Protection and Promotion of Women’s Rights in Nigeria: Co - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Protection and Promotion of Women’s Rights in Nigeria: Constraints and Prospects

Eghosa O.

Ekhator

PhD

FRED PUBLIC LECTURE 16/05/2017Slide2

Introduction

Women in Nigeria face many challenges and discriminatory practices under some extant laws. This presentation focuses on some of these laws and their impacts on women in Nigeria.

This presentation also focuses on reforms on women's rights in Nigeria. These reforms include

judicial

activism, appointment

of female judges to the Supreme Court

and

the recent enactment of laws such as the Protection Against Domestic Violence (Lagos State)

2007, Violence

Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015

and Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill amongst others.Slide3

Background

The Nigerian society is inherently patriarchal. This is due to the influence of the various religions and customs in many parts of Nigeria. Women are seen as the ‘weaker sex’ and discriminatory practices by the state and society (especially by men) are condoned.Thus ‘the

traditions and culture of every society determine the values and behavioural patterns of the people and society ... a culture that attributes superiority to one sex’. (Joy Ngwankwe

2002, 143

)

Nigeria is a federal state with a population of about 150 million. Women make up more than half of the population. Nigeria’s legal system is pluralist. It is made of up of English common law, customary law, Islamic (Sharia) law and statutory law. Customary law is prevalent in the southern part whilst Islamic law is widely made recourse to in many of the states in the northern partSlide4

Outline of Presentation

Laws discriminating against women in Nigeria.

Customary practices discriminating against women in Nigeria.

Judicial Activism.

Impact of International Law on the protection of women in Nigeria.

A

ppointment

of female judges to the Supreme

Court.

Analysis

of

recent laws

such as the Protection Against Domestic Violence (Lagos State) 2007, Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and Gender and Equal

Opportunities Bill and the Labour Amendment Bill.

Conclusion.Slide5

Laws Discriminating against Women in Nigeria

Section 55 of the Labour Act which bars women from being employed in night work. Except as nurses.

Section 360 of the Criminal Code Act which makes the indecent assault of a women a misdemeanour punishable with a two year prison term, as opposed to three years prison term imposed for indecently assaulting a man, which is a felony in section 353.

By virtue of Section 127 of the Police Act, married women are prevented from seeking enlistment in the Nigerian Police Force. Under section 127, when an unmarried police woman is pregnant, she would be discharged from the police force. She can only be re-instated on the approval of the I

nspector

G

eneral

of

policeSlide6

Under Section 55 of the Penal Code, husbands are permitted to chastise their wives. Here, under Subsection 10, “nothing is an offence which does not amount to the infliction of grievous harm upon a person and which is done by a husband for the purpose of correcting his wife...” Thus, under the Penal Code, a husband can beat his wife insofar it does not lead to serious injuries or grievous harm. In essence, the Penal Code condones domestic violence against

women.

(Ekhator 2015)

By virtue of Section 127 of the Police Act, married women are prevented from seeking enlistment in the Nigerian Police Force. Under section 127, when an unmarried police woman is pregnant, she would be discharged from the police force. She can only be re-instated on the approval of the

Inspector

G

eneral

of

Police.

Marital rape is not a crime in

Nigeria

(arguably, this is no longer the case by virtue of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015)Slide7

Customary Practices/Law Discriminating against Women in Nigeria

‘Discrimination against women occurring in inheritance and property-related rights is seen by many as a cultural value which ought to be protected from Western civilization. But the women who bear the brunt of this culture are restive and some are bold enough to confront it’.

‘Initially, the courts responded with the repugnancy doctrine, according to which customary law needed to pass a general test of validity as being not repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience or incompatible either directly or by implication with any law for the time being in force’. (

Chinwuba

2015, page 342

)

‘Customary practices in many Nigerian communities discriminate against women on the ground of their gender. The unequal treatment suffered by women is particularly pronounced in matters relating to property rights like the administration, management or succession to real estates upon intestacy. Under customary law, the pattern of succession along lineal or patriarchal lines ensure the continuous denial of succession rights in real property to women at all levels, either as wives or daughters, on account of their sex’. (

Ukhuegebe

and

Ewere

)Slide8

In

Eshugbayi

Eleko v. The Government of Nigeria, customary law was referred to as ‘unwritten

customs and traditions, which have been accepted as obligatory by members of a

community’.

