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Development in Practice
ISSN: 0961-4524 (Print) 1364-9213 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cdip20
The role of religion in women's campaigns for legal
reform in Nigeria
Fatima L. Adamu & Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam
To cite this article: Fatima L. Adamu & Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam (2012) The role of religion
in women's campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria, Development in Practice, 22:5-6, 803-818, DOI:
10.1080/09614524.2012.685875
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2012.685875
Published online: 05 Jul 2012.
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The role of religion in women’s
campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria
Fatima L. Adamu and Oluwafunmilayo J.
Para-Mallam
Legal reform is necessary but not sufficient to realise women’s rights. This paper compares two
campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria: attempts to domesticate the UN Convention for the Elim-
ination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in federal law, which resulted
in defeat of the bill in 2007, and a successful campaign to introduce legislation to prevent the
mistreatment of widows in Anambra State. It considers the role of religion in the campaigns, by
examining how the women’s movement engaged with religious actors. The research shows that
religious beliefs, discourses, and actors had a significant influence on the outcomes of the cam-
paigns, in part because of the content of the proposed legislation, but also because of the strat-
egies adopted by the campaigners and the interests of the religious bodies concerned. Despite
the implication of religion in gender inequality, these cases show that religious teachings,
leaders, and organisations can be allies rather than obstacles in achieving progressive
social change.
Le ro
ˆle de la religion dans les campagnes des femmes en vue de la re
´forme de la loi au Nige
´ria
La re
´forme de la loi est ne
´cessaire mais pas suffisante pour concre
´tiser les droits de la femme.
Cet article compare deux campagnes en vue de la re
´forme de la loi au Nige
´ria : les tentatives en
vue d’inte
´grer la Convention des Nations Unies sur l’e
´limination de toutes les formes de dis-
crimination a
`l’e
´gard des femmes (CEDAW) dans le droit fe
´de
´ral, qui se sont solde
´es par
une de
´faite du projet de loi en 2007, et une campagne re
´ussie pour introduire une le
´gislation
de pre
´vention du mauvais traitement des veuves dans l’E
´tat d’Anambra. Il se penche sur le
ro
ˆle de la religion dans les campagnes, en examinant la manie
`re dont le mouvement des
femmes a dialogue
´avec les acteurs religieux. Les re
´sultats des recherches montrent que les
croyances, discours et acteurs religieux ont eu une influence conside
´rable sur les re
´sultats
des campagnes, en partie a
`cause du contenu de la le
´gislation propose
´e, et aussi a
`cause des
strate
´gies adopte
´es par les participants aux campagnes et les inte
´re
ˆts des entite
´s religieuses
concerne
´es. Malgre
´le ro
ˆle de la religion dans l’ine
´galite
´entre les sexes, ces cas montrent
que les enseignements, leaders et organisations religieux peuvent e
ˆtre des allie
´s et non des
obstacles au moment d’obtenir des changements sociaux progressistes.
O papel da religia
˜o nas campanhas das mulheres para reforma legal na Nige
´ria
Fatima L. Adamu e Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam
A reforma legal e
´necessa
´ria mas na
˜o suficiente para se alcanc¸ar os direitos das mulheres. Este
artigo compara duas campanhas para reforma legal na Nige
´ria: tentativas de adaptar a Con-
ISSN 0961-4524 Print/ISSN 1364-9213 Online 5–60803-16 #2012 Taylor & Francis 803
Routledge Publishing http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2012.685875
Development in Practice, Volume 22, Numbers 5 – 6, August 2012
Downloaded by [Oxfam UK] at 04:41 18 October 2017
venc¸a
˜o da ONU para Eliminac¸a
˜o de todas as Formas de Discriminac¸a
˜o Contra as Mulheres
(CEDAW) na legislac¸a
˜o federal, que resultou na derrota da lei em 2007, e uma campanha
bem-sucedida para introduzir legislac¸a
˜o que impedisse os maus tratos de viu
´vas no estado
de Anambra. O artigo avalia o papel da religia
˜o nas campanhas ao examinar como o movi-
mento de mulheres engajou-se com agentes religiosos. A pesquisa mostra que as crenc¸as, dis-
cursos e agentes religiosos tiveram uma influe
ˆncia significativa nos resultados da campanhas,
em parte devido ao conteu
´do da legislac¸a
˜o proposta, mas tambe
´m devido a
`s estrate
´gias ado-
tadas pelos ativistas e os interesses dos organismos religiosos em questa
˜o. Apesar da implica-
c¸a
˜o da religia
˜o na desigualdade de ge
ˆnero, estes casos mostram que ensinamentos, lı
´deres e
organizac¸o
˜es religiosas podem ser aliados em vez de obsta
´culos na conquista de mudanc¸a
social progressiva.
El papel de la religio
´n en las campan
˜as de las mujeres para emprender reformas legales en
Nigeria
La reforma legal es una condicio
´n necesaria pero no suficiente para que se cumplan los dere-
chos de las mujeres. Este ensayo compara dos campan
˜as para reformas legales en Nigeria: el
movimiento para incorporar en la ley federal una versio
´n nacional de la Convencio
´n de la ONU
para la Eliminacio
´n de todas las Formas de Discriminacio
´n contra la Mujer (CEDAW por sus
siglas en ingle
´s), que resulto
´en el fracaso del proyecto de ley en 2007; y una campan
˜a exitosa
para presentar un proyecto de ley que evitara el maltrato a las viudas en el estado de Anambra.
