ASSESSMENT OF  THE  CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS TO  RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NSUKKA AND  OBOLLO-AFOR EDUCATION ZONES OF  ENUGU STATE

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Abstract

The study was aimed at assessing the extent of the contributions of women’s  associations  to rural development in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Education Zones of Enugu State.  To guide the study, four research questions were formulated with the intention of ascertaining the extent of women’s associations to the educational,  economic,  socio-cultural  and political development of rural  communities  in Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor  Education  Zones  of Enugu  State.  Also, three null hypotheses  were tested at .05 level of significance  and used  to guide the study. Descriptive survey research design was used. The population of the study was 1,354 members of women’s associations in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones from where a sample of 987 was  drawn using  simple random  sampling technique.  The instrument  used  for the study was a 28-item self-designed  questionnaire  called Assessment of the Contributions  of Women’s   Associations   to   Rural   Development   Questionnaire   (ACOWRUDEQ).   The instrument was face validated by three experts and its reliability  was ensured using Cronbach alpha estimate.  Reliability co-efficient of .94  was  obtained.  Weighted  mean  and  standard deviation   were  used   in  analyzing   the  collected   data.  Copies   of the  instrument   were administered  to  the respondents  through  direct  delivery  technique.  Findings  of the  study revealed that women’s associations contribute to a high extent on the educational, economic, socio-cultural  and political  development  of rural  communities.  The three  null  hypotheses were rejected  showing that there were  significant  differences  between  the mean ratings  of illiterate  and  literate  members  of women’s  associations  on the  extent  to  which  women’s associations contribute to the educational, economic,  socio-cultural and political development of rural communities in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Education Zones of Enugu State.  Based on the findings of the study,  recommendations  were proffered  which included that Enugu State Government should actively involve more women in developmental  programmes and projects that concern  them,  and that  state government  and  local government  councils  should  make functional literacy programmes available for women as an effective  strategy towards empowerment. Finally, suggestions for further research were made.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The contributions  of women in advancing  development  have been widely acknowledged.  UNESCO  (2005)  noted that African  women  form an indispensable  part  of human resources  for development.  Without  their contributions, African countries  cannot be expected to be maintained  at the present low level not to talk of any development  progress arising thereof.  Women play active role in development.   According to ljere  (1992),  women form the backbone of rural development.  They are found in agriculture and even outside it. In the household, they hold an unassailable  pre-eminence  tending to the children and even the husbands. Lending credence to the above, Odo, Onyishi and Aha (2007) stated that women throughout  the world are strong and active contributors  to the development  of the societies. They engage in considerable  work outside their homes although this is rarely recognized  in national statistics. They went further to state that the degree in disorganization  and chaos that occurs when they are absent in their house confirm the extent of their importance.

In the society,  women are cleaners of rural roads,  the regular visitors  to the weekly market,  the  impartial  arbitrators  in  family  or  clan  disputes  and  disagreement,  and  the preservers   of age-old  customs  of yam  festivals,  child  birth,  marriage  feast  and  water collection.  It follows therefore  that any programme  of rural transformation  that ignores the women does so at its own risk. This is because women have been principal actors in pre- and post-harvest  food  process  as producers,  processors,  preservers,  conservers,  preparers  and traders in food crops (Ekejiuba,  1991 ).

In  political  and  social  spheres,  women  have  occupied  leadership  roles  on  many occasions   in  many   communities.   According   to  Ekejiuba   (1996),  two  women   figured prominently  in the early history  of the Hausa  communities.  The first of these was  Queen

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Dauranana  who  ruled the Daura  State at the time of last series of invasion that  led to the emergence of the seven Hausa states. Another woman of note in Hausa political tradition was Queen Amina of Zaria.  She was a figure whose history  is perhaps  not in doubt. Afigbo  in Odo, et al (2007)  stated that the same example  can be taken from Igboland.  Women were often represented in the council of elders by their most distinguished, most matured and most gifted leaders.  In the elders’  council,  the women  leaders were  listened to with respect  and taken seriously into account when decisions were being reached. According to Onwuasoanya (2002), the women group called Umuada  are highly respected, petted and regarded with awe and respect. It is their duty to react against anything that disturbs the orderly nature of Igbo cultural life, particularly,  when things are no longer normal and when the law of the land is violated.

