Prevalence, Determinants and Consequences of Spinsterhood in Lagos, Nigeria

PREVALENCE, DETERMINANTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SPINSTERHOOD IN LAGOS, NIGERIA BY FAVOUR CHIZOMAM, NTOIMO B.Sc. Sociology (Calabar), M.Sc. Sociology/Demography (Ibadan) A thesis in the Department of Sociology Submitted to the Faculty of the Social Sciences in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN SEPTEMBER, 2012 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study Two dominant features of Nigerian nuptiality are early and universal marriage. The most recent Nigeria‘s Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2008 shows that 29.4 percent of Nigerian women age 15-19 are married, and 94.2 percent are married by age 30-34 (NPC and ICF Macro, 2009). Marriage remains the important marker of adult status in Nigeria (Smith, 2007; Agbasiere, 2000; Uchendu, 1965). Prolonged non marriage is essentially disapproved in any Nigerian setting, and permanent non marriage for women has no place in Nigeria‘s socio-cultural system, except for women who are religious celibates or espoused to ―spirits‖ as priestesses (Ezumah, 2008; Otite, 2006; Agbasiere, 2000; Isiugo- Abanihe, 1994a). Every woman is expected to marry and remain married all her life. Women derive their status basically from their dyadic roles of wife and mother. A study among the Igbo of Southeast Nigeria, for instance, observed that ―a girl‘s life is essentially a preparation for marriage … a woman‘s glory is her children, and to have children, she must have a husband‖ (Uchendu, 1965:53). Nevertheless, changes that are transforming this characteristic nuptial behaviour have continued to take place at both the macro and micro levels. The process of modernisation has brought about increase in female age at first marriage among certain socio-cultural groups in Nigeria (Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000). Selection of spouse is transforming from the traditional pattern built around kinship and communal goals to more individualistic pattern based on love and self selection (Smith, 2007), especially for educated and urban women. These and other modern trends have led to the emergence of an increasing number of women who, by choice or constraint, remain unmarried till later age. Though the number of these older never married women or spinsters is relatively low, they constitute a special category of women whose experience of singlehood differs qualitatively from the experience of other single women such as widows, separated, divorced and younger never married women (Ferguson, 2000). Furthermore, given the continued onslaught of social change, it is not unexpected that the number of spinsters will continue to increase in Nigeria. In contemporary usage, spinsterhood describes older never married women, who are past conventional age for marriage. Conventional age for marriage varies across cultures and socio-economic classes. Nonetheless, because most women marry for the first time in their 20s, many demographers and family scholars use the age marker of 30 or 35 years to distinguish younger never married women from spinsters (Ibrahim and Hassan, 2009; 1 Macvarish, 2006; Byrne 2003; Simpson, 2003; Ferguson, 2000). In societies where marriage is strongly associated with motherhood, marriage after age 30, which is the upper limit of the most fecund years, for women, is considered late. In Nigeria, female median age at first marriage (the age at which one half of the women have married) is 18.6 years (NPC and ICP Macro, 2009), and female singulate mean age at marriage (the mean number of years spent in single state among women ultimately marrying) is 21 years (UN Statistics, 2009). Marriage for females is almost complete at age 30 for most ethnic groups in Nigeria (Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000; NPC, 2009). Though any woman may marry at any stage in life, it is considered that at age 30, reasonable pressure for marriage would begin for any woman in any Nigerian setting, considering that pro marriage and family ideology, and traditional patriarchal structures are still prevalent. On the basis of the above, spinsterhood in this study is limited to heterosexual, childless and non cohabiting never married women, age 30 and above. This excludes never married women who are not married due to obvious physical handicap such as the lame or blind and those whose lifestyle preclude marriage such as Catholic reverend sisters and lay celibates. From the literature, it is evident that the number of spinsters is increasing in many countries, especially among urban based highly educated and economically independent women (Ibrahim and Hassan, 2009; Tanturri and Mencarini, 2008; Koropeckyj-Cox and Call, 2007; Berg-Cross, et al., 2004; Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000). The location for this study is Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos is home to over 9 million Nigerians from various ethnic