Re-Appraising Women to Women Discrimination Towards Attaining Gender Equality

Gender critics have deployed patriarchy as the major source of the challenges faced by women in Nigeria. This perception has only narrowed gender discourse to male chauvinism. There is therefore an urgent need to interrogate patriarchy alongside other challenges encountered by women in Nigeria. The notion of gender bias by men against women is not new and men are usually the main perpetrator while often not considering the existence of the situation the other way round. This study posits that challenges of women raging from discrimination, widowhood rites, polygamy, inheritance rights, divorce, to almost all other areas of life are directly or indirectly also caused by other women. It is already a challenging world with men holding sway in virtually all fields of human endeavours and women do not have to make things even more challenging for one another. The objectives of the study were to locate the challenges encountered by women by their contemporaries in selected literary texts and society and proffer ways to confront and overcome these challenges. The study recommends love, unity, support, and collaboration which engender peaceful co-existence and social emancipation among women and are also necessary for a balanced society and the sustainable development of the nation.