Los cuatro pilares de la educación para el siglo XXI

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inferior because transactions over land is similar in some ways to transactions in marriage where men marry women, not otherwise; in dealings with land certain transactions require the performance of special ceremonies…so that transactions over land is for men; it was for men only and because of this situation it was believed that women were not entitled to land allocation.

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Per chance the girl child attains maturity but remains unmarried albeit not by design of the family, she has no right of inheritance of anything but must derive sustenance only through her mother‟s kitchen. This rule is somewhat altered in the case of the girl child who upon maturity is refused the right to marry, that is, she remains unmarried by the design of her father through the process of ibita etekne (kept as unmarried) in the father‟s house. Under this scheme, the female child who is asked to stay unmarried in her father‟s house is regarded as a male and so can inherit her father‟s property in the absence of any males in the family. ¹⁸⁸

These categories of women are called „nwerekarima’¹⁸⁹ and their children are referred to as „omunoro’. In Egbeda¹⁹⁰ however these category of children are called „orachi.‟ While the girl-child so denied her right to marry is granted a limited right of inheritance, (usually land to build and farm), the children born to her so long as she retains the family name only are entitled to inherit family property like any other bonafide male in the family with the exception of holding the owhor.¹⁹¹ Inherent in this practice are different levels of discriminations. It is however conceded that this scheme practised in Ikwerre land is used to preserve and protect the property of families facing possible extinction due to incessant deaths, or inability to produce male children to carry on the family line. The girl child who is so mandated to stay unmarried in her father‟s house is expected to repopulate the father‟s lineage. The children she has in her unmarried state belong to her father‟s family and will be treated as bonafide members of the kindred group. Any son born to her will inherit her father‟s property and perform any other functions expected of a male in the family. This girl child formally made a man in her father‟s

188 Oral Interview conducted on Madam Janet Wali of Elelenwo in Obio/Akpo Local Government Area of Rivers State on December 5, 2015.

189 Unmarried daughters of the family who become single parents by design of their biological families while

“omunoro” is a term used to describe children born to such unmarried daughters.

190 Egbeda is an Ikwerre Community in Rivers State.

191 The symbol of authority and headship of the family.

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house by remaining unmarried by design can inherit her father‟s personal property including the homestead and which in the absence of any males (brothers and direct uncles) she can pass on to her children.

But where there are other males in the family, such a girl child has only a right to portions of land to farm for her survival and the maintenance of her children. She can be given a small portion to build a house for shelter but does not have equal rights of inheritance with the other males in the family. However, it is the male children who proceed from her that would have the right of inheritance in the family as any other male. It is interesting to note that although a male child from her has rights of inheritance with the other males in the family, he cannot be given the „owhor‟(symbol of family authority, title and ancestory)to hold. He cannot be made the family chief. It is rather his own male child that is the girl-child‟s grandchild that has the full rights within the family.

Marriage in Ikwerre land does not entitle any woman to inherit anything. Her interest in the family is only protected through her male and not the female children. The woman‟s relevance therefore in her family is determined by the presence or absence of male children.¹⁹² It should be noted that such a girl child may be consulted on issues concerning the family and invited to the obiri or obokoro (family hall) for discussions. It should however be noted that despite being regarded as a „male‟ in the family she cannot hold the „owhor‟ (family staff) as head of the family although her male offspring can do so in the interim in the absence of any other male in the family. In the ancient kingdom of Isiokpo, women generally are precluded from joining some socio-cultural groups on sacred grounds especially they are not allowed to join the

192Oral Interview conducted on Chief Nwenenda Collins of Elelenwo in Obio/Akpo Local Government Area of Rivers State on December 5, 2015.

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„oboni‟ sacred cult of men. They are not allowed to enter the „ihnu ali‟(the front of the family gods and shrine.¹⁹³

A woman who is married under Ikwerre custom has no right to inherit any property of the husband at his demise because she is regarded as the property of her husband‟s family to be inherited by her husband‟s next of kin. Like her counterpart in Ogbaland, as a responsibility of her husband she is allowed access to family land for farming purposes to take care of her needs and those of her immediate family. She can neither inherit such lands nor build on them as of right nor transfer title to them to another person. Where a woman has male children for her husband, the property of the husband would be inherited by the children if they are of age.

Where the children are infants, their father‟s next of kin who is supposed to marry their mother or be their „protector‟ would hold their late father‟s property on trust for them and look after their mother until they come of age. If she does not have male children, the late husband‟s property will go to the next of kin who would also inherit the woman and is required by culture to provide for her, share and clear farmlands for her to crop.

One common rule of customary law which permeates Africa society is that in customary law of intestate succession the widow has no place in the sense that she can never inherit from her husband on intestacy. In fact, the portion of land given to her to use by her husband is inherited only by her male children upon her death and not the females. In the absence of male children the property goes back to her husband‟s male relatives.The first female child called

„ada‟ by custom defers to the decision of the first son and other male siblings even if she is senior to them. The „obiri‟ which is the official hall for family meetings is restricted to the girl-child as it is believed that her menstrual cycle will desecrate the presence of the ancestors.

193Oral Interview conducted on Elder Nsirim E. Segum of Isiokpo Town in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State on January 7, 2016.

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Among the Omuanwa people of the Ikwerre extraction the girl-child does not inherit landed property at all, she is entitled to a share of her mother‟s personal property, her opinion is always secondary and she is always required by custom to ask the man for forgiveness even if she is not at fault.¹⁹⁴

The closest tribal group to the Ikwerre people is the Etche people who are found in the two local government areas of Omuma and Etche. Certain customary practices among the Etche people violate the rights of the girl-child and they include:

i. The cultural insistence on puberty rites which is usually forcefully performed on the girl-child.

These practices include periods of separation from the public, various forms of virginity tests, female genital mutilation in the name of circumcision to protect her chastity and prevent promiscuity.

ii. Early and forced marriage of the girl-child is permitted by Etche custom where a child of 12years old is married off to an older man to raise money to train the boys and to ensure that she does not get „spoilt‟ and bring disgrace to the family.

iii. The girl-child in Etche is not allowed to inherit her parent‟s property after their demise even in the absence of any male child because customarily the inheritance of the property goes to the father‟s brother. She cannot also succeed her father in kingship positions, neither is she allowed to belong to any traditional society considered to belong to only men. She is thus not free to associate by the demands of custom, not free to witness initiations into those groups or sight certain masquerades. An Etche girl-child cannot carry palm wine on her head like her male counterpart, neither is she permitted to put snuff in her nostrils. They are barred from coming out at night in certain periods of the year and also barred from entering some parts of the forests. All these amount to various forms of discriminations as such rules do not apply to the males. The

194Oral Interview conducted on Elder Azuogbo ThankGod of Egwi Clan in Etche, Rivers State on January 12, 2016.

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Etche woman accused of adultery is by custom forced to publicly dance naked round the village as punishment but the same punishment is not meted to the man. This is an obvious violation of her right to dignity of the human person.

The customary law of Etche precludes the girl –child from inheriting the father‟s property or the married girl-child who is widowed from inheriting the late husband‟s property especially where she does not have a male child. In the customary court at Egwi in Etche Local Government Area, in Agbam v Amadi¹⁹⁵a woman filed an action against her in-laws (the brothers of her husband who died intestate) for the property of her husband. The woman‟s only son had also died leaving her with four girls. She brought this action to restrain her in-laws from laying claims to her husband‟s estate. The court however held that under the Etche native laws and custom only a surviving male can lay claim to the estate of his father; and in the instant case the deceased had no surviving male child so the brothers were entitled. The custom of the Etche people therefore recognize the superiority of the male child over the female.