El ensayo examina el papel de la religio
´n en las campan
˜as analizando co
´mo el movimiento de
las mujeres se relaciono
´con actores religiosos. La investigacio
´n demuestra que la fe, los dis-
cursos y los actores religiosos influyeron en el resultado de las campan
˜as debido a, en parte, el
contenido de los proyectos de ley, pero tambie
´n a las estrategias de las activistas y a los inter-
eses de las mismas iglesias. A pesar de que la religio
´n se implico
´en la desigualdad de ge
´nero,
estos ejemplos demuestran que las ensen
˜anzas, las organizaciones y los lı
´deres religiosos
pueden ser ma
´s aliados que obsta
´culos en el proceso para lograr cambios sociales progresistas.
KEY WORDS: Gender and diversity; Governance and public policy; Sub-Saharan Africa
Introduction
Social movements are crucial for achieving change in long-established social institutions,
especially those that favour one social group over another, such as gender relationships.
They form outside the main structures of political and bureaucratic power, with the aim of trans-
forming social values and systems, and vary in the extent to which they are formally structured,
with many taking the form of loose networks rather than organised coalitions (Della Porta and
Diani 2006). Although such movements are rarely impervious to the strong influence of reli-
gious faith – particularly in African countries, where respect for the sacred or supernatural is
widespread and the expression of religious faith highly visible in both the private and public
spheres – the ways in which religion interacts with contemporary social movements is one
of the most neglected areas of research in this field (Beckford 1990; Kirmani 2008; Smith
1996). When secular and faith-inspired social movement agendas differ, the resulting conflicts
of interest can be severe and intractable. In contrast, when religious organisations support social
change, it is likely that more can be achieved.
The relationships between religion and women’s rights are ambiguous: on the one hand, reli-
gion is often considered to be a major vehicle for the reproduction of gender ideologies that
804 Development in Practice, Volume 22, Numbers 5 – 6, August 2012
Fatima L. Adamu and Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam
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oppress women, while on the other, it may be seen as a resource that can be drawn on in
women’s struggles against gender inequality. Views on women’s rights vary widely between
and within religious communities, with some supporting and some opposing the realisation
of equal rights. Some religious beliefs are in conflict with the provisions of international and
domestic legal frameworks, whereas others may be compatible. Religious beliefs and their
local interpretations, as well as the stances of religious organisations are, therefore, likely to
have far-reaching implications for the achievement of greater gender equality.
Women’s movements place considerable emphasis on legal reform as necessary (although
not sufficient) for women’s rights to be realised. Campaigns to achieve such reform are, there-
fore, important in movements’ strategies, requiring significant investments of resources of time,
energy and money, well-constructed alliances, and effective tactics to succeed. In Nigeria,
where approximately half the population is Christian and half Muslim (although traditional reli-
gious beliefs continue to be influential), some women’s reform agendas have enjoyed the
support of mainstream religious institutions, while others have not. Campaigners or those
opposing the changes they seek have invoked religious ideology and allied with religious insti-
tutions and leadership. One of a series of studies examining the relationships between religion
and development, the research reported on in this paper set out to examine the role of religion in
influencing, promoting and/or obstructing women’s campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria, in
order to develop an understanding of the circumstances in which religious leaders and organis-
ations are allies rather than obstacles.
In Nigeria’s federal system, laws must first be enacted at the federal level. State governments
have a degree of autonomy to enact their own laws and in some cases, have adopted progressive
legislation regarding women’s rights in advance of the federal government. The space for acti-
vism by civil society organisations and individuals expanded with the return of Nigeria to
democratic rule in 1999, enabling more active campaigning for social change.
This study examined two campaigns for legal reform, one of which ended in failure and the
other in success, to investigate the ways in which each engaged with religion and assess whether
and how this engagement explained the different outcomes:
.attempts to domesticate the UN Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimi-
nation Against Women (CEDAW) in Federal law, which resulted in the bill being defeated
in the National Assembly in 2007
.a campaign for legislation to prohibit discriminatory, inhumane, and degrading practices
related to widowhood in Anambra State, which resulted in the Anambra State Malpractices
against Widows and Widowers (Prohibition) Law No. 2005 being passed by the State Assembly
The research identified the principal actors (coalitions, individuals, and groups) in the cam-
paigns and the roles they played; examined the strategies and tactics the campaigners
adopted and what resources (political, human, social, and religious) they contributed; and
assessed whether and how religion influenced the nature and outcomes of the campaigns.
In 2008, a review of the Nigerian literature, supplemented by interviews with nine activists in
Awka, Ibadan, Jos, and Abuja, enabled appropriate campaigns to be selected for study (Adamu
et al. 2010). Each case study was based on documentary evidence and semi-structured inter-
views with individuals from secular and religious NGOs, religious leaders, and government
representatives in 2009. Informants in Abuja, the federal capital, Lagos, Ibadan, Jos, Kaduna,
and Kano were interviewed for the study of the CEDAW domestication campaign, providing
accounts and insights from three geopolitical zones: the predominantly Muslim North West,
religiously mixed South West, and predominantly Christian North Central. Informants on the
campaign for widows’ rights were located in Awka, the capital of predominantly Christian
Anambra State. Interviewees were selected because of the roles they or their organisations
Development in Practice, Volume 22, Numbers 5 – 6, August 2012 805
Religion in women’s campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria
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had played in the campaigns, their high standing and influence as religious leaders (including
some who had supported and some who had opposed the campaigns, from different religious
bodies), or their position in religious organisations concerned with wider development issues
and/or women’s welfare.
Informants included three key people from two of the most prominent women’s NGOs with
coordinating roles in the coalition for the domestication of CEDAW: BAOBAB (Lagos) and the
Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Agency (WRAPA) in Abuja; nine informants
from the most important secular coalition member organisations; two officials from the
Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs (FMWA); a member of the National Assembly; nine
staff members of faith-based organisations (FBOs) concerned with development and social
justice; eleven religious leaders (six Muslim and five Christian, including clergy, religious scho-
lars, and leaders of religious women’s organisations); and a staff member of UNIFEM. In
Anambra State, the eight interviewees included past and present members of the main coordi-
nating organisations within the Coalition of Eastern NGOs (CENGOS), the Women’s Action
Committee (WACA), the Catholic Women’s Organisation (CWO) and the Mothers’ Union
(MU), as well as activists from other secular and religious NGOs and a Catholic priest. In
addition, a meeting of women’s NGOs, in which 17 of the 21 Local Government Areas in
Anambra State were represented, was observed.