The more educated women’s views and contributions are respected and followed especially  in community  affairs.  This assertion  is supported by Kiratz (2001) who revealed that  the higher  the educational  level  of women,  the higher  their  contributions  to national development.  Better  educated  population  is likely  to  foster  national  development  through changes that can be expected  in the nature of political participation.  Women’s  education  is known to be associated with political emancipation. United Nations  (1999) noted that when women are educated,  they are able to know and claim their rights to vote and be voted for. They are also considered as having a sense of solidarity in the execution of projects.

In the economic  sphere,  women’s  economic  development  strengthens the incentives for more equal resources and participation. United Nations Development  Programme, UNDP (2005) revealed that when women’s income increases, there is reduction in power and gender inequality.  Women  contribute  towards economic development  by increasing the availability and quality of public  services  such as health clinics  and schools,  and reducing  the cost of investment in human capital for the household.  The work,  economic and social contributions

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of women  according to Okoli (2012)  can be found in two broad  areas:  the community  and within the household. In a community, the economic production base determines the work or labour of rural women in the various segments of production.  Women actively contribute  to food production  in most countries,  thus improving  social linkages and kinship relationships and facilitating resource exchange in times of need.

In the household, the traditional gender role ideology founded on culture and religious tenets  determines  the  participation   of rural  women  in  household  production.  Generally, women are the primary care-givers and domestic workers within the household at every stage of the life cycle,  and this responsibility  of care-giving  is expanded to serve the needs of the community  too.  Okoli (2012) also noted that the contributions  made by women within the household  encouraged them to cross customary  gender role boundaries  and to participate  in the economy  outside  the household,  often  in farm  production  and  sometimes  in off-farm production.

It is based on the enormous  contributions  of women towards rural development  that the  General  Assembly  of the  United  Nations  declared  October  16  as  the  World  Rural Women’s Day (Okoli,  2012).  It is done in recognition  of the critical roles and contributions of women including rural women in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. Therefore, Ogidefa (2010) stated that rural development  involves  the creation  and widening  of opportunities  for (rural) individuals  to realize their full potentials through education and share in decisions and actions which affect their   lives.   It  also   involves   efforts  to   increase   rural   output   and  create   employment opportunities and root out fundamental (or extreme) cases of poverty, diseases and ignorance. Supporting the above assertion, Obetta and Okide (2011) stated that rural development  is the integrated   approach   to   food  production   as  well   as  physical,   social   and   institutional infrastructural  provisions  with  an  ultimate  goal  of bringing  about  both  quantitative  and

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qualitative  changes  which  results  in improved  living  standard  of the rural  population.  In Nigeria,  Ekpo  and  Olaniyi  (1995)  affirmed  that  the  lives  of more  than  two-third  of the country’s population that live in an estimated 97,000 rural communities, are characterized by misery,  poverty,  morbidity  and under-development.  Hence,  it has been recognized  that the rural  areas  and people  living there  are characterized  by  general  poverty,  low  income  and investment, underutilized  and/or unutilized  natural  resources, rapidly  increasing  population and  under-employment  and/or  unemployment.   Others  are  low  productivity,  especially  of labour, use of low and traditional  technology,  limited  enterprise  or entrepreneurship,  high level of illiteracy,  ignorance,  disease and malnutrition,  near absence  of social and physical infrastructure,  political  powerlessness   and  gullibility  (Lele  & Adu-Nyako,   1991).  In this study, rural development refers to the process of improving the per capita income of the rural dwellers and their quality of lives so as to enable them become prime movers in the society in which they belong.

