APPRAISING GENDER AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA: LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The concept of human rights is as old as human history itself. Different civilizations have derived
some measure of human rights from religious documents, considering such “natural” rights as
emanating directly from a superior being. Historically, entitlement to those rights was often limited
in scope because women were often excluded from the enjoyment of certain rights even though by its
very own concept, there shouldn’t be any limitation to the enjoyment of human rights since women
were humans too. Sadly, these limitations still exist till date. Women still do not enjoy the full
protection and benefits of human rights as provided by the various Human Rights Instruments in
existence. The objective of this paper is to analyze the prevalence of gender inequality in Nigeria.
This paper adopted a theoretical framework by looking at other literature on the subject as basis for
our findings and recommendations. Our findings reveal that not notwithstanding the express
provisions of the Constitution and the various human rights instruments which have been
domesticated in Nigeria, the existence of gender-based discrimination is on the increase especially
as it relates to property rights of women. It is therefore our recommendation that measures to achieve
gender equality must go beyond identical treatment of women but should be with the ultimate view
to achieving equal enjoyment of rights, income levels and participation and influence in decision-making, as well as freedom from violence for both, women and men.