1
Published and unpublished official documents
produced by government, religious organisations, and NGOs were reviewed, and audio and
written material from religious leaders/organisations consulted as a way of gaining insights
into the perspectives of local religious leaders (Adamu et al. 2011; Para-Mallam et al. 2011).
First, some background to the women’s movement, religion and the state in Nigeria will be
provided. The two main sections of the paper will consider, respectively, the campaigns to dom-
esticate CEDAW and to promote women’s rights through legal reform in Anambra State. A
comparison of the two campaigns and their outcomes reveals not only some of the character-
istics of the Nigerian women’s movement but also the complexity of the interactions
between gender, religion, and culture.
The women’s movement, religion and the state in Nigeria
The core concern of women’s movements worldwide is to address gender discrimination, to
improve the welfare of women by ensuring that their practical needs are met, and also to
achieve gender equality by challenging the patriarchal world view and value system that perme-
ates everyday life, social institutions, and state policies and practices. Women in Nigeria, as in
other countries, are disadvantaged within families and communities; under-represented in pol-
itical decision-making; and lack access to education, healthcare and economic opportunities.
Their disadvantage is rooted in and reinforced by cultural and religious ideology, language,
and practices (Okome 2000), mediated by their geopolitical location and socio-economic pos-
ition. For most Nigerians, even those who live in urban areas, individual identity and commu-
nity belonging are closely associated with their community of origin, defined in terms of
ethnicity, religion, and cultural beliefs and practices. However, resource endowments, political
configurations, and relations with the Federal government vary from one region to another,
influencing levels of prosperity and well-being. Widespread poverty, as well as their acceptance
of culturally ascribed roles and oppressive social structures, lead women to be primarily con-
cerned with their roles as wives and mothers and their practical needs (Para-Mallam 2006).
The women’s movement in Nigeria, like elsewhere, consists of a myriad of women’s groups,
organisations, and networks, whose goals and programmes sometimes intersect around shared
agendas, but which is heterogeneous, disjointed, and loosely organised (Adamu et al. 2010).
Women’s identities and experiences are multiple and fragmented and their needs ‘varied and
806 Development in Practice, Volume 22, Numbers 5 – 6, August 2012
Fatima L. Adamu and Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam
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often conflicting because they are conditioned by diverse historical, social and institutional
factors’ (Para-Mallam 2007: 68). Many women’s groups and organisations have concentrated
on practical gender needs, seeking to improve women’s material conditions by building skills,
assisting income generating activities, promoting self-help, improving reproductive health, and
so on. Such initiatives have only challenged anti-women ideologies and enhanced gender equal-
ity to a limited extent. The ratification of CEDAW by the Nigerian government in 1985, the
1995 Beijing Platform for Action, and the restoration of democracy in 1999 encouraged and
enabled activists to organise politically to press for greater political participation, recognition
of women’s human rights (including under Shariah law), action against gender-based violence,
and a review of customary laws, under which women are subjected to harmful traditional prac-
tices and denial of property rights. However, ethnic, regional, and religious differences, as well
as women’s lack of political influence, have undermined the movement’s unity and ability to
mobilise effectively, with the result that it has had only limited success in bringing about leg-
islative and policy changes.
As in many other African societies, religion and spirituality occupy a central and powerful
place in Nigerian personal and social space: in a recent national representative sample survey,
87% of respondents said religion is very important in their lives, and nearly 90% of Christians
and Muslims claimed to attend religious services at least weekly (Pew Forum 2010). Religious
expression is rife in public as well as private life and religion is frequently deployed as an instru-
ment in the quest for political hegemony, most notably in the reintroduction of Shariah criminal
law in several largely Muslim Northern states since 1999. The vast majority of Nigerians are
practising Christians or Muslims, with only a tiny proportion claiming to be adherents of tra-
ditional beliefs alone, but the latter, which are inseparable from cultural social practices, continue
to have considerable influence not only on individuals, families, and communities, but also on
Christianity and Islam. Because ethnicity and religion overlap, are closely linked to politics,
and have often been the basis for conflict, the membership claims of rival religious groups are
contentious and no reliable figures exist. However, in the Pew Forum survey referred to
above, 52% of respondents identified themselves as Muslim and 46% as Christian (the latter com-
prised of 40% Catholic, 26% numerous Pentecostal churches, 9% Anglican, 8% African indepen-
dent churches, and 17% other Protestant denominations) (2010: 20, 23).
As a result, Christian and Muslim organisations are numerous, varied, and among the largest
and strongest in Nigerian society. Religious organisations promote religious values and beliefs
through their teaching, influence social norms and institutions, and enforce compliance with be-
havioural norms and social practices, encouraging dominant groups (including men) to use reli-
gion to legitimate their authority and forestall resistance, and limiting the extent to which
adherents are likely to challenge prevalent norms (Para-Mallam 2010). In Nigeria, therefore,
gender, religion, and culture interact in complex ways, shaping women’s lives, their desire
for increased gender equality, and the strategies they adopt. Opponents of efforts to realise
women’s rights in Nigeria often claim that they are contrary to cultural and religious beliefs
and practices. However, in Nigerian society religion simultaneously renders women powerful
and powerless. On the one hand, women’s service helps to keep the wheels of organised religion
turning and within the family setting they are responsible for transmitting religious values and
norms to future generations as part of their child-rearing role. On the other hand, they remain
largely excluded from the power hierarchies of the major religious systems, as in politics and
other domains.