Customary laws of several communities impose conditions that make women access to land only through male relations. More often, women are regarded as property and therefore cannot own property

themselves.

(

Olubor

2009

)Slide9

‘Marriages are usually contracted under the Marriage Act, Islamic law or customary law. Consequently, women’s marital property rights are regulated by the regime governing their marriage. Women married under the Act have their property rights protected by the Act thereby making them entitled to a share in the matrimonial property, including the husbands property, and the jointly owned and acquired property.

Under

customary law, women do not have corresponding protection. Their property rights therefore stem from traditional norms which do not entertain the share of marital property. They are more often entitled to kitchen utensils and whatever their husbands may give to them as gifts made inter vivos’. (Olubor

2019,

page 15-16)Slide10

In some customs in Nigeria, a woman is not allowed to inherit her husband’s estate, instead she may be inherited along with the estate of her husband by another male in the

family. (Oyelade 2006

)Other customs in Nigeria give preference to the male child against the female in matters of inheritance. (Oyelade

2006

)

‘In

some communities, where there is no surviving male child, the closest male relative of the deceased inherits his property, rather than his daughters. This is, however, not so everywhere: in Yoruba customary law as well as Islamic law, for example, daughters can

inherit’. (

Ukhuegbe

and

Ewere

)Slide11

In other

communities, daughters inherit land only where there are no surviving brothers.

While in other communities where a man has no son, his daughters are prevented from getting married and are instead required to remain in the father’s house to procreate in order to perpetuate the linear bloodline. (Ukhuegbe and Ewere

)

However, recently there have been judicial interventions upturning many of these customary practices.Slide12

Examples of Laws Discriminating against women in other areas

Section 26 of the Nigerian constitution provides that the president may confer Nigerian citizenship on “any woman who is or who has been married to a citizen of Nigeria”. Under

this provision, the president is not empowered to confer Nigerian citizenship on “any man who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria” (Falana, 2013). Thus, women cannot transfer their Nigerian citizenship to their spouses (Imasogie, 2010

).

By virtue of Section 18 of the Marriage Act the written consent of the father of either party to an intended marriage is required if he or she is under 21 years of age. It is only if the father is dead or of unsound mind or absent from Nigeria that the written consent of the mother may be required. Slide13

Discrimination against Women and the Constitution of Nigeria

Section 34 (1)(a) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that provides that every person has a right to dignity of person and as such shall not be subject to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. Thus, many of the discriminatory practices against women in Nigeria run foul of this constitutional stipulation.

Also, section 42 of the Constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions.Section 17 (1) states that ‘The State social order is founded on ideals of Freedom, Equality and Justice. (2) In furtherance of the social order – (a) every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law . . .’Slide14

Judicial Interventions

‘Initially, the courts responded with the repugnancy doctrine. In a bold approach, the Nigerian Supreme Court has taken a refreshing position in two decisions in 2014. These cases have demonstrated the resolve of the judiciary for zero tolerance for discrimination against women particularly as far as property rights are

concerned’. (Chinwuba 2015, 341)Due to the advent and deepening of democracy in Nigeria (after many years of military rule), courts are becoming increasingly activist by pronouncing on the legality of some discriminatory laws against

women. Courts

have relied on the provisions of the African

Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

and the Nigerian Constitution to nullify offending

provisionsSlide15

Recently, the Nigerian Supreme Court has been at the forefront of holding that discriminatory practices and laws against women are illegal and unconstitutional. In

Mrs Lois Chituru Ukeje

& Anor v Mrs Gladys Ada Ukeje, the court analysed the constitutionality of an Igbo custom which deprived women from inheriting their parents’ property. In a lead judgment by Justice Rhodes-

Vivour

(which the other Justices also agreed with), the Supreme Court held thus: Slide16

“No

matter the circumstances of the birth of a female child, such a child is entitled to an inheritance from her late father’s estate. Consequently, the Igbo customary law which disentitles a female child from partaking, in the sharing of her deceased father’s estate is in breach of section 42(1) and (2) of the Constitution, a fundamental rights provision guaranteed to every Nigerian. The said discriminatory customary law is void as it conflicts with section 42(1) and (2) of the

Constitution”. (Ekhator 2015) A similar decision was reached by the Supreme Court in Onyibor Anekwe & Anor v Mrs Maria

