Gender mainstreaming and development in (african) igbo traditional religious society: a critical option for the new world order

Gender issues have become a critical concern of all humanity today. The case is that women are marginalized, more especially in Africa. Thus part of African underdevelopment is attributed to this discrimination. The major factor that makes the study of gender problems in Africa complex is that African traditional society, particularly, the Igbo society of Eastern Nigeria, anchor their development, social organizations and political structure on the their religion(s). So their religious belief defines and controls all social arrangements. However, the picture of women marginalization in Igbo society seems to be representing the Igbo society of the modern era rather than the Igbo of the pre-colonial period. This paper therefore contends that the assumption that women in the Igbo traditional society were sidelined into the private sphere is tinged with historical bias. Thus through sociological and historical survey, this paper discovers that women have been in the frontline of social development in the Igbo traditional society. It notes also that most positions of power are not inherited rather they are acquired through achievements. Therefore, both men and women have open space to compete for such positions. It observes that there are two major means of entering into societal leadership in Igbo society, these are technically called the:-‘Invited’ and ‘Invented’ spaces. In the invited space, anybody who attains a level of achievements through industry or special ability is invited to the cult of elders, which is the leadership class and many women attained such positions in the traditional society. In like manner, the women form the endogenous social group, which becomes indispensible pressure group in Igbo political setting, influencing all decisions and actions. This paper therefore concludes that the Igbo people of eastern Nigeria have been gender sensitive in their social arrangements and this influenced their development before the colonial era.