The Nigerian Constitution prohibits the adoption of a state religion, in order to guarantee state
religious neutrality, and prohibits discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion, social class,
or sex, but interpretations of its provisions are contested and the reality is contradictory. In prac-
tice, as noted above, ethnicity and religion are often coterminous and have been politicised in
Development in Practice, Volume 22, Numbers 5 – 6, August 2012 807
Religion in women’s campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria
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the course of competition for the allocation of power and resources. The result is that people’s
identities and allegiances tend to be fractured along ethno-religious fault lines, even though the
Constitution contains a ‘federal character principle’ to prevent the preponderance of persons
from any particular ethno-religious group in government appointments and institutions.
In contrast, the Constitution does not have an equivalent gender principle. In addition, to
accommodate cultural and religious sensibilities, it stipulates a tripartite legal system comprised
of statutory, customary, and Shariah personal law. Women’s citizenship and human rights are
undermined by discriminatory provisions contained in all three bodies of law, especially cus-
tomary and Shariah laws. Although in principle state and local governments are bound by
the federal constitutional standard of religious and ethnic neutrality, in practice balance con-
tinues to be strongly contested. For example, the allocation of resources, including public
office, often favours indigenes from a particular ethnic or religious group over ‘settlers’ and,
as noted above, many of the northern states have reintroduced Shariah criminal law in the
face of Christian opposition.
Government policies and programmes have sought to tackle some of women’s most pressing
practical needs, generally by supporting their traditional roles within the sexual division of
labour (Pittin 1991). In addition, the government has committed itself to internationally
accepted positions on women and development, established a Ministry of Women Affairs
and a National Centre for Women Development, and adopted ILO-compliant labour laws
and a National Gender Policy. In practice, however, many believe that these initiatives have
not only enabled it to co-opt some of the largest women’s organisations and contain more
radical challenges, but have also served to conceal the dominance of male priorities and inter-
ests and the protection of men’s power and privileges within state political and bureaucratic
structures and processes (Adamu et al. 2010). Clearly, structures, attitudes, and practices are
not necessarily altered by rhetorical statements and policies and of course laws need to be
implemented to make a difference. Nevertheless, their existence provides a means for activists
to hold governments to account. They are necessary, although not sufficient, for gender dis-
crimination to be tackled. For this reason, the research focused on selected campaigns for
legal reform and, because of the central role of religion in Nigerian society, on the role
played by religion in those campaigns and their outcomes.
The campaign to domesticate CEDAW
CEDAW was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and signed and ratified by the
Babangida-led government in 1985, with no reservations, indicating that it would be legally
bound by the Convention’s provisions. However, without enactment into law, CEDAW had
only moral force, so its incorporation into Federal law was a major focus for campaigning by
women’s groups, especially after 1999. Eventually, in 2006, an Abolition of all Forms of Dis-
crimination against Women in Nigeria and Other Related Matters Bill was presented to the
National Assembly, but it was voted down in 2007. While other African nations succeeded
in incorporating CEDAW provisions into their national laws, the attempt to do so in Nigeria
failed, despite extensive campaigning.
The women’s coalition for the domestication of CEDAW, which was formed in 1998 and
took the campaign lead thereafter, consists of a loose network of over 50 secular and faith-
based organisations and networks based in different parts of the country. With support from
various international agencies, it introduced a draft bill in the House of Representatives,
while the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (FMWA) introduced a parallel bill in the
upper chamber, the Senate. According to informants from the organisations involved in the
campaign, such as the Women Law and Development Centre of Nigeria (WLDCN) in
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Fatima L. Adamu and Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam
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Lagos, BAOBAB, Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Agency (WRAPA), and the
Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), the most active coalition
members were elite secular women’s organisations (interviews with senior staff, June – July
2009). Some Christian organisations were involved in raising awareness of the issues
through their own programmes and projects (e.g. the Catholic Women’s Organisation and
the Young Women’s Christian Association), but Muslim organisations took little part in the
campaign, and only a few Muslim women played a role (see Para-Mallam et al. 2011).
The main campaign strategy adopted by the CEDAW coalition, the FMWA, and other part-
ners between 2004 and 2006 was legislative advocacy, focusing on key actors in the federal
government, the legislature, and the judiciary (Odinkalu 2008). The coalition solicited
support from a wider range of civil society and women’s organisations and coalitions, as
well as Assembly Members, especially successive chairpersons of the House Committee on
Women’s Affairs, while the FMWA worked to gain the support of other government agencies.
Other groups, in contrast, sought to use the CEDAW ideals to mobilise support for attempts to
empower women and improve their material and social conditions, although given the size of
Nigeria, the advocacy and grassroots mobilisation that occurred seemed like ‘a drop in the
bucket’, according to coalition activists, such as the Executive Director of WRAPA (interview
4 June 2009, Abuja). Some research participants (for example, a Senior Programme Officer
from UNIFEM) highlighted the role of the media in perpetuating misconceptions about
CEDAW, as well as the coalition’s ineffective use of media advocacy in the campaign.
Although initially the bill made good progress, opposition amongst Assembly members
emerged during its second reading, fuelled by vocal public opposition. It emerged from inter-
views (for example with the Executive Director of the Centre for Women in Politics and Policy,
Ibadan, and 17 religious leaders and FBO activists in 2008– 09; see also Imam 2009; Odinkalu
2009) that many Assembly Members and commentators were ignorant of the bill’s overall con-
tents. Despite this, Members voiced support for the general principles of CEDAW, including
promoting the dignity and wellbeing of women, respect for women’s human rights, the eradica-
tion of discrimination, support for women’s equal access to education and healthcare services
and opposition to all forms of violence against women, including forced and unwanted sex. The
opposition focused on three clauses (Articles 10, 12, and 16), came from Assembly Members
and religious leaders, and was expressed in largely religious terms. For example, a Muslim
scholar and cleric interviewed in 2009 asserted that
CEDAW is a very good document [except]... that some of the provisions are obnoxious to
our system and rules, particularly on issues relating to family, marriage, and inheritance.