Nweke

.Slide17

In

Onyibor Anekwe & Anor v Mrs Maria Nweke

, the court struck down the custom on ground that it is “repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience”. It concerned a purported disinheritance of a widow for not having a male child. Here the court held per Justice Ogunbiyi thus: ‘I hasten to add at this point that the custom and practices of

Awka

people upon which the appellants have relied for their counter claim is hereby outrightly condemned in very strong terms…It is punitive, uncivilised and only intended to protect the selfish perpetration of male dominance which is aimed at suppressing the right of the womenfolk in the given society.Slide18

In the case of

Timothy v Oforka, the Court of Appeal held that no law or custom that stands in the way of our constitution should be allowed to stand no matter the circumstances.

In Yetunde Tolani v Kwara State Judicial Service Commission & Ors

, where the Court of Appeal held that the appointment of a female magistrate that was terminated on the basis of her ‘single’ status was illegal and void and ordered her immediate re-instatement.Slide19

Underlying Reason for Judicial Interventions in Nigeria

‘ One can therefore safely conclude that the single most important factor which has resulted to the change in the policy of the Supreme Court regarding gender-based discriminatory native law and custom rules of inheritance is the elevation of female justices to the Supreme Court and the appointment of a female as the Chief Justice of

Nigeria’. (Aigbovo and Ewere 2015, page 22)Slide20

Reforms

To redress the gender inequality and discrimination in Nigeria, the Nigerian government has espoused a number of measures. For example, in 2007, the Nigerian government adopted the National Gender Policy and this measure aims at supplementing section

42 of the Constitution which prohibits the discrimination of women in Nigeria. (Ekhator 2015) One major objective of the policy is to: build a just society devoid of discrimination, harness the full potentials of all social groups regardless of sex or circumstance, promote the enjoyment of fundamental rights and protect the health, social, economic and political wellbeing of all citizens in order to achieve equitable rapid economic

growth.Slide21

In respect of marital rape in Nigeria, the government has organized workshops on the issue. For example, in 2008, a Workshop on the Reform of Law Relating to Rape and Other Sexual Offences was held in Nigeria (Daily Independent Newspaper website, 2008). The consensus of the conference was that marital rape should be

criminalised in certain situationsSlide22

International Protection of Women Rights in Nigeria

Nigeria has signed and ratified many international and regional treaties promoting and protecting the rights of women in Nigeria, including the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Nigeria signed and ratified the CEDAW in 1985. The optional protocol to the CEDAW was ratified by Nigeria in 2004.

The CEDAW urges countries to condemn discrimination against women in totality and set in motion (without delay) a policy of eliminating discrimination against women by localising the equality of sexes in their various

constitutions.

Notwithstanding the ratification of CEDAW and its protocol by Nigeria, under Nigerian law, international treaties are not part of national law unless domesticated by virtue of Section 12 of the Constitution. However, the CEDAW has persuasive influence in Nigerian law; courts may refer to it during

judgements (Ekhator 2015).Slide23

Furthermore, Nigeria has ratified and signed the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) (Ekhator, 2014).

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Women’s Protocol) in Africa has also been signed and ratified in

Nigeria.The African Charter has been domesticated into Nigerian law and it promotes women’s rights in many of its articles. Article 3 of the Charter enjoins countries to combat discrimination against women via legislative, institutional and other means.However, the protocol has not been domesticated in Nigerian law and this hinders its applicability in

Nigeria. (Ekhator 2015).

Nigeria operates a dualist system wherein treaties are not applied domestically unless incorporated through domestic

legislation.Slide24

Legislative Interventions

Law as instrument of change is definitely an indispensable weapon in the hands of legislators and policy makers in Nigeria. The Nigerian government (including some states in Nigeria) have enacted laws protecting and promoting the rights of women In Nigeria. For example, in Enugu State in Nigeria, the

Prohibition of Infringement of a Widow’s and Widower’s Fundamental Rights Law 2001 to protect women from discriminatory customary inheritance practices was enacted (Adekile, 2010:19).This presentation will highlight some of the recent laws promoting and protecting women rights in Nigeria.Slide25

Until

recently, there were no specific national laws protecting women from violence (Madu 2015, page 282)

Provisions in criminal law used to deal with cases of violence against women have proved inadequate in Nigeria (Ekhator 2015, Madu 2015).This presentation focuses on the Protection Against Domestic Law Lagos

S

tate

because

it ‘is

the most detailed and provides a strong platform for a model law at national

level’ . (

Ojigho

2007, page 89)Slide26

With the efforts of civil society, and

utilising the opportunities presented by a federal system of government, gender-related laws have been enacted by the Houses of Assembly in some states: (

Madu 2015, Ekhator 2015) Cross River State: Girl Child Marriage and Female Circumcision (Prohibition) Law (2000) .

