From empowerment to disempowerment? The changing role of women in the colonial agricultural economy of Okunland, Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the changing role of women in the agricultural economy of Okunland occasioned by the transition from the pre-colonial arrangement to colonisation. Opinions are divided in the literature on the gendered processes in relation to colonial agricultural economy in most of Africa. The first thinking is that women lost power and economic autonomy as a result of discriminatory colonial policies. The second thinking suggests that the residual role of women in the agricultural economy was a product of choice rather than a deliberate colonial policy. The third maintains that women were economically active and productive but were unable to claim the proceeds of their labour. In Okunland, while women were prominently involved in the agricultural economy in the pre-colonial period, they appeared to be relegated to playing a residual role during the colonial period, leading to disempowerment. The data for this study were generated using the primary and secondary sources. While the primary sources involved the use of interviews, the secondary method involved the use of archival and documented materials. The data were analysed using thematic descriptive analysis. The study finds that the residual role played by women in the agricultural economy of colonial Okunland could be attributed to British colonial economic policies which generally favoured the men.