The remaining provisions I think are OK.
None of the major religious organisations or faith communities issued a statement supporting or
opposing CEDAW as a whole and views about it vary among adherents between and within
both main religions. Christians and Muslims share views on some aspects, but differ on
others, identifying different clauses as being contrary to their religious tenets. The opposition
of conservative Christians (especially the predominantly male religious leadership and Assem-
bly Members) focused on the idea of equal rights for women and men, and (especially for
Catholics) the belief that the bill sought to legalise abortion. Both of these were regarded as
Western feminist impositions incompatible with Nigerian cultural traditions and true Christian-
ity, in part because, according to various informants, feminists and international agencies are
believed to advocate unbridled rights without commensurate responsibilities (for example,
the Archbishop of the Anglican Communion in Jos, 3 June 2009; the former President of the
Plateau State chapter of the CWO, 1 July 2009; and the Chair of the House of Representatives
Committee on Women’s Affairs 2007 – 08, 28 July 2009).
Development in Practice, Volume 22, Numbers 5 – 6, August 2012 809
Religion in women’s campaigns for legal reform in Nigeria
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Outside the Assembly, opposition focused on the bill’s supposed undermining of family life
and motherhood and support for abortion. It was spearheaded by the African Anti-Abortion
Coalition (AAAC), a network of like-minded mostly Christian groups such as the Catholic
Women’s Organisation, but also some Muslim and secular groups, including the National
Council of Muslim Youths. The AAAC had already been involved in the defeat of the 2006
Reproductive Health Bill and, given the widespread ignorance about the content of CEDAW,
was able to gain grassroots support, especially amongst Catholics, for its campaign to defeat
the bill on the misleading grounds that it was an ‘abortion bill’ (see www.chidicon.com.
AAAC.html). As one informant commented, ‘All the people who are against CEDAW have
no other thing they are quarrelling with other than that one, that is, it is [regarded as] a
pro-abortion bill’ (Executive Director, WRAPA, 4 June 2009).
Abortion was not a major concern for Muslims. Instead, their opposition, like that of many
Christian religious leaders, focused on the principle of equality between men and women in
marriage (Article 16), which they opposed on the grounds that while Shariah law provides
men and women with rights in marriage, these are not identical, because men are responsible
for maintaining women and children. Their justification for this view was summarised by a
FOMWAN member as follows:
... equality in marriage is not going to be to the woman’s advantage, because Islam has
already granted the Muslim woman her rights, which ensures that she is maintained – her
shelter, her clothing, her feeding, her medical care and her other needs are maintained. If
you said equality in marriage, that means she would be denied some of these rights Islam
has granted her, so we quarrel with that. She should not share the same burden over her
children. CEDAW expects her to have the same responsibility as a father; and we are
saying, ‘No!’ There are certain responsibilities that the man must shoulder. (6 August
2008)
Following from this, the right to divorce (and the process for obtaining a divorce) and inheri-
tance rights differ because of men’s and women’s different responsibilities. In this view,
CEDAW’s insistence on equality undermines the rights of women within marriage that are pro-
vided under Islamic law, which are said to ensure justice and fairness (ma’aruf) (Ezeilo 2007;
Sada et al. 2008). In addition, while Christians supported the stipulation on the minimum age
for marriage, many Muslims regarded this as un-Islamic: in their view, families are entitled to
decide when daughters should marry and it is consummation that must be delayed until a girl is
physiologically, mentally, and emotionally capable (Sada et al. 2009).
Overall, the research confirmed that the CEDAW coalition had underestimated the extent to
which religious actors would regard aspects of CEDAW as controversial, as well as their
capacity to mobilise formidable opposition that cut across various faith communities, sects,
and denominations. It emerged that few attempts had been made by those involved in the cam-
paign to investigate the views of faith communities and engage with them and their leaders to
explain the content of the bill, address the contentious issues included in it, and solicit their
support. The lobbying that was done reportedly focused on members of the House of Assembly,
but it was clear from the responses of coalition members that they had made less effort to create
awareness of the content of CEDAW or to garner support among religious leaders or faith-based
women’s organisations. One result amongst the religious leaders interviewed, including those
who had opposed the Bill, was that many were unaware of the specific content of CEDAW.
In addition, although faith-based women’s organisations were consulted by the Federal Ministry
of Women Affairs and others, there appears to have been little effort to involve them in the
CEDAW campaign itself. Given their influence and acceptability in their faith communities,
the coalition’s failure to enlist them as allies was a tactical error. Moreover, coalition
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members had made little effort to promote the bill amongst traditional/community leaders and
grassroots women’s organisations engaged in programmes to address women’s practical needs,
which were not integrated into the campaign.
The Muslim and Christian leaders and FBO activists interviewed support the principle of
women’s rights, but some (and many members of the overwhelmingly male National Assem-
bly) expressed strong reservations about the concept of ‘gender equality’, in particular referring
to men’s responsibility to care for their wives and children. Their preference for more accepta-
ble terminology, such as gender ‘equity’ or ‘partnership’, hinted at resistance to gender equality
on their part and among believers more widely. Conservative interpretations of sacred texts,
many of which are perceived to be compatible with indigenous cultural norms and practices,
were central to the opposition. However, it is difficult to disentangle opposition on religious
grounds from men’s fear of a threat to their dominant roles in the family and other social insti-
tutions on the one hand, and appeals to ‘culture’ on the other, as expressed in the following
quote from an interview with the Imam of a mosque in Ibadan:
Many men want to comply with traditional norms. They may not necessarily believe in ...
what they are doing but because it favours them, they are the ones oppressing women, they
have culture to back them up or they have tradition to hide under, since they are not the
ones being oppressed, they are not the ones being subjected to these havocs.
