Nigeria has a National Gender Policy that focuses on women empowerment while also making a commitment to eliminate discriminatory practices that are harmful to women.However, significant gender gaps in education, economic empowerment and political participation remain in Nigeria. While progress towards parity in primary school education has been made, there remains a significant wage and labour force participation gender gap.Discriminatory laws and practices, violence against women and gender stereotypes hinder greater progress towards gender equality. Nigeria has a particularly high maternal mortality rate and women access to quality health care is limited, particularly in rural areas. The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria prohibits discrimination on the grounds of Sex, but customary and religious laws continue to restrict women’s rights. As Nigeria is a federal republic, each State has the authority to draft its own legislation.

However, any law that is contradictory to Federal Law or the Constitution can be challenged in a Federal Court. The combination of federation and a tripartite system of civil, customary and religious law makes it very difficult to harmonise legislation and remove discriminatory measures. Moreover, certain States in the north follow Islamic (Sharia) law, although not exclusively and only in instances where Muslims make use of Islamic courts.

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Adherence to Islamic and customary law reinforces practices that are unfavourable to women, including those relating to freedom of movement, marriage, and inheritance. Although an ‘Abolition of all Forms of Discrimination against Women in Nigeria and other Related Matters Bill’ was considered in the mid- 2000s, the National Assembly did not pass this bill nor a related national bill prohibiting violence against women. Across its 36 States, Nigerian law is governed by a combination of federal, state and pre-independence English law. State law can further be divided into statutory legislation, customary law, and Sharia law, resulting in wide variations in applicable law especially in the domain of the family and marriage, where customary law plays a strong role.More specifically, three forms of marriage are recognised in the country: monogamous marriage registered under the civil marriage law, marriages performed under customary law, and marriages performed under Islamic law. Electric Parking Brake Tools. The Child Rights Act of 2003 amended the Constitution to set the minimum age of marriage at 18 for both sexes, but only 24 of Nigeria’s 36 States have adopted the Act. As a result, State laws on the minimum age of marry vary: in southern Nigeria, the minimum legal age of marriage is between 18 and 21 years of age, depending on the region; in the north it ranges from 12 to 15 years. Bride price payments are practiced in many parts of Nigeria; there is no uniformity of laws regarding the amount, although some areas have made efforts to harmonise bride prices with mixed results.

In mid-2013, Nigeria received much media coverage when senators gathered to review Section 29 of the Constitution, which stipulates that citizens must be of full age to renounce their citizenship. The section adds, “full age means the age of 18 years and above” and specifies that “any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.” The initial recommendation was to delete the latter from the Constitution. Heated debate and public demonstrations over whether or not the section discriminates against Muslim women (considered “of age” once they are married) ultimately resulted in a vote that left the section unchanged. While the section is limited in scope to the question of renouncing citizenship, the decision to retain the clause has been considered by many as an implicit acceptance of early marriage.

In civil marriages, the mother and father share parental authority, and married couples jointly share legal responsibility for financial maintaining the family’s expenses. Married and unmarried women can be “head of the household” in the same way as a man. However, at least two-thirds of the Nigerian population are bound by customary and Islamic law that grants solely men the status of head of the household and sole parental authority.Due to fears of ostracism, losing custody of children, or being unable to support themselves, many women may refrain from initiating divorce.

Custody laws vary widely: while custody of children is usually granted to the mother under Sharia law, under Yoruba customary law, mothers are granted custody of female children and fathers of male children. In Igbo customary law, custody of weaned children is usually given to the father.Under Civil Law, custody of children is to be decided based on the child’s best interest. Like marriage and divorce, patterns of inheritance and succession have almost as many variations as there are ethnic groups in Nigeria, a reflection of the country’s plural legal system. No Xserver Installed here.