Therefore,  the full engagement  of both  women  and men in construction  of a new social order is a step towards  achieving  sustainable rural development  (Bahai International Community, 2012).  Gajanayake and Gajonayake  (1993) asserted that the current  challenge facing rural  development  activities  is to search for bottom-top  approach  involving  human• centred  development   strategies  that  emphasize  active  participation   of the  people  at  the grassroots  level.  Guided  by  the  above  bottom-top  approach,  Nigerian  government  made various  attempts in the past towards  rural development.  These were noticeable through  the introduction  of different  programmes  such as River Basin Development  Authority  (RBDA), Directorate  for Food, Roads  and Rural  Infrastructure  (DFRRI),  among others.  In all these programmes,  rural  development  was  used  as a  strategy  for modernizing  the  society.  For instance,  the declared  aim of River Basin Development  Authority  was to make the nation self-sufficient  in food production  and to uplift  the  socio-economic  standard  of the people

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living  in both  urban  and  rural  communities.  Accordingly,  Otoghagua  (1999)  reported  that governm ent in the Third National Development  Plan provided  huge sum of money to develop the main  rivers  of the  country  to  benefit  agriculture  and  the  development  of comm unities. However,  the activities of the authority  showed that the development  philosophy  was still the top-down  approach  as development  of comm unities was not a serious issue in the objectives of the authority.

On  the  various  development   programm es  employed  by  governm ent  functionaries, Ogidefa   (2010)  stated  that  there  was  lack  of total  community   participation.  The  people showed   lack   of  interest   and   unwillingness    in   community    development    activities   as governm ent   functionaries   regard   them   as  being   incapable   of  identifying,   planning   and implementing  comm unity development  projects.  Also,  on lack of grassroots planning,  there is little or no attempt to allow the communities  to identify the problems  and goals,  analyze their own needs and commit themselves  to the achievement  of the project  target.  The planners  do not consult even the co-operatives  and the interest groups such as the women groups.  There is also  problem  of appointing   new  leaders  even  where  such  leaders  already  exist,  and  not making  use of age grades  and women’s  groups  in the  initiation  and implementation  of rural development  projects.  Obetta  (2009)  cited  an  instance  with  Etteh  Community  of lgbo-Eze North  Local  Governm ent  Area  of Enugu   State where  bore-hole  that  supplies  water  to  the greater  part  of the  comm unity  could  not  function  adequately  until  it was  handed  over  to  a community-based  women group to manage. The women group exhibited proficiency in accountability and maintenance culture. Ezugwu (2009) also affirmed that sustainable rural development   aims  at  empowering  the  rural  people  through  participatory   and  community• oriented  development  that  is woven  around  local principles,  skills  and  technologies,  and  to protect  the  environm ent  by  generating   and  facilitating   appropriate   resource   management

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systems.   Therefore,   the  contributions   of women  organizations   in  the  development   of communities cannot be over-emphasized.

Women  organizations  have  focus  on environment,  education,  food  and nutrition, agriculture, women  issues and communication. They  also perform activities  on advocacy which  is directed  at changing  either  the political agenda or in promoting  human rights and  responsibilities.  Therefore, the women  organizations   act as agents  of political  and socio-cultural   development.    They  promote   unity   and   cordial   relationship    which   are necessary  ingredients  of social  and  economic   development  (Olowu,   Ayo  & Akande,

1991 ).  In the same vein,  Okeibunor  (1995) emphasized  that women organizations provide manual  labour  when there are community projects.

The objectives of women  organizations  are to  involve   all  their  members  in the community  projects,  to  bring  out  social  change,  to  base  the  community  development projects  on  the  philosophy of self-help  by  as  many  members   as  possible   and  to  be concerned  with  task  goal  and progress  goal of community  development.  Based  on  these objectives, women  organizations select  projects that meet  the time that  is most  required. Most often, their projects are small and easy to manage and implement.

