Socio-Cultural Implications Sexual Violence of Women in South-East Nigeria
By
NKIRU C. OHIA
INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES,
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,
NSUKKA
Tel-07033615057
E-mail: nkiru.ohia@unn.edu
Abstract
Gender-based violence is a global issue that cuts across national boundries as well as cultural, racial, socio-economic, and class distinctions. It is so entrenched in the Igbo society (South-East Nigeria) that its rate is of occurance is terrifying.Women of South-East Nigeria (Igbo Women) are adjudged to be among the most well educated women in the country, they are a formidable force in terms of their contribution to economic and social development of thier society, and they are known to demonstrate considerable resilience which has helped them to occupy important positions in the society. Ideally, it would have been expected that with these qualities and positions of importance the women of South-East Nigeria occupy, they would have been free from intimate partner abuse and domestic violence but on the contrary, almost on a daily basis, reports of Igbo women who are raped,maimed, bathed with acid, set ablase, thrown down from storey buildings, and even beaten to death for refusing to give in to sexual demands keep making headlines of national dailies. This study will be a survey and will use interview and structured questionnaire to investigate the remote causes of intimate partner abuse and domestic violence against Igbo women and why they continue to live with it inspite of their education, when education should be a vehicle for advancement, independence, self reliance, and freedom from abuse and servitude.