groups. It is the largest economy of Nigeria and therefore attracts job seekers from all parts of Nigeria. Female resistance to marriage is known to increase as other life opportunities become available such as higher education and career (Ferguson, 2000; Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000). Urban centres, such as Lagos, provide such opportunities due to their higher economic development, educational opportunities and social transformation; and rate of delay in marriage is known to be higher in such centres (Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000). Most Nigerian societies are typically patriarchal with persistent beliefs that perpetrate unequal treatment of women (Ezumah, 2008; Isiugo-Abanihe and Isiugo-Abanihe, 2007; FGNa National Gender Policy, 2006; Akpan, 2003; Okunna, 2002; Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000; Aina, 1998; Okojie, 1998). Despite legislations to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, studies show that gender inequality and stereotypes are still widespread in Nigeria (The Nigerian CEDAW NGO Coalition Report, 2008; Isiugo-Abanihe and Isiugo- Abanihe, 2007; Akpan 2003; Aina, 1998). The stereotypes and inequality are continuously reinforced by ―agents of socialisation such as family, schools, religious institutions, and the 2 media which have become custodians as well as disseminators of gender roles, stereotypes, prejudices and discriminatory cultures. … and the patriarchal structure has become the unquestionable phenomenon‖ (The Nigerian CEDAW NGO Coalition report, 2008:23). Due to the existing patriarchal structures in most Nigerian societies, which also promote marriage and family ideology, every woman is expected to marry (Akpan, 2003; Agbasiere, 2000; Isiugo-Abanihe, 1994a). Remaining unmarried beyond a certain age is seen as negating the norms of femininity. Thus, spinsters are a marginalized and stigmatized category of women. As a marginalized group in the Nigerian society, a woman is confronted with more obstacles outside of marriage. Yet, there are a growing number of spinsters in the Nigerian society. Although the society has encouraged status enhancement for women through education and engagement in the workforce, the cultural milieu that still encourages early marriage and traditional mate selection denies many women the opportunity to marry on their own terms. Remaining unmarried by constraint or choice places such women on the fringe of life. Their reasons for non marriage and life style are often misinterpreted. Through direct inquiry from spinsters of diverse socio-economic background, this study examined the prevalence, causes and consequences of spinsterhood in Lagos using Sylvia Walby‘s Theorizing Patriarchy, Barrett and McIntosh Anti-social family and aspects of Giddens‘ Structuration theory on modernisation. This study contributes to existing literature on cross- cultural understanding of singlehood and nuptiality. 1.2 Statement of the problem Spinsterhood is increasingly becoming a social reality in many societies. Albeit, it has been an essential part of the Western Europe Marriage Pattern; by 1946, Ireland for instance, had 26.3 percent of its women age 45 to 49 still single (Engelen and Kok, 2003; Hajnal, 1971). Research in developed as well as developing nations show that marriage rates are declining (DHS, 2011; Tanturri and Mencarini, 2008; Hertel, et al., 2007; UN Population Division, 2003; Ferguson, 2000) and ―more and more people are spending longer periods of their lives outside the conventional family life‖ (Roseneil and Budgeon, 2004:127). Median age at first marriage and singulate mean age at marriage for women are on the rising trend in most countries of the world (DHS, 2011; UN Statistics, 2009; UN Population Division, 2003). Secondary data from Nigeria‘s population census and Demographic and Health Surveys show a rising trend in spinsterhood in Nigeria. Empirical studies in Nigeria indicate a change in the value and pattern of marriage that is likely to increase the prevalence of spinsterhood with time (Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000, 1998; WaKaranja, 1987). This demographic shift away from traditional heterosexual early marriage pattern which is known to be more 3 prevalent among urban-based women (Berg-Cross et al., 2004; Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000), constitutes an obvious problem with consequences for nuptiality pattern, fertility levels, the social and economic well being of spinsters especially where marriage and family is still a cherished tradition (Isiugo-Abanihe, 2000). Spinsterhood or permanent non marriage is often not the deliberate choice of most women (Simpson, 2007; Byrne, 2003).Women who claim it is their deliberate choice were constrained to it by certain experiences. Research and interviews with single persons in some developed countries revealed that even those who are single

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