The  fundamental   contributions   of women  organizations  in  the  development  of communities    are   the   establishment  of  income-generating  projects  for   communities, reduction  in unemployment rate in rural areas and promotion of self-reliance. Amucheazi (1991)  described  self-reliance as  complete independence  from  and  absence  of external dealings   and  connections.  The  main  emphasis  is  on  the  development of the  people, helping  them to live more satisfying lives, not just providing material benefits. Other contributions of women organizations include promoting active participation of women in developmental activities, developing  leadership  spirit  and ability  to protect the  interests of women  in social, religious,  cultural  activities (Okeibunor,  1995).

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In Nsukka  and  Obollo-Afor  Education  Zones  of Enugu  State,  there  are  155  rural communities spread in the six local government areas of the zones (Eze, 2010). However, the creation  of Enugu  State  in  1991  spurred  the  formation  of several  organizations   in  the communities that make up the two zones. Prominent among the organizations  are the women organizations.  According  to  Obetta  (2012),  these  organizations   addressed  the  issues  of primary health care, rural water supply and sanitation, leadership development, rural credits, eradication  of illiteracy,  agricultural  projects,  rural electrification  projects,  rural feeder-road and maintenance projects, and income-generation  projects.

This implies that the capability of the women organizations  can be evaluated by their contributions  to rural development,  especially  in the areas of educational,  economic,  socio• cultural  and political  development.  There  is therefore  the need to determine  the  extent  to which these women organizations have educationally, economically, socio-culturally and politically  developed  rural  communities  in Nsukka  and  Obollo-Afor  Education  Zones  of Enugu State.   It is against this background that the researcher intends to carry out this study.

Statement of the Problem

Generally,  over the  years, women  in Nsukka  and  Obollo-Afor  Education  Zones  of Enugu  State have  been  discriminated   against  by  their  male  counterparts  in the  areas  of education,  economy,  socio-cultural,  politics  and  labour  force.  As  a  result,  men  fail  to appreciate   the   importance    of  women’s   contributions    in   the   society.   This   terrible marginalization   of women  by  men  led  to  the  coming  together  of these  women  to  form community-based  women associations  (Obetta,  2004).  The associations pooled the efforts of the various women together to help in developing the places where they live.

The  formation  of the  various  community-based   women  associations  has  brought tremendous  changes in the communities within the senatorial zone. Many of the women have enrolled in education programmes. Through this, many of them are now self-reliant, and have

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obtained certificates  for better jobs.  They now fight against some obnoxious traditions,  which are harmful  such as female  circumcision, high bride  price, early/child-marriage, widowhood practice, among others.  They are also  involved  in settling family  disputes  and promotion  of women’s  participation   in politics.  The  formation  of such  associations  have  led the  women folk to  more  employm ent  opportunities,  improvement  of their  incomes,  provision  of small• scale industries and formation of co-operative  societies.

Furthermore,   it   seems   that   the   lots   of  effort   that   community-based    women associations  put  into the development  of rural  communities  are not  commensurate  with  the outcome.  Also,  their  contributions  to  the  development  of rural  communities  educationally, economically, socio-culturally  and politically  are still in doubt in some communities. Without detailed   assessment   of  its   effectiveness,   it  is   difficult   to  justify  the   contributions   of community-based   women  associations  in the  development  of rural  comm unities  in the  two zones.  Hence,  it  is not  possible  to  state  the  extent  to  which  the  various  comm unity-based women associations have contributed  to the development  of rural communities  in Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones of Enugu State.

Therefore,  the  problem   of the  study  posed  as  a  question  is:  to  what  extent  have community-based  women  associations  contributed  educationally, economically, socio• culturally  and  politically  to  the  development  of rural  communities  in Nsukka  and  Obollo• Afor Education Zones ofEnugu  State.

Purpose of the Study

The  main  purpose   of the  study  is  to  assess  the  extent  to  which  the  women’s associations   have  contributed   to  the  development   of rural  communities   in  Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor Education Zones of Enugu State.  Specifically, the study sought to:

1.         find out the extent to which women’s  associations  have contributed  educationally  to the development of rural communities in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Education Zones.

