The Women’s Place in Family Inheritance in Igboland

A Rational and Legal Critique

Abstract

Certain women in Igbo land have been victims of deprivation of inheritance rights which has made them suffer much. Some of such women are even children of wealthy parents or wives of wealthy men and yet they are left to suffer because they have not been left with any inheritance at the demise of either parents or husbands. This is pathetic as the only reason why they have to suffer thus is because they are females in a culture where females are robbed of inheritance rights. This has prompted the court of the land to have a ruling on the matter quite recently. The present research waded into the matter from the cultural as well as legal perspectives in order to arrive at a more reasoned and objective position. Interviews were conducted and library research methodology applied. It was discovered that in reality women were discriminated in Igbo inheritance practices; they are not given land, not given real estate, considered as temporary children of a family who must be married out, and are made to become dependants even beggars should they end up not marrying. Recommendations include that women should be given lands in their fathers’ families if they are not married, should have equal rights to properties in townships with their male counterparts, should have enough courage to seek legal redress if their inheritance rights are violated.