Despite the failure of the bill, the campaign continues. For example, the CEDAW coalition
submits its own reports to the UN Committee that reviews national progress in achieving
CEDAW’s aims to counter what it perceives as the Nigerian government’s exaggerated claims.
In addition, there is agreement among the organisations and activists concerned that in some
respects religion played a positive role in the campaign and can do so in future. For example,
some religious leaders and FBOs have identified scriptural references to use in campaigning,
arguing that unlike traditional culture, Christianity and Islam recognise women’s rights. Activists
in civil society organisations and government believe that lessons have been learnt from the cam-
paign, but lament the lack of a solid financial base for pursuing it to its logical conclusion.
As noted above, the coalitions working at national and state levels to domesticate CEDAW
also focus on a range of other issues, including the discriminatory effects of customary laws and
practices. Because these vary from region to region, campaigning for legal reform has tended to
occur at the State level. One such campaign, in Anambra State, sought to introduce a law to
prevent the maltreatment of widows. Although religion is often implicated in gender inequality
and discrimination against women, in this instance religious leaders and organisations played
key roles in this successful campaign. Its choice for study enabled the researchers to address
the questions of when, why and how religious actors facilitate rather than obstruct legal
reform intended to realise women’s rights.
The promotion of widows’ rights through legal reform in Anambra State
Many of the rituals and practices with which widows in largely Igbo Anambra State have tra-
ditionally been expected to comply are both incompatible with Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and
today regarded as inhumane and degrading (parts of a description by Lagos-based women’s
NGO BAOBAB are reproduced in Box 1; see also Fasoranti and Aruna 2003 and pp. 3 – 5 of
the 2005 Act). Widows are also discriminated against by Igbo inheritance rules, which prescribe
that property is inherited through the male line. Women are not entitled to inherit land from their
fathers and widows are not entitled to any share in the property of their deceased husband, even
property acquired during the marriage. The process of disinheritance is often initiated by an
accusation that the widow engineered her husband’s death, and to disprove this she must
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undergo further degrading rituals (Fasoranti and Aruna 2003). The rituals and practices are
associated with traditional religious beliefs and cultural norms and practices, although they
have a spiritual dimension and many involve shrines. For example, some rituals are intended
to ensure that the spirit of the deceased does not hover around and seek to associate with the
widow. They and the inheritance rules are enforced by the male and female relatives of the
deceased man, sometimes quite brutally. Not only are they humiliating, they can also reduce
widows and their children to destitution.
Box 1: Widowhood rites in Igboland
The Igbo widow must sit confined to ... a part of the husband’s house ... until the mourning
period [which may last up to a year] is over. She must not go out at all. She must not have
any physical contact with anybody. Any gifts or money brought for her must be dropped in
front of her. Nobody must touch her ... she is expected to be mostly naked. The widow sits
holding a knife (mma ekwu), which she must not drop. In other words, sleeping would be
rather difficult. Shaving of hair of some parts of the body especially the head is also
required. Her female in-laws called ‘umuada’ surround her ... They may beat her up for
not wailing loudly enough since loud and continuous wailing is seen as a sign of respect
for her late husband. Depending on their temperament, they may drag her out during the
funeral ceremony to be beaten by masqueraders
2
that usually carry deadly charms and
poison ... In a community like Nanka in Anambra State, the widow must not see her hus-
band’s corpse. She must leave home as soon as he dies. She may only come back for the
funeral and mourning rites. Before she gets back, the man’s relations would have taken
everything they want ... Despite these degrading treatments, women still opt for it for
fear of their sons being disinherited. These widowhood rites do not hold for widowers
(BAOBAB 2003: 44– 45).
Protests against widowhood practices motivated by both the inhumane and unjust nature of
widowhood practices, and by their effects on widows and their children, started in the late
1980s but were uncoordinated. In the 2000s, the campaign for legal reform was spearheaded
and organised by CENGOS (Coalition of Eastern NGOs), an umbrella organisation of over
100 NGOs in the nine states of the old Eastern Region, including Anambra (CENGOS n.d.).
The assistance of professional associations of women lawyers and journalists and religious
organisations was vital. An initial attempt to introduce a bill into the State House of Assembly
in 1999 failed, but lobbying by prominent professional women in Awka, the State capital, and
support from the State Assembly’s Committee for Women’s Affairs produced a more successful
outcome when the Anambra State Malpractices against Widows and Widowers (Prohibition)
Law No. 2005 was passed (interviews with the Director, CWO, Onitsha Archdiocese and the
NGO Programme Coordinator, Women for Development 29 July 2009).
In addition, growing concern over the maltreatment of widows, including their own
members, on the part of women’s organisations associated with the dominant Catholic and
Anglican denominations in this majority Christian state led to them becoming involved with
the campaign. According to Ilika and Ilika (2005), four individual cases between January
and June 2000 led to CWO becoming involved. It in turn brought in the Mothers’ Union and
the Women’s Guild, both associated with the Anglican Communion. These organisations
initiated and led a community-level campaign, seeking from the outset to obtain support
from their own members, religious leaders, and traditional organisations and leaders, especially
men. They consulted widely and sought the support of women in local communities, as well as
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lobbying town unions and chiefs, and selecting some male traditional leaders as patrons (Ilika
and Ilika 2005). Community level support both increased the legitimacy of the state-level cam-
paign and led to local pressure for changes in practices.
The campaign was justified using religious language and beliefs, for example, Biblical
injunctions to treat widows well, the Christian view of traditional religious beliefs as supersti-
tions, and the incompatibility between traditional and Christian funeral rites. A Catholic priest
interviewed during the study was typical:
Within Igbo traditional religion these issues of widowhood came up and we are responding
to it as members of the Christian religion. The Catholic religion especially is against this
traditional practice, that is contrary to the ... dignity of human persons.
