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Perpetuating gender inequality
ADEJOKE BABINGTON-ASHAYE
For several weeks MTN teased Nigerians with a single question: "what�s beautiful?" Eventually MTN unleashed
its new advertising campaign with two well produced adverts: let�s dance and mama na boy. In Mama na boy, MTN displays
how its telecommunication links both urban and rural worlds when an excited son calls his mother to inform her
of the birth of his child. His face all aglow with paternal pride he shouts down the phone "Mama, na boy!"
On the other end all is unleashed. The old mama jumps up and begins what can only be described as �vigorous dancing�.
The whole village is awakened, and joins her to celebrate the birth. At the end, the mama and other women raise
their hands and heads to the skies, thanking their God. After several showings of this advert, I couldn�t help
but ask myself: Is the joy at having a child or the fact that the child is a boy?
Sex-preference is traditionally rooted in Nigeria and is based on social constructs of the role and value of males
and females. Boys are valued at birth while a man is traditionally viewed as the breadwinner of the family. Mothers
are blamed for �producing girls�, even by those who know that a father�s chromosomes determine the sex of the child.
From a parent�s perspective a son is more likely to be in a position to cater for them in their old age. Additionally,
for posterity�s sake a son will carry on the family name and guarantee his father�s pseudo-immortality. Such sex
preferences are thus reflected in inheritance laws that restrict the transfer of property and wealth to males.
It is at this point necessary to draw a distinction between sex and gender. Sex is the biological identification
of an individual as either male or female. Gender on the other hand is a social construct which determines what
it means to be male or female in a particular society. Gender therefore attributes codes of behaviour and value
considered appropriate to a sex. It has thus come about that the differential value of gender usually results in
preference for the sex with higher socially attributed value. In this light, the value of work done by women is
often underestimated and leads to inequality in resource allocation to boys and girls, men and women.
Sex-preference at child birth is not solely a Nigerian or even African problem but is prevalent around the world,
especially in Asia. An old Chinese proverb which reads: "eighteen goddess-like daughters are not equal to
one son with a hump," effectively illustrates the abomination of a girl child. In rural India a traditional
song often song by women once translated states "had I known that the foetus was that of a girl, I would have
had a drink of hot chillis and killed not only the foetus but also this lifelong curse."
The process of modernization has failed to neutralize traditional sex preferences; rather it seems to reinforce
it through various forms of media and technology such as ultrasound and amniocentesis which enable pre-natal identification
of the sex of the unborn baby. Thanks to such technology India is currently one of the countries with the highest
sex-selective abortion rate. In China, unwanted children put up for adoption are three times more likely to be
girls. UN research demonstrates that gender bias pervades school texts as well. In Moroccan primary school texts,
the majority of pictures depict women cooking, rearing children, cleaning, fetching water and milking cows. In
Nigerian advertising and school texts there are fewer adverts and pictures that place women in positions of leadership
as compared to the aforementioned traditional roles, thus reinforcing these social constructs. Where women are
depicted at work, it is mainly in traditionally perceived roles of women such as nursing, or as secretaries with
some exceptions. With adverts like these, there is thus no encouragement or incentive for many women to branch
out of socially perceived roles to make a greater impact on their society and attain personal development without
reliance on men.
While Nigeria�s situation is not as bad as that of India or China, adverts such as that of MTN only go to show
that sex-preferences are still prevalent in our culture and accepted as such. Compare MTN�s advert with Glo�s "everyone
go hear". In that advert a maid runs to her madam to inform her of a successful child birth. When she hears
this news the madam�s main concern is her ability to inform "Germany, America, UK�which one again" of
the fact that her daughter had delivered. The maid�s thoughts of "she no even ask whether na boy or girl!"
reflect traditional gender preferences. Should it matter?
