From allowing husbands to beat their wives and get away with it to prohibiting married women from certain jobs, here are nine discriminatory laws that have no place in today's world:
A man can beat his wife whenever he wants to discipline her
The Penal Code (applicable in the Northern (Muslim) states) Section 55. Correction of Child, Pupil, Servant or Wife states
Nothing is an offence which does not amount to the infliction of grievous hurt upon any persons which is done:
(a) by a parent or guardian for the purpose of correcting his child or ward ...
(b) by a schoolmaster for the purpose of correcting a child ...
(c) by a master for the purpose of correcting his servant or apprentice ...
(d) by a husband for the purpose of correcting his wife, such husband and wife being subject to any native law or custom in which such correction is recognized as lawful.
This encourages violence against women and enforces the belief that a woman is her husband’s property.
A wife has to have sex with her husband whenever he wants
In Nigeria, there is no such thing as marital rape. This means you are giving consent to all sexual activity within the marriage once you exchange wedding vows.
A lawyer we spoke to added that this "means that even if a couple have been separated for 15 years and the man forcibly has sex with the woman, it is considered consensual sex in the eyes of the law, based on the doctrine of implied consent."
This is because Section 6 of the Criminal Code defines ‘unlawful carnal knowledge’ as something that takes place outside of marriage.
A woman can not work at night
Section 55 of the Labour Act bars women from being employed in night work except as nurses or in management positions for those who are not engaged in manual labour.
Assaulting a woman is only punishable by two years
Section 360 of the Criminal Code makes the indecent assault of women a misdemeanour punishable with a two-year prison term.
The same crime is called a felony when it is done to a man and it is punishable by a three-year prison term according to section 353.
Getting pregnant as a single woman means instant discharge from the police force
Section 127 of the Police Act states that once an unmarried police woman is pregnant, she should be discharged from the police force.
She can only be reinstated on the approval of the Inspector General of police.
Being married stops you from joining the police force
By virtue of Section 127 of the Police Act, married women are prevented from seeking enlistment in the Nigerian Police Force.
Under Regulation 124 of the Police Act, a woman police officer who is interested in getting married must initially apply in writing to the commissioner of police for approval.
Women cannot legally transfer their Nigerian citizenship to their spouses
Section 26 of the constitution provides that the president may confer Nigerian citizenship on “any woman who is or who has been married to a citizen of Nigeria."
However, the president is not empowered to confer Nigerian citizenship on “any man who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria."
The law states that “the foreign spouse of a Nigerian woman can only acquire citizenship by naturalisation, which is a much longer process (at least 15 years).
A mother can only give consent if the father is dead or of unsound mind
By virtue of Section 18 of the Marriage Act the written consent of the father of either party to an intended marriage is required if he or she is under 21 years of age.
The mother can only give consent if the father is dead or of unsound mind or absent from Nigeria.
A married woman needs her husbands consent to get a passport
The Immigration Act requires that married women applying for Nigerian passports are required to submit the written consent of their husbands.
Apart from the few mentioned here, there are several discriminatory customary laws - ‘unwritten customs and traditions, which have been accepted as obligatory by members of a community’.
These customary practices/laws prevent women from owning land and inheriting her husband's estates in many parts of the country.
- the signing and ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
- adoption of a National Gender Policy
- the enactment of the Child Rights Act 2003 (this law domesticated the Convention of the Rights of the Child in Nigeria)
- the enactment of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2003
- establishment of Women Development centres in all the states in Nigeria.
What happens when these laws no longer exist and Nigeria finally has gender equality?
According to the CFR Women and Foreign Policy Program’s new digital report, Growing Economies Through Gender Parity, Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by 23 percent—or $229 billion—by 2025 if women participated in the economy to the same extent as men.
This report has been supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which also stated that gender equality in Nigeria would result in higher productivity and greater economic stability.
![The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) opens Nigeria's first ever register for sex offenders. [Twitter/@naptipnigeria]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'565'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) opens Nigeria's first ever register for sex offenders. [Twitter/@naptipnigeria]")
