Breaking Traditions of Bondage: How Ogoni Women Are Trapped in Struggles of Survival

As you look at the women of Ogoni, wether Khana, Tai, Gokana, one intriguing reality that hits you hard is that they are neither single nor married, neither here nor there. How can a society frustrate its own women?

In the heart of Rivers State, Nigeria, a silent struggle persists, one that shackles women in an age-old tradition, denying them the right to love, marriage, and inheritance.

Some Ogoni women are trapped in a cultural cycle that keeps them in their father’s house, refusing them the right to marry.

Those who do marry find themselves at the mercy of the deceased husband’s family if they wish to remarry. Even in their father’s home, they are mere visitors, with no claim to land, no stake in property, and no inheritance.

In an interview in February 2025 with Wakaibari Henry, a young lady from Lueku, Nyor Khana in Khana Local Government Area, knows this pain too well.

“I am a daughter of a single mother. We missed a lot of things, having a father in our lives, receiving fatherly advice. Even when I got married, I longed for my father’s presence, but he was nowhere to be found.”

“He is alive, but we cannot go to his house because his wife does not want us there. When we visit, he does not give us attention. It is painful.”

For Wakaibari, the struggle was not just emotional but financial and social. She grew up watching her mother suffer because she was not allowed to marry.

“Our mother was not allowed to marry, and we saw her suffer. We asked our grandfather why he refused to let her go, but he would just laugh and dismiss our questions.”

“He was happy to have his daughter with him, but he did not see her suffering. We, the children, saw her crying at night.”

The tradition of keeping first daughters unmarried is not the only hardship Ogoni women face. They are also denied the right to inherit property.

Esther Kpamaa, another woman from Nonwa in Tai LGA of Ogoni Kindom, described how this affected her.

“In our culture, if your father and mother want a male child, they’ll give your hand in marriage and use the bride price to marry another woman who will give birth to children for them.”

“If you give birth to a male child in a house where there are other men, that child is considered a bastard. He won’t inherit anything.”

“Women don’t inherit property. My mother had only one male child, but he owns everything. Nothing from my father’s compound belongs to me. If you take the case anywhere, they will ask why you left your husband’s house to drag property in your father’s house. That’s how it is.”

The practices endured by these women are a direct violation of their fundamental rights under both Nigerian and international law.

The Right to Marriage and Family:
Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom from discrimination. Preventing women from marrying based on family tradition is a clear form of gender-based discrimination.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Nigeria has ratified, upholds a woman’s right to freely choose her spouse.

Also Right to Own and Inherit Property
Section 43 of the Nigerian Constitution also states that every citizen has the right to acquire and own property. The denial of inheritance to women is unconstitutional. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights also ratified by Nigeria, affirms women’s rights to own and inherit property.

Right to Remarry
The requirement for a deceased husband’s family to return the bride price before a widow can remarry is another form of control over women’s lives. CEDAW Article 16 protects the right of widows to remarry freely without family interference.

Women like Wakaibari and Kpamaa represent many others who remain voiceless, burdened by traditions that rob them of their dignity but change is slow.

“One of the women in our community ran through the village, crying and calling out my mother’s name, accusing her of being with her husband. She yelled that she was lucky to have daughters because they would take care of her when she was old. She had no sons, yet she still believed her daughters could not inherit property,” Wakaibari recalled.

For some women, resistance means leaving their communities. For others, it means staying and enduring. But for all, it means living in a world where their choices are made for them.

The plight of Ogoni women is not just a cultural issue, it is a human rights crisis. Advocacy groups, lawmakers, and traditional leaders must work together to abolish practices that deny women their basic rights.

Community education, legal reforms, and support systems for affected women can begin to break the cycle.

The women of Ogoni deserve more than to be trapped in a tradition that disregards their dreams, their rights, and their humanity. They deserve a future where they can choose who to love, where to live, and what to own without permission from the past.