It seems that in Nigeria it still does much to the country�s disadvantage. Notwithstanding ongoing efforts at ensuring
gender equality in all spheres of society, this preference is deeply engrained in society�s psyche despite its
apparent negative implications. Taking a "life-cycle perspective" of the situation, permitting sex preferences
in child birth and child rearing results in greater problems of sex-selective abortion, infanticide, abandonment
and or trafficking. Under-valuing of the girl-child encourages girl child trafficking and prostitution, discrimination
against girls in immunization and health care, discrimination in educational opportunities, employment discrimination,
inequity in political leadership, domestic and sexual violence and violence in the work place (recently exhibited
by Senator Mohammed). In conflict situations around the world, women are often looked upon as the �war booty� and
are often forced into sexual slavery and subjected to various forms of violence. In some cases son preference can
be associated with an excess of births to obtain that one elusive son having great implications on the mother�s
reproductive health, family size and child and maternal welfare. However research on the consequences of male preference
is often limited to its impact upon fertility, rather than population dynamics and the impact on development in
Nigeria.
That gender equity is necessary for the nation�s development has become rhetoric that is not being implemented.
Nigerians need to realise that there cannot be sustainable social, economic, or technological development in our
country without ensuring equal opportunities of both sexes to participate in the development of the country. Providing
equal human investment goes a long way to ensure and sustain the nation�s economic growth and improve its position
in global affairs.
Sex ratio at birth, and sex based assessment of education opportunities for instance have recently emerged as an
indicator of certain kinds of sex discrimination. Research has attributed an abnormal sex ratio at birth and inequity
if education enrolment to an interplay of four factors: a cultural setting of strong son preference; low level
of socioeconomic development; rapid fertility decline, and a family planning program tightly focused on reducing
the number of children per woman. In Nigeria to say that the current sex ratio of 1.03 male(s)/female and the combined
gross enrolment rate for primary, secondary and tertiary level figures for girls is 41% is solely due to son preferences
will be ethically and scientifically wrong. However, it cannot be denied that there is still a cultural preference
for sons over daughters even among professionals and the so called educated. Greater economic development, affluence,
education, and knowledge do not necessarily ameliorate son preference. As such economic development or proliferation
of degrees is less important as a tool advocating for a change in culturally perceived gender constructs. Eradicating
gender inequality will be a long process which every member of society needs to learn and participate in. We need
to commence this with as much vigor as the women dancing in MTN�s advert.
People in the media need to recognise their strength and role in either changing or continuing pervasive traditions
that undermine the nation�s development. This is reflected in a number of Nigerian movies, where many show women
relying on sexual wit and womanly wiles to climb up the career ladder or obtain money from men. Though many films
are reflective of the status quo, there are not many movies out there that show a successful woman, of which there
are many, who gained her success and status with hard work and intellect. These movies then have the effect of
reinforcing these gender stereotypes in the younger generation.
As with other parts of the world, the root causes of sex based preferences in Nigeria cannot be resolved overnight
as they are rooted in history, �tradition�, social and political institutions, and discriminatory laws. A comprehensive
approach is needed, and advertising, media, film and music industries all have a role to play. It is important
to recognise that the rate at which we continue to accept sex-preferences determines the rate at which Nigeria
will develop.
Effectively addressing sex-preferences in Nigeria will include on the one hand adopting policies that ensure family
planning programmes are human oriented rather than number oriented. These programmes should address the negative
impact of sex-selectivity at birth and selective neglect of girls on today�s women, men and Nigeria�s development.
Additionally, in raising societal consciousness on the value women add to society, The Ministry of Education should
ensure gender-awareness and development courses in both primary and secondary school curricula as well as infuse
these in current educational programmes targeted at women and men in both rural and urban Nigeria.
Attaining the goal of gender equality however is not within the remit of federal and state governments alone but
of all Nigerians in both the private and public sphere. The most simplistic and cost-free contribution the advertising
industry can make is to ensure that its products are free of gender biases so as to encourage both sexes of society
attain maximum development for the benefit of the country. Let Nigerians, men and women work together to eradicate
sex-preferences in all stages of life. Now that�s beautiful!
�Joke Babington-Ashaye is of the Centre for Public Policy and Research, Lagos.
© 2004 @ Champion Newspapers Limited (All Right Reserved).
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