When Women Rebel: Critical Appraisal of Social and Politi-cal Authority in the Gender Relations of Ozuitem, Southeast, Nigeria

Central to issues of male domination and female marginalization in Igboland are cultural attitudes associated with political authority. This study examines the unexamined intrinsic nexus between social and political authority within the arena of gender relations in Igboland, using Ozuitem-Bende women in Southeastern Nigeria as a case study. The study argues that, beyond the matrilineal powers wielded by women in some Igbo social formations, women’s ‘social authority’ (evidenced in the activities of Umuada, which includes declaration of sex strike, etc.) in several Igbo communities has grown into ‘political authority’ that provides them the platform to participate in village democracy and governance. In this, women have extracted a variant of ‘authority’ from the men, for which no major decisions can be taken without their input. Using Ozuitem-Bende women as case study, this research affirms that the sheer number and unity of purpose of women including their ability and likelihood to impose sanctions on men especially in the area of detaching or distancing themselves from communal cultural feasts and festivals, refusal to take part in burials and above all, the declaration of sex strike remain instruments readily available to encourage men to ‘let go’ and involve them in decision making. Scholars of cultural and gender history seem reluctant or unable to investigate the curious link between men’s ‘natural’ authority and women’s ‘earned’ authority in the broader discussion of women's inclusion, marginalization, and authority in Igboland. The study concludes that women's accumulated social authority has made them co-travelers with men in village governance and in community organization/mobilization.