Women of Lagos, Nigeria: A Historical Perspective

Nov 06, 2025 0

A day in a year is certainly not enough to celebrate the most caring people in the world. Women are not only caring but have proven over the years that they can be very courageous and do great exploits for their people.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month around the world, I’m thinking especially of the women who fight for equal rights. On this day being the International Women's day, I have decided to go back memory lane to review the exploits of some of the greatest Nigerian women who touched the lives of their people and have done this great West African nation proud. I will like to dedicate this to all the women on steemit and encourage everyone that you could be the change the world is expecting.

From precolonial times to the early 21st century, the role and status of women in Nigeria have continuously evolved. However, the image of a helpless, oppressed, and marginalized group has undermined their proper study, and little recognition has been granted to the various integral functions that Nigerian women have performed throughout history.

Nigeria has a long history of gender inequality and discrimination against women. Women in Nigeria face a number of challenges, including limited access to education, health care, and economic opportunities. Women are also disproportionately affected by poverty, violence, and other forms of discrimination. The Nigerian government has taken steps to address these issues, but progress has been slow.

Women are still underrepresented in politics and decision-making roles, and they are often excluded from economic opportunities. Additionally, traditional gender roles and cultural norms continue to limit the potential of women in Nigeria.

Read also: Resilience of Women in CAR

Adenike Oyetunde, disability advocate and Senior Special Assistant to Lagos' state governor on Persons Living with Disabilities

Pre-Colonial Era: Roles and Influence

In the precolonial period, women played a major role in social and economic activities. Division of labour was along gender lines, and women controlled such occupations as food processing, mat weaving, pottery making, and cooking. Moreover, land was communally owned, and women had access to it through their husbands or parents.

Although a man was the head of the household in a patrilineal system, older women had control of the labour of younger family members. Women were also central to trade. Among the Yoruba, they were the major figures in long-distance trade, with enormous opportunities for accumulating wealth and acquiring titles. The most successful among them rose to the prestigious chieftaincy title of iyalode, a position of great privilege and power.

In politics, women were not as docile or powerless as contemporary literature tends to portray them. The basic unit of political organization was the family, and in the common matrifocal arrangement, which allowed a woman to gain considerable authority over her children, a woman and her offspring could form a major bloc in the household. Power and privileges in a household were also based on age and gender, thereby allowing senior women to have a voice on many issues.

Because the private and public arenas were intertwined, a woman’s ability to control resources and people in a household was at the same time an exercise in public power. She could use food production to gain respect. She could control her children and influence men through this power. She could evoke the power of the spirit or gods in her favour. Or she could simply withdraw and use the kitchen as her own personal domicile for interaction with her colleagues, friends, and children.

Beyond the household level, power was generally dominated by men, but in many areas specific titles were given to women. The queen mother, a powerful title among the Edo and Yoruba, could be bestowed upon the king’s mother or a free woman of considerable stature. In her own palace, the queen mother presided over meetings, with subordinate titleholders in her support. Yoruba and Hausa legends describe periods when women were either the actual kings or heroines. Such women as Moremi of Ile-Ife and Amina of Zaria are notable legendary figures, as are the powerful queens in the Ondo and Daura histories.

Colonial Era: Challenges and Shifts

The most serious threat to the influence and privileges of women occurred during the 20th century, when patriarchy combined with colonial changes to alter gender relations. As male chiefs collaborated with the British colonial administration in collecting taxes and governing, the position of female chiefs declined in importance.

When the economy became increasingly geared toward the production of cash crops for export, Nigerian men and European firms dominated the distribution of rubber, cocoa, groundnuts (peanuts), and palm oil. Women, pushed to the background, were forced to shift to the production of subsistence crops. A previous land-tenure system that had prevented land alienation gave way to land commercialization, favouring those with access to money gained from the sale of cash crops.

Western-style education also favoured boys over girls and thus largely excluded women from many of the new occupations introduced by colonialism.

Modern Era: Education, Activism, and Politics

The most powerful agency of change for the modern woman has been Nigeria’s formal education system, from which a large number of elite women have emerged. Intelligent, educated, and confident, they can be found in all leading occupations; they now challenge many aspects of patriarchy and are gradually organizing to ensure that the political arena expands sufficiently to accommodate them.

As a Nigerian-American woman myself, I’d like to highlight seven notable women who have contributed to Nigerian politics and advocacy for women’s rights.

Read also: The role of women in Chad

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman appointed to lead the World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Notable Women in Nigerian History

Chief Funmilayo Ransome Anikulapo-Kuti: A pioneering Nigerian activist, educator, freedom-fighter and suffragist. She founded the Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU) in the mid-1940s as a response to oppressive tax conditions in Nigeria.
Lady Kofoworola Ademola: A prominent Nigerian educator, author, activist, and women’s rights advocate. She served as President of the National Council of Women’s Sciences in Nigeria and was a Board Member of the International Council of Women.
Margaret Ekpo: A pioneering Nigerian women’s rights activist and politician. She founded the Market Women Association in the city of Aba to unionize market women, and later established the Aba Township Women’s Association.
Hajia Gambo Sawaba: A prominent Nigerian politician, women’s rights activist and philanthropist. Sawaba campaigned against under-aged marriages and forced labor. She was also an advocate for western education in the North Sawaba.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: A prominent economist, diplomat, and public servant. She served twice as Nigeria’s Finance Minister and played a key role in negotiating Nigeria’s debt relief with the Paris Club of creditors.
Obiageli Ezekwesili: An economist, educator, and activist known for her significant contributions to governance and public policy. Ezekwesili co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls movement, advocating for the rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi: A prominent gender rights activist. In her role as First Lady of the Ekiti State during her husband’s tenure as Governor, Adeleye-Fayemi led various gender rights efforts.

