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Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences

Gender, Space and Power in the Indigenous Igbo Socio-political Organization
Chinyere Ukpokolo

Abstract: This study examines the indigenous Igbo society with the purpose of identifying the complexities of gender relations in the socio-political space. It locates men and women’s positions in the socio-political organization and identifies how power is implicated in the interrelationships that exist. The study argues that power is complex, elusive and hence noted the varied forms its possession and enforcement may assume in Igbo socio-political space. Hence, power is not concentrated on an individual or group but diffused within the body polity. Space conceptualized both spatially and as a process, represents the venue and means of negotiating and accessing power, respectively for men and women. The study, therefore is a contribution to the critique of the thesis of women invisibility that dominated earlier studies of the Igbo people and underscores what the researcher believes to be a factual representation of men and women in the socio-political maze. Finally, the study concludes that collaboration and gender mutuality characterize the indigenous Igbo society.

How to cite this article
Chinyere Ukpokolo , 2010. Gender, Space and Power in the Indigenous Igbo Socio-political Organization. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 7: 177-186.

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