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2.           ascertain  the extent to which women’s  associations  have contributed  economically  to the development  of rural communities  in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones.

3.           identify the extent to which women’s associations  have contributed  socio-culturally  to the development  of rural communities  in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones.

4.           ascertain the extent to which women’s  associations  have contributed  politically  to the

development  of rural communities  in Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this research will be significant in a number of ways.  It will provide multi-purpose  information to different  users including Enugu State Commission  for Women Affairs, the three  tiers of government,  members  of community-based  women  associations, professionals,  students and organizations, donor agencies, policy planners and academicians.

The Enugu State Commission for Women Affairs will benefit from the findings of the study as it will  enable  them to mount  effective  women  empowerment  programmes  in the various  communities  for the benefit  of the women  in particular,  and for the benefit  of the generality of the people in the state.

The three tiers of government  will also benefit  from the findings of this study.  The findings will enable the government  to acquire a variety of supportive functions to various women’s associations thereby shifting from being implementers to being facilitators of community  development  projects.  The findings will also create awareness on the part of the government  on the need for training the members  of women’s  associations  on the planning, financing,  implementation  and maintenance  of community  development  projects.  Also, the findings will help the government in the proper dissemination  of information and offering  of technical   and  managerial   assistance   to  members   of women’s  associations   on  matters pertaining to adequate planning and implementation  of community development projects.

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The founders,  organizers,  mobilizers and members of women’s  associations  will find this work very useful as a working  document.  It would  enable them to accelerate women’s full participation  in economic, political and socio-cultural activities by ensuring gender mainstreaming in all government policies, plans and programmes.

Also,  professionals,  academicians,  students  and  organizations   wishing  to  extend further research in the area of women’s role in rural development  will use this piece of work as reference material. It will also serve as a guide or handbook for professionals and students in the area of community development.

Policy planners will also find the findings of this study very useful. It will enable the experts in policy planning to formulate policies in community development that will steer the interest  of women  in being  actively  involved  in community  projects’   development.  It will also enable them to rise up to the challenges of investigating,  at the grassroots level,  how to improve on the political, economic, educational, health and agricultural development  policy, planning and implementation in community development in Enugu State.

Scope of the Study

The study focused on the contributions  of women’s associations  to the development of rural communities in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Education Zones ofEnugu State. The study was restricted to only the registered women’s  associations in the six local government  areas in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Education Zones ofEnugu State.

The  study  also  focused  on  the  extent  to  which  the  women’s  associations   have contributed  to  the  development  of rural  communities  educationally,  economically,  socio• culturally and politically in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Education Zones of Enugu State.

Research Questions

The following Research Questions were posed to guide the study:

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1.To   what   extent   have   women’s    associations    contributed    educationally    to   development  of rural communities  in Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones?the
  2.  To   what   extent   have   women’s    associations    contributed    economically    to  the
      3.  development  of rural communities  in Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones?   To   what   extent   have   women’s    associations   contributed    socio-culturally   to      the
   development  of rural communities  in Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor  Education Zones? 

4.          To what extent have women’s  associations  contributed  politically  to the development of rural comm unities in Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Education Zones?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance:

H0:  There is no significant difference  in the mean ratings of illiterate and literate members of women’s associations on the extent to which women’s associations have contributed educationally  to  the  development  of rural  communities  in Nsukka  and  Obollo-Afor Education Zones.

H0: There is no significant difference  in the mean ratings of illiterate and literate members of women’s associations on the extent to which women’s associations have contributed economically  to  the  development  of rural  communities  in Nsukka  and  Obollo-Afor Education Zones.

H0,:  There is no significant difference  in the mean ratings of illiterate and literate members of women’s associations on the extent to which women’s associations have contributed socio-culturally  to the development  of rural communities  in Nsukka  and Obollo-Afor Education Zones.



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ASSESSMENT OF  THE  CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS TO  RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NSUKKA AND  OBOLLO-AFOR EDUCATION ZONES OF  ENUGU STATE

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