Ebonyi

State:

Law on the Abolition of Harmful Traditional Practices Against Women and Children

(2000)

.

Edo State:

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Prohibition Law

(2000)

Enugu State

: The Prohibition of Infringement of a Widow’s and Widower’s Fundamental Rights Law

(2001)

.

Imo State:

The Widow’s (Prohibition) Law No. 12, Laws of Imo State of Nigeria

(2003) .

Rivers

State

:

Dehumanising

and Harmful Traditional Practices Law

(2003)

Anambra

State:

The Malpractices Against Widows and Widowers (Prohibition) Law of Anambra State

(2005)Slide27

Protection Against Domestic Violence (Lagos State) 2007

The Protection Against Domestic Violence Law of Lagos State was passed to provide protection for victims of domestic violence. The law is made not only to protect women who are most times the target of domestic violence, but also to safeguard the interests of men, children and everyone who maybe a victim of domestic violence

.The Protection Against Domestic Violence Law of Lagos State defines domestic violence as: acts against any person; physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation including but not limited to rape, incest and sexual assault, starvation, emotional, verbal and psychological abuse, economic abuse, denial of basic education, intimidation, harassment, stalking, hazardous attack including acid bath with offensive or poisonous substance, damage to property, entry into the complainants residence without consent where the parties do not share the same residence, or any other controlling or abusive

behaviour

towards a complainant where such conduct harms or may cause imminent harm to the safety, health or wellbeing of the complainant.Slide28

‘Under this law, acts of domestic violence are prohibited in Lagos State. A court may grant interim protection orders, monetary and other reliefs as well as final orders in addition to criminal prosecution’. (

Ukhuegbe and Ewere)

‘In 2016, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) inaugurated the Sexual Assault Standing Order and the Sexual Assault Evidence Examination Kit (rape kit). The kit contains instruments for evidence gathering and examination including microscope slides, saline water, swabs for collecting fluids from body parts, like the lips, cheeks, thighs and private parts, clothing fibres and hairs, nail pick for scraping debris from beneath the nails and gloves, etc

’. (

Ukhuegbe

and

Ewere

)

The Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law of Lagos, State Law No 15,

2007

was enacted as a response to the rising incidents of violence against women in Lagos

State. (

Ojigho

2007)Slide29

Under this law ‘Domestic

violence prevention networks have been established with key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, NGOs, and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Lagos State has established human rights units with gender crime desk officers in each of the special police stations in Ikeja.

The state has also been involved in training District Police Officers on implementing the new domestic violence act and ensuring the prosecution of the perpetrators’. (Madu 2015, page 284)Slide30

VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS (PROHIBITION) ACT 2015

‘The enactment of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAAP) Act which

proposes wide-ranging provisions of many aspects of violence, including violence against women, is therefore a pivotal event with the potential, arguably, to transform the landscape of violence against women in Nigeria. It is an amalgamation of different bills, which sought to abolish all obsolete laws relating to matters such as rape and assault, and enact new laws on hitherto neglected areas such as domestic violence’.

(Onyemelukwe 2016

)

The enactment in 2015 of the VAPP Act can be said to be a measure in line with Nigeria’s international obligations under CEDAW and the Protocol to the African

Charter.

(Onyemelukwe 2016)

VAPPA

punishes not only direct acts of spousal violence, but also acts of coercive control by deprivation, isolation and emotional abuse

. (

Ukhuegbe

and

Ewere

)Slide31

Victims

of domestic violence may obtain protection orders.(Ukhuegbe and Ewere )

Amongst its innovative and progressive features is the criminalisation of matters previously not explicitly recognised as offences under Nigerian law. These include harmful traditional practices, female genital mutilation, emotional abuse, abandonment, and attack with harmful

substances.

