THE LEADERSHIP POSITION OF THE GIRL-CHILD AND THE NIGERIAN SOCIO-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Hornby (2000) defines culture as “the custom and art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or groupâ€. Therefore, it is a way of life and social organization of any group of people. Anthropologically and sociologically, it involves all the things a particular set of people do such as building pattern, greetings, food, dressing, occupation etc. Such ways of doing things which are modified from time to time and passed on from generation to generation, sum-up the culture of a set of people. Tylor (1969: 17) quoted in Ezechukwu (2012: 2) says that; ‘culture does not only embrace human social life but human social life is learnt and acquired. Every society … has norms, mores and values which they cherish and appreciate’. Nigeria has a lot of different cultural groups, each of them has cultural beliefs, norms and values which militate against the proper development of the girl-child in one way or another. The importance of effective promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women has been at the forefront of international summits. If the goals of sustainable development are to be attained gender equality has to be promoted. “This was reinforced at the world summit on Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995), and the Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) in 1995â€. (Landry, 2001: ii). All over the world, men have been found to dominate the economy and some social institutions. Potentials of women are often under-utilized and sometimes where they contribute, their contributions are undervalued. Gender is organized differently in different societies. As a result, the expectations for women and men vary throughout the world. There are areas reserved for women and some for men. In many parts of Africa like Nigeria (Northern part) for example, women are not encouraged to operate large scale animal farming like cattle rearing. It is an area preserved for men.