A REVIEW OF THE LAW ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Women are generally seen as vulnerable part of the society compared with the male counterpart, and the patrilineal nature of the society, especially in Africa coupled with religious and cultural factors, make the rights of women to be given little or no attention. The resulting effect of this is that the dignity of womanhood and right to self determinism of a woman is often eroded, thereby making majority of women live their lives in abuse, discrimination and molestation. There is therefore a need for change and women should have full right and sense of belonging. It is in line with this that this research attempts a review of legal provisions on women’s rights in Nigeria and recommends that these rights should be adequately enforced and Nigeria should do well by ratifying and domesticating relevant international instruments on the protection of women’s rights in Nigeria.