ABSTRACT

Forty -two years after independence, most rural Nigerians like their counterparts in other African countries, portray characteristics that indicate lack of prosperity. Women's participation in social and economic affairs of society is among the major interest of the modern era. This is aimed at the emancipation of the women folk and reaping of their talents for general welfare of society. In many developing economies, like Nigeria, women are handicapped in this regard. Despite the Lagos Plan of Action enunciated by African countries over two decades ago for the economic development of Africa, t he g ap b etween the d eveloped a nd the developing countries has greatly widened. Some analysts have noted that this gap has the most severe impact on the most vulnerable and poor groups within these societies in which women predominate (Savane, 1982; Weigel, 1986; Buvinic and Yudelman, 1989; Chelbowaska, 1990; Okonjo, 1991; BrownSherman, 1993). It has been observed that rural women have been made "target" of development strategies in recent times, yet poverty in all its dimensions endures despite considerable social and economic progress, as well as advances in science and technology relative to pre-independence period. At the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, extreme poverty among rural dwellers in the South eastern states of Nigeria was intensified following massive male out-migration from rural to urban areas in search of improved livelihood. Hence, women who were left behind became the majority of the rural labour force. Omvedt (1977) observes that in all agricultural African societies, though to some varying degrees, women continue to play a major productive role outside their work in the household, as peasant cultivators, or as agricultural laborers. In some societies, women put in more hours of work than men (Boserup., 1970). In Nigeria, there had been earlier attempts at rural development by the Federal Government through agricultural programmes and projects. However, deliberate efforts were not made to ensUre effective and full participation of women at all levels of policy. Thus, little efforts were made to ensure the removal of certain soclo-economic and cultural constraints that militate against participation of women in development process.