Thank you for always dishing out very interesting topics to look into. When I saw the prompt I couldn't wait to jump at it. As an African, there are so many cultural practises that are not favourable and needs to be dropped as soon as possible.
I am from the Eastern part of Nigeria. In my hometown, women are not allowed to inherit lands or even houses from their fathers. This means that if a man has 10 daughters and one son, all his properties will go to his son and not his daughters and not even shared amongst his daughters. One may ask why? Let's see.
When it comes to land inheritance, we practise the patrilineal system. Female children are rubbed off their own share of land inheritance from their fathers because tradition believes that a female child will get married and move to her husband's home. Because she will change her name to that of her husband's, that has automatically cut her off her father's lineage.
Having done that, she has officially become a visitor in her husband's house.
If the girl child has male siblings, those properties are given to them. But if there are no male siblings, the properties are handed over to the brother(s) of her father. This also applies to a woman who is married and do not have a male child. If before the time her husband is deceased she doesn't give birth to a male child, her husband's inheritance is given to her husband's brothers. In essence, women from the eastern part of Nigeria do not have any inheritance rights.
But why should culture disinherit girls from attaining their father's properties? This is totally unfair to the female folks. This is purely an act of injustice and should be abolished. Every child both male and female has the right to inherit from his or her parents. Every child should be given same privilege.
What should be done
I am glad that recently, women have come out to speak up against this injustice. The government should also step in and sign into law that every child is equal, whether male or female. Parents should also realize that a girl child is also a child. The fact that she will get married doesn't mean she should be cut off completely from where she has known to be home all of her life. Can this be achievable? Well, if every father realizes that a female child is just as important as a male child, just maybe it may work.
But then I ask, why the discrimination against women? There are some customs that definitely needs to be abolished and this right here is one of them. This whole preference placed on the male child seems is very awkward. A typical African society frowns at a man who has no male child. I call it barbaric. I am looking to seeing parents especially fathers who will look at their daughters exactly the way they look at their sons and grant them equal rights. This tradition that has been passed from generation to generation needs to be discontinued.
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