As the world commemorates the International Day for Rural Women today, ENE OSANG writes on the challenges confronting rural women in Nigeria and how government programmes set up to better their lives have affected them
The International Day for Rural Women is a day set aside by the United Nations Organisation to recognise the contributions of rural women to the society. With this years theme, “Empowering the Potentials of the Girl Child,” research shows that about 500 million women live below the poverty line in rural areas. In Africa, rural women play a major role in ensuring food security, development and stability of the rural areas.
Yet, with little or no status they lack the power to secure land rights, or to access vital services such as credit, inputs, education, amongst others. Their vital contributions have constantly remained unnoticed.
Programmes like Better Life for Rural Women (BLFRW) by late Maryam Babangida benefitted grassroot women in the past, today many of such programmes including YouWin, SURE-P but the questions is if such programmes has benefitted the rural women.
The Nigerian rural woman
“I don’t know any programmes by government that benefit we the rural women. I would have gone to ask for help because I lack many things. I am a widow, and I farm but since my husband’s death his family owns the land and I don’t have my own land so I am just managing whatever I can cultivate to cater for my children. I also do sell plantain in the evenings at the roadside to those returning from work but task force chase us a lot. When you are caught you will still have to use the little money you sell to bail yourself from them.”
The above were words from Ajara Usman, a Gbagyi woman from Abuja who is a widow and mother of four children, lamenting her plight as a rural woman.
According to her, she does not understand how government intervention programmes like the Youwin and SURE-P operates. “The one I know is that on the International widows day some people call us and trained us on skills. Later they gave us N5, 000 each but the money cannot set up a business so I just go to collect the money. That is the time I know I receive help.”
Narrating her own story, Mrs. Margaret Effa, a mother and petty trader residing in Kabusa, a remote village in Abuja, lamented the lack of job and basic amenities to improve the lives of rural women in the country.
“I heard government have programmes for rural women but I have never experienced any, but the President and his wife try as much to help us but those mediating between rural women and government don’t allow the rural women receive such assistance.”
Effa said electricity, water, roads, amongst other basic amenities are lacking in the rural areas, saying rural women now participate actively in politics to elect good representatives that can change things for the better.
“Like now NEPA light some will get light some will not get especially in Mararaba Nyanya, as for road only the express is good inside the villages don’t have roads at all. Now, I live in Kabusa and I have friends living in Zaman Kasa and light comes whenever NEPA wants to receive their bill and after a week they will take it back.
“We do get water from the stream and well we dug because there is nothing like tap water if government can assist us rural women especially those of us who are widows financially to set up business then we would be happy because the programmes like Youwin I have been hearing about it but I have not benefitted from it. I learnt harts and bead making but no money to buy materials to start the business,” she lamented.
Also, Grace Tartuu, a roasted yam and plantain seller who also mobilises women for rallies decried the barriers between government and the rural women.
She said: “Government is willing to help rural women but the government aids cannot let the help reach us. If government and help us with borehole and even tap water we will be happy. We don’t have good roads and we buy water every day though light has improved a little in my area but we need financial assistance from government and that is why I am involved in political campaigns or rallies.
“I mobilise women for events and rallies but most times we don’t even get anything and the women I mobilise for our leaders always accuse me of collecting their money and ate alone which is not so. Government should assist us because we suffer a lot .”
Nigerian Laws and the rural woman
The Chairperson, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Helen Esuene, regrets the condition of rural women in Nigeria, saying a lot more needed to be done for their lives to improve.
She said: “Let’s take politics for instance. There are so many women at the grassroots who qualify to occupy one position or the other in the party but they don’t get it for no just no reason.
“At that level it is not a question of money, there are qualified women but when it is time of giving positions they will give women the woman leader position which is naturally a position a woman should occupy yet the primaries is at the corner.
“Let me also commend the rural women for they have held the family together they are the back bone of their families because they trade, do the farming and take care of their children and husbands and I commend them for that. I want to tell them that they should not give up hope because invariably things would get better.”
What the experts say
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Equity Advocates, Ms. Ene Ede, the distant African countries have better laws that protect rural women in terms of their welfare, concerns and how their issues are been addressed squarely, while in other parts of Africa, issues are not mainstreamed into the issues of women which case is worst in Nigeria.
Ede lamented that rural women have not been captured into national discourse appropriately, quoting Aisha Ismail the former minister of women affairs and social development, she described the rural women as “one who” holds the doorway to development’.
According to her, “When rural women concerns are addressed you would have addressed the concerns of the Nigerian women.
“I feel sad that rural women are been used or abused and we don’t bother much about all that is happening to them rather, we take their portion, use them and pretend we are representing them which is not true, and this is because there is no accountability.
“Maryam Babangida started the Better Life for Rural Women (BLFRW) and extended it to all Africa countries just like Nana Rawlings did. Our First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, is committed to addressing the plight of rural women but there are people who don’t allow her interventions reach rural women, because they benefit from the crises within the women sector. A lot of them are gender machineries and entrepreneurs and they don’t want us to get the solution to gaps in gender.”
Solving the problems
Senator Esuene believes that the democratic process must be allowed to grow to enable rural feel the positive impact of government.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ede harped the need to map out emergency strategies on the plight of the rural women, saying communicating one on one with them will go a long way to knowing their real conditions hence, measures can be taken to assist them.
“Go hear from them and you will see how intelligent they are. People don’t know the first lady well enough she has been relating with rural women like women in the creeks and mountainous areas but unfortunately they are not always around when programmes are organised to discuss the concerns of women. The first lady is concerned but people around her won’t let her support reach the rural woman.
“Let the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary focus on the rural woman for only three days and they will discover a lot. Government is trying g its best but the challenge is huge and we must blame the civil society because they have the responsibility to hold government to account.”
The President, Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA) in Nigeria, Barrister Hauwa Shekarau, however said lives of rural women has improved since their interest and participation in politics.
“When I go to my village I see women in their own ways trying to organise but most times the policies of the parties don’t give them opportunity to actively participate in politics.
“The rural women haven’t done badly especially in matters that affect them, they are good at organising and coming come together to push their objectives forward but then, we need to also get empowered women who can work together with the rural women to enable them stand and make meaningful contributions to national development. What matters to the rural woman is not necessarily to be in decision making but to have what it takes to be economically empowered to take care of her family and make her contribution to her society.
“What we want is a situation where every woman irrespective of her status as rural or urban or even a housewife, all we want is for their needs to be well taken care of and addressed.”
Former President, National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), Hajiya Ramatu Usman, maintained that rural women are well entrench in the polity. She siad whenever you see women dignitaries occupying positions, the rural woman is carried along because leaders only represent the generality of women.
“Today, some of them have gotten national awards, more so whenever women programmes is held majority of those who participate are from the grassroots,” she said.
