THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION AND THE GENDER QUESTION

Abstract

Abstract
The consensus in modern democracies is that the constitution should be based on inclusivity. However, the
Nigerian constitution is replete with provisions which on interpretation, either deny the realities of women
or outrightly discriminate against them. In Nigeria, it is observed that womanhood is reduced to a mere
infidel and a second-class citizen; hence there is the commonality of a general belief system that the best
place for women is in the ‘kitchen’. This trend has brought about tremendous misrepresentation of women’s
rights at the level of the family down to the circular society. This paper examines the gender inequality in
the Nigerian constitution; it argues that women played a minimal role in the history of Nigerian constitution
making. This article also posits that child marriage is one of the roots of gender injustice in Nigeria. This
article highlights and briefly discusses some aspects of the 1999 Constitution that are directly and indirectly
discriminatory against women. It is the submission of this study that all forms of inhuman discrimination
and gender inequality must be challenged and opine for a deliberate, sensitive, consistent and systematic
approach to gender relations this should include gender mainstreaming in all aspects of life. The researcher
of this article adopts the doctrinal research methodology.