Nigerian women ensure they get the best possible healthcare by managing unequal power relations with men

Ogochukwu Udenigwe

Nigeria is a patriarchal society. Authority is vested in men, who tend to exert power and control over women in various spheres of life. This has an impact on women’s health and decisions about their healthcare.

Women’s health is affected not only by medical conditions and childbearing, but also by cultural behaviour and traditions. Social factors such as gendered access to healthcare or employment also affect people’s capacity to lead healthy lives.

The Nigerian feminist scholar Obioma Nnaemeka has described feminism in an African context as a matter of negotiation and compromise. She calls it “negofeminism”. It involves “give and take” instead of confrontational exchanges.

This concept helped me, as a global health researcher, to understand what rural Nigerian women said about seeking healthcare during and after pregnancy.

For our study, my colleagues and I interviewed women and their spouses in two rural communities in southern Nigeria.

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