There are so many incredible women in Nigerian history who have advocated for rights and protections for the most vulnerable members of society.

Lois Auta, a polio survivor and Nigeria’s first disabled legislative candidate

Contemporary Women Challenging the Status Quo

Lois Auta: A polio survivor and Nigeria’s first disabled legislative candidate.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: The first woman appointed to lead the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Sandra Aguebor: Also known as Lady Mechanic, Nigeria’s first female automotive mechanic.
Adenike Oyetunde: A disability advocate and Senior Special Assistant to Lagos' state governor on Persons Living with Disabilities.
Kafayat Sanni: Became the first female fighter pilot in the 55-year history of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in 2019.

Political Participation and Challenges

The role of women in Nigerian politics is shaped by the patriarchal nature of the society. The 1950s presented many debates regarding women's access to political responsibilities and their stance on voting rights in Nigeria. It was not until 1979 when all Nigerian women gained their voting rights. In The World's Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report for 2018, Nigeria was ranked 139th out of a total 149 countries, in terms of gender gap in 'political empowerment'.

As of 2019, out of 193 countries globally, Nigeria is at the 181st position when it comes to women's descriptive representation in parliament. During 2015 Nigerian elections, Nigeria had 20 women out of 359 in its Lower House (5.6%) and 7 out of 109 in Upper House (6.4%). As of the most recent elections, 7.3% of the Nigerian Senate and 3.1% of the House of Representatives are women. There are no state governors that are women.

The barriers to women participation in politics are election time violence, economic restrictions, and patriarchy according to the Head of the Gender Division for the Independent National Electoral Commission. In particular, female candidates often suffer from election violence, threats or hate speech. Political parties have excluded women, and do little to encourage the participation.

To help increase the number of women working in the government, The Nigerian Women's Trust Fund (NWTF) uses funding, networking opportunities, mentoring, training for leadership, and advocacy. As of 2006, Nigeria's National Gender Policy has called for the increase of women in government positions to 35%.

Women in Nigeria face many challenges when interacting with political life, one of them being societal tradition. It is normal to find Nigerian women confined to the household.

Key Figures and Their Contributions

History hasn’t always been kind to women, and Nigerian history, in particular, often overlooks the women who shaped it. Even in death, they’re rarely given their due.

Here are some key figures and their contributions:

Alimotu Pelewura: Led the charge against British colonial taxes that unfairly targeted Nigerian market women in the 1930s.
Margaret Ekpo: Was a major force in Nigeria’s independence movement known for her fierce advocacy of women’s political rights.
Elizabeth Adekogbe: Created space for women in Nigeria’s political arena. In the 1940s, she founded the Nigerian Women’s Party, pushing back against the political systems that kept women on the sidelines.
Hajia Gambo Sawaba: Fought against forced marriages, child labor and a system that kept women from basic rights.
Wuraola Esan: Ensured that women had a voice in Nigeria’s political journey to independence.
Tanimowo Ogunlesi: Is notable for her work in women’s rights and education. Initially trained as a teacher, she later founded the Women’s Improvement Society (WIS) in 1947.
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti: Rallied thousands of women through the Abeokuta Women’s Union, forcing the British to backtrack on unfair taxes.
Nwanyeruwa: Led the Aba Women Riot of 1929.
Florence Nwapa: Was the first female Nigerian author and has been called the “mother of modern African Literature.”
Bolanle Awe: Was the first female academic staff in a Nigerian university.
Kofoworola Aina Ademola: The first Black African woman to earn a degree from Oxford University.
Oyinkansola Abayomi: Founded the Nigerian Women’s Party whose major aim was to achieve equal rights between men and women.

The history of Nigerian women is often a shunned subject and conversations around women’s history matter.

Indicator	Value	Year
Maternal Mortality (per 100,000)	630	2010
Women in Parliament	6.7%	2012
Women in Labour Force	50%	2017
Gender Inequality Index	0.680	2021
Global Gender Gap Index	0.639	2022

In conclusion, the women of Lagos, Nigeria, have played diverse and crucial roles throughout history. From pre-colonial economic and social contributions to modern-day activism and political participation, their influence is undeniable. Despite facing numerous challenges, including gender inequality and societal traditions, Nigerian women continue to strive for equality and empowerment, shaping a better future for themselves and generations to come.

I just want to encourage all steemite women to stay strong, believe in yourselves. If these women could make it despite all the odds, you could do even greater things.