(Onyemelukwe 2016

)

The definition of rape is now inclusive and

gender-neutral.

The Act also creates a Sexual

Offenders

Register

.

Slide32

‘However, as stated under section 47 of the Act, it currently applies to the Federal Capital Territory only, being federal legislation enacted in regard to criminal law. The reason for this restriction is apparent: criminal law is a matter on the residual list of the Constitution. Thus, states have to adopt the VAPP Act for it to become law in those states...’ (

Onyemelukwe 2015, page 624-625).

A residual matter over which the states in Nigeria have power to make legislation exclusively.Slide33

Furthermore, it has been contended that the

VAPP criminalises marital rape in Nigeria. Thus, ‘Spousal or marital rape is now recognised under the Act. In this regard, it can be reasonably assumed that in the absence of an express exclusion, any husband or wife, who acts in contravention of the above section, is guilty of the offence of rape and punishable accordingly. “The use of “any person” clearly includes either husband or wife. With these modifications, the Act has brought the definition of rape in line with modern day realities and increased the scope of legal protection for victims’. (

Onyemelukwe 2016, page 26-27)Slide34

Gender and Equal Opportunities (GOE) Bill 2016

The Senate (highest legislative body) in Nigeria is currently debating a bill titled ‘Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill.The GOE bill failed to pass the second reading n

the Senate on 15 March 2016. This was largely due to the objections by some male members of the Senate to the enactment of the bill The Bill was sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi

(a female senator).

However, the a new bill was introduced on 15

th

June 2016 (by Senator

Olujimi

) to reflect the some of the concerns of the senators

The bill recently passed the second reading stage.

Although the GEO Bill is concerned mainly with gender equality, it covers age and disability discrimination as well (section 5

). (

Ukhuegbe

and

Ewere

)Slide35

The GEO bill seeks

to give effect to certain provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) such as  Chapters II and IV which deal with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy and the Fundamental Human Rights.

If eventually passed by the National Assembly, the Bill will also give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the protocol to the African Charter on the rights of Women in Africa amongst others. (PLAC Website)Slide36

The GOE contains provisions dealing with prohibition of discrimination, adoption of temporal measures to eliminate discrimination in political and public life, prohibition of violence against women, establishment of an Equal Opportunities Commission and the enforcement of the National Gender Policy amongst other innovative feature. Slide37

Labour Amendment Bill 2016

This bill is sponsored by Senate Oluremi Tinubu (a female senator in Nigeria).The bill seeks

review of legislation including the Labour Act 2004 which contains clauses militating against the ability of women to find and engage in honest work. 

(PLAC website).Slide38

Some of the offending provisions of the Labour Act which the proposed bill seek to delete include:

Section 55 which prohibits women from engaging in night work;Section 56 which stipulates that ‘‘no woman shall be employed on underground work in any mine’’

Section 57 that empowers the minister of labour to ‘‘make regulations prohibiting or restricting , subject to conditions as may be specified in the regulations, the employment of women in any particular type or types of industrial or other undertakings or in any process or work carried on by such undertakings; and

Subsection (2) of 

section 58 

which provides that any person who employs a woman in contravention of section 55 (1) or section 56 (1) shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction shall be liable to a fine not exceeding N100 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or both.Slide39

Conclusion

Women are discriminated against in Nigeria. However, the tide is changing. Many Nigerians have access to education and the re-orientation of Nigerians (with respect to women’s rights) has been improving. Democracy has improved the position of women in Nigeria.However, some cultures and communities are still stuck in the past. Such communities need to be ‘re-educated’ on women’s rights in Nigeria.

Also, with the advent of democracy in Nigeria, many laws have been promulgated in Nigeria to improve the status of women under the law. For example, many states in Nigeria have enacted laws proscribing domestic violence against women.‘Evidence from Nigeria, including the passage of new legislation at federal and state levels, indicates that a shift is occurring. How effective such laws will be is yet to be

seen’.

(

Onyemelukwe

2016, page 1)Slide40

References

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, E. O. (2015). Women and the law in Nigeria: a reappraisal. 

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(2),

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.

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, O. J. (2009). Prohibiting domestic violence through legislation in Nigeria. 

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.Slide41

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Ukhuegbe

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PLAC Website

http://placng.org/wp/2016/11/labour-amendment-bill-2016-scales-second-reading-in-senate

/