Why harmful cultural practices against women must end

Illustration: A woman standing strong against harmful traditions

Despite global advancements, millions of Nigerian women continue to suffer under cultural practices that violate their dignity and rights. It’s time these harmful traditions ended.

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In the stillness of her tiny rented shop in Lagos, Blessing Zion grills and sells roasted corn. Nine years ago, she lived in a modest police barracks apartment with her police husband and three children. Then, in a single moment, everything changed.

Seven months pregnant, she received the news that her husband had died. What followed wasn’t just the pain of grief, it was the beginning of a battle for survival. Six months after his death, she and her children were evicted from their home.

“They rented out the apartment. I had no choice but to find a way to survive,” she says, her voice carrying the weight of a decade of struggle.

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Blessing attempted to claim her late husband’s benefits — money that could have helped put a roof over her children’s heads — but each visit to the police office ended the same way.

“They claimed my husband was a ghost worker,” she says. “Later, they started spreading rumours that I had collected his money and lavished it.”

‘A woman must endure’

Widows like Blessing aren’t just mourning their loved ones; they are fighting a system that strips them of dignity. In some communities, the cruelty is far worse. A widow may be forced into isolation, her head shaved against her wish, her access to her dead husband’s property denied. In extreme cases, she is made to drink the water used to bathe her husband’s corpse in an inhumane test of innocence.

The suffering of widows is just one of many cultural practices.

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In Yoruba communities, the Oro cult dictates that women and non-initiates remain indoors for days, barred from even stepping outside. It is a tradition as old as time, one that continues to place women at the margins of society.

“During this period, women must not be seen outside, reinforcing the idea that they are lesser than men and should not partake in certain aspects of society,” says 54-year-old Adenike Ajadi, in an interview with Guardian Life. “Those who disobey risk facing severe punishment or even death.”

For years, Esther Adams endured beatings from her husband. She was barely 22 when she got married, a shy young woman raised to believe that marriage was a woman’s ultimate purpose.

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Illustration of a woman looking overwhelmed and stressed, surrounded by multiple pointing hands, symbolising blame, criticism, or societal pressure.

“I stