselves. Bedford Publishers. Ijaiya, M. A., Aboyeji, A. P., & Ijaiya, A. M. (2010). Sociocultural factors associated with Vesicovaginal fistula in Nigeria. Tropical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 27(2), 43–47. Kazeem, Y. (2018, June 25). Nigeria overtakes India in extreme poverty ranking. Quartz Africa. https://qz.com/africa/1313380 Mandara, M. (n.d.). [Interview]. Global Feminisms Project. University of Michigan. https://globalfeminisms.umich.edu McClintock, A. (1995). Imperial leather: Race, gender and sexuality in the colonial context. Routledge. Mekgwe, P. (2008). Theorizing African feminisms: The ‘colonial’ question. Merkur: Journal for Women’s Studies, 1(1), 4–24. Naidu, S. (2013). Reproductive rights and the politics of sexual pleasure in South Africa. African Human Rights Law Journal, 13(1), 147–162. Nnaemeka, O. (2004). Nego-feminism: Theorizing, practicing, and pruning Africa’s way. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 29(2), 357–385. https://doi.org/10.1086/378553 Ogundipe-Leslie, M. (1994). Re-creating ourselves: African women and critical transformations. Africa World Press. Olugboji, O. (2016, August 23). Women dying for cooking. WISE Nigeria Blog. https://www.wisenigeria.org/blog/women-dying-for-cooking Oy?wùmí, O. (2005). African women and feminism: Reflecting on the politics of sisterhood. In O. Oy?wùmí (Ed.), African gender studies: A reader (pp. 1–23). Palgrave Macmillan. Sadiqi, F. (2003). Women, gender and language in Morocco. Brill. The Holy Bible. (1987). King James Version. Thomas Nelson. (Original work published 1611) The Qur’an. (2004). The Holy Qur’an: Text, translation and commentary (A. Yusuf Ali, Trans.). Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an. (Original work published ca. 7th century) Ujam, P. (2019). The burden of child brides in Nigeria. The Guardian Nigeria. https://guardian.ng UNDP. (1998). Human development report 1998: Consumption for human development. United Nations Development Programme. https://hdr.undp.org U.S. Embassy in Nigeria. (2012). Diversity in Nigeria. https://nigeria.usembassy.gov Walker, A. (1983). In search of our mothers’ gardens: Womanist prose. Harcourt. World Bank. (2018). Nigeria’s poverty and inequality brief. https://worldbank.org World Bank. (2019). Nigeria rural population data. https://data.worldbank.org World Health Organization. (2014). Household air pollution and health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health

More Articles from JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL POLICY