Role of Men in Women Empowerment: A Study of Ijesa in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Empowerment is a process of awareness and capacity building leading to greater participation, to greater decision-making power and control, and to transformative action. In addition, empowerment is a process that is both individual and collective. Despite important advances towards equality, differences in the socioeconomic outcomes of men and women persist both in the developing and developed world. Recently, policy makers and social scientists have begun to emphasize the role and responsibility of men and boys in promoting gender equality and women empowerment. To achieve women’s empowerment, the role of men can never be overemphasized because the lives of men and women are intertwined such that whatever affects one directly or indirectly affects the other. Further, government also has major roles to play in order to empower women. This paper therefore examined the roles of men and government towards women’s empowerment in Ijesaland. In order to achieve this, the paper examined the traditional position of women in the study area, which sometimes determine the action and reaction of men toward women empowerment. Examining the role of men and that of the government in women empowerment is important because without the participation of men and government, empowering women may not be achievable. A cross-section sample survey was used to collect data using questionnaire and interview guides to elicit information from the respondents. The study found out that the majority of the respondents see women as husband helper in the study area. The role of men in women’s empowerment according to the respondents should include allowing them to exhibit their God given potentials, as well as allowing them to mix with the society at large to gain access to positions of authority within the society. Government on the other hand, should provide enabling environment for the empowerment of women, equal rights and privileges to men and women, provision of micro-finance for business, more investment in the education sector (vocational education), giving attention to affirmative action, and government should embrace the concept of women’s empowerment. The study concludes that women empowerment will not materialise without the participation of men and the government in the process.

Keywords: Empowerment, Men, Women’s Empowerment, Government, Ijesaland