While secular campaigners justified the legislation in terms of welfare and development, an
FBO programme officer emphasised the importance of Biblical references by campaigners
associated with the churches:
We used the Bible a lot because the Bible in so many instances said that you shouldn’t ill-
treat widows and orphans. So any good Christian knew that what we were saying was
correct. It is in the Bible ... We had no problems since we were quoting the Bible (inter-
view, Women’s Guild, 13 August 2009).
Secular NGOs and professional associations helped to raise funds and led on the campaign to
persuade the State House of Assembly to pass the bill, and judicious use of the media was
important. Several compromises were necessary to get the bill passed. In particular, widowers
as well as widows were included in the law, to reduce opposition from men.
In addition, the FBOs’ role in lobbying Assembly Members and obtaining the support of reli-
gious leaders was vital. In interviews, respondents reported that the churches provided an organ-
isational structure and platform for campaigners to spread their message, including to people in
the State House of Assembly. Churches and religious leaders provided credibility and legiti-
macy for the campaign, pastoral support, prayer, and material resources. The use of prayer in
churches to seek God’s blessing to get the bill passed and also to protect widows against
being charmed by traditionalists were reported.
The 2005 law prohibits and penalises the maltreatment of widows and widowers.
Interviewees reported that pressure for effective implementation has been maintained, with
an emphasis on educating women about their rights and providing support to women seeking
redress through mediation or the courts. As well as secular organisations, FBOs have been
involved by organising briefings for women and mutual support groups for widows at the
local level, and providing widows with legal advice and mediation services. Informants
reported a decline in (though not elimination of) harmful traditional practices. For example,
one NGO actor noted that
the number of mourning days which women observed has drastically come down to three to
four days, no more one year and above, the bottom line is that those obnoxious practices
are fast disappearing ... [and women’s in-laws] are becoming more careful, even though
some of them are still engaged in their activities (WACA, 27 July 2009).
They also reported women’s increased awareness of the law and their rights. For example, a
CWO programme officer argued that
women now know their rights. And when you want to infringe on them, they will tell you no,
especially the educated ones, but it is permeating now even among the illiterates, the
people are telling them, look it is your rights, demand it even if your husband’s people
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are saying do this, tell them no, that the government says it is not that way, you are pro-
tected (interview 11 August 2009).
However, it has proved particularly difficult to implement the provisions about widows’
inheritance rights, because of the entrenched nature and complexity of issues related to land
and property. Despite the legislation, it was reported that men in general and authority
figures in particular continue to believe that land-related issues are not the realm of women
and that land disputes should be handled by men. Unfortunately, at the time of the study, it
appeared that the campaigning momentum on this issue had been lost, as the coalition has dis-
persed and the interest of many of the organisations involved has moved on to other issues.
Comparison and reflection
A comparison of the campaigns to incorporate CEDAW into Nigerian Federal law and legislate
against the mistreatment of widows in Anambra State points to three key aspects that explain
both the different outcomes and the role of religion in campaigns for women’s rights: the
issues on which the campaigns focus; the sources of their support and opposition; and the strat-
egies and tactics adopted by those involved.
In both instances, there was wide support for the principles embodied in the legal reforms being
pursued – justice and dignity for women – but also considerable resistance (especially, but not
only, from men) to pursuing them to their logical conclusion – gender equality, particularly in
relation to reproduction, marriage, and inheritance. In Nigeria, where almost everyone is a prac-
tising Christian or Muslim, religious teachings and leaders are very influential and support or
opposition to the proposed legislation was directly related to whether it was seen as being ben-
eficial to the faith groups and their members and compatible with religious teaching. While the
general principles of the CEDAW were regarded as compatible with religious views, federal
legislation has limited impact until embodied in state law and implemented. In practice, opposi-
tion to the three articles regarded by Christians and Muslims as incompatible with religious tenets
outweighed the perceived benefits of enacting CEDAW into Nigerian law. Male domination of
the National Assembly and senior religious leadership contributed to the outcome. In contrast,
the legislation to protect widows was seen as beneficial to members of the churches, compatible
with religious teaching, and a way of further undermining traditional religious beliefs.
Other important characteristics of the individuals and organisations supporting or opposing the
campaigns were their motivations, power, and legitimacy. The key actors were the Assembly
Members, and initial campaigning efforts focused on lobbying them, although it was evident that
they were also influenced by their own religious beliefs, powerful religious figures, the media,
and their supporters, as well as their social position in a patriarchal society. Women’s under-represen-
tation in the legislative bodies, important bureaucratic decision-making positions, and the religious
leadership was disempowering, especially at the federal level. Both coalitions were formed and
dominated by NGOs. Although NGOs can act as brokers between grassroots movements and the
state in advocating for social change, they are often formed and run by members of the elite, influ-
enced by foreign ideas and dependent on external funding. In particular, the elite NGOs and pro-
fessional women that dominated the CEDAW coalition were regarded with suspicion.
As important as the breadth and relative power of the main sources of support or opposition
for the proposed legal reforms, were the strategies and tactics employed during the campaigns,
which in turn influenced the numbers and influence of supporters and opponents. First, as noted
above, the key CEDAW coalition members were elite NGOs and activists. They made little
effort to enlist support from the broader women’s movement, especially grassroots organis-
ations engaged in activities primarily aimed at improving women’s welfare, let alone from
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actors outside the women’s movement, such as traditional or religious leaders. In contrast, the
campaign in Anambra was forged from the outset by an alliance of key secular and religious
women’s organisations, which paid considerable attention to making women aware of their
rights in order enlist their support, thus bridging the elite-grassroots divide. The coalition’s
ability to do this was enhanced because the religious women’s organisations concerned not
only have significant organisational structures of their own, they were also able to tap into
the resources of the wider churches with which they are associated, enabling them to reach
local areas and many church members, both men and women, without having to depend on
external funding (see also Smith 1996). An additional advantage of these grassroots links
was that activities to ensure implementation of the Act, including sensitising women to its con-
tents and providing support if families fail to comply with its provisions, have reportedly
resulted in a significant reduction in the mistreatment of widows, although the legislation has
not yet had much impact on inheritance practices.
Other contrasts between the two campaigns include the use of religious discourses and the
media and willingness to compromise. The CEDAW coalition members appear not to have
realised that groups which had previously mobilised against reproductive health legislation
would be able to both interpret the bill to serve this agenda and mobilise organisational
resources to lobby Assembly Members and gain media support. As a result, they had not
taken pre-emptive action to identify and gain the support of potential opponents, ensure Assem-
bly Members and the media were well briefed on the contents of the bill, and enlist influential
supporters who could provide a convincing justification of the legal provisions, including reli-
gious leaders and organisations. In Anambra, in contrast, the campaign actors set out to solicit
the support of religious organisations, grassroots women’s organisations, traditional leaders,
and men; worked with journalists’ organisations to gain media support and coverage; and pro-
vided religious justifications for the proposed legal reform.
Finally, the CEDAW coalition sought to embody the whole of the Convention in Nigerian
law, even though potential supporters warned that some of the articles were so contentious
that opposition to them might jeopardise the campaign’s ability to achieve its aims, and
other countries had not attempted to do so. Currently, there is no agreement about whether
the best tactics in future would be to try again, perhaps omitting some of the more contentious
clauses, or to abandon the effort and focus instead on the African Union Protocol on the Rights
of Women in Africa, which Nigeria signed and ratified in 2004. Again, the campaigners in
Anambra adopted different tactics, supporting the extension of the bill’s provisions to widowers
when it became clear that opposition from men might lead to its defeat.
A movement forms around common issues and a burning desire to achieve social change: the
background and orientation of those involved is likely to be diverse and a groundswell of popular
support is needed, as well as constituent organisations. Despite their different outcomes, the cam-
paigns for legal reform analysed in this paper reveal the existence of an active women’s move-
ment in Nigeria, capable of forming coalitions at different levels and around various issues,
and orchestrating support from external organisations and actors. The research demonstrates
that successful coalitions form around a shared cause and goal and contain actors who are both
affected by the issues and capable of changing them, but that they may only be sustainable for
a limited period. Nevertheless, the campaigners’ ability to secure progressive legal reform was
constrained by wider social attitudes and institutions, especially the patriarchal values on
which gender relations, family and community life, the political system, and religious organis-
ations are based, and that disempower women in all these social arenas.
The women’s movement in Nigeria has been both shaped and resisted by religion. Depending
on the issues at stake, religious beliefs and organisations have both served as barriers to reform
and provided moral and/or institutional support. Although several factors contributed to the
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failure of the CEDAW domestication bill, our research confirmed that religious opposition to
certain clauses was the most significant. Nevertheless, many religious and political leaders
support the principles on which CEDAW is based and much of the bill’s content, while some reli-
gious organisations and leaders provided support to the campaign. The widowhood rights cam-
paign in Anambra State showed that the women’s movement can successfully build wide social
support for controversial issues. It also showed that religious organisations and their leaders may
not only support changes in social attitudes but also contribute significant organisational
resources to advancing processes of social change. However, in focusing on the ways in which
‘religion’ is implicated in gender inequalities and may hinder or support the realisation of
women’s rights, it is important to recognise that in Nigeria, as elsewhere, religion is neither a
single social phenomenon nor a separate sphere of individual, community, or organisational
life. Rather, religious beliefs and identities vary greatly within faith groups and are intertwined
with ethnic identities and cultural norms and practices in complex ways, which must be taken
into account in devising and analysing the outcomes of any attempt to achieve social change.
Acknowledgments
This paper is an output from a project funded by UK Aid from the UK Department for International
Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily
those of DFID. The study was carried out by the authors with the assistance of Adebayo O. Ajala of
the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Ibadan, and Bolatito Lanre-Abbas of the
University of Ibadan, whose roles in the data collection and preparation of the original working papers
is gratefully acknowledged. Martin Rew and Emma Tomalin coordinated the project of which this research
formed part - their inputs into the conception and execution of the research are also acknowledged. Finally,
without Carole Rakodi’s assistance, this paper would not have been published – the detailed feedback she
provided and her extensive editing were much appreciated by the authors.
Notes
1. Attempts to obtain documents relating to court cases heard between 2000 and 2008 in order to assess the
influence of the 2005 Act on conflicts over widows’ rights were unsuccessful, although NGOs such as
the National Women Peace Group made accounts of a few cases available.
2. Igbo masquerades are traditional performances acted out by exclusive secret societies of adult males
within a community. The main functions of these societies are to celebrate the harvest, entertain
village people and inspire fear in non-members. The members wear masks to hide their identity and
resemble the spirit of a dead community member; they are thought to represent the dead, who live
between the earthly and spiritual worlds.
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The authors
Fatima Adamu is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the Usmanu Danfodiyo
University, Sokoto and currently on leave from the University working with a UK Aid-funded programme
on maternal and child health in Northern Nigeria (PRRINN-MNCH) as a Social Development Advisor.
,fladamuy@yahoo.com.
Oluwafunmilayo Para-Mallam is a Senior Fellow at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic
Studies, Kuru. She obtained a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the University of Ife, Nigeria, and
Development in Practice, Volume 22, Numbers 5 – 6, August 2012 817
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a PhD in development studies from the University of Leeds, UK. Her research interests include gender
policy analysis, women’s rights, sexual and gender-based violence, peace and security, and governance
and democracy.
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Fatima L. Adamu and Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam
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