Igbo Women And Economic Transformation In Southeastern Nigeria, 1900-1960

Among Africanists and feminists, the Igbo-speaking women of southeastern Nigeria are well known for their history of anti-colonial activism which was most demonstrated in the 1929 War against British Colonialism. Perplexed by the magnitude of the Women's War, the colonial government commissioned anthropologists/ethnographers to study the Igbo political system and the place of women in Igbo society. The primary motive was to have a better understanding of the Igbo in order to avoid a repeat of the Women's War. This study will analyze the complexity and flexibility of gender relations in Igbo society with emphasis on such major cultural zones as the Anioma, the Ngwa, the Onitsha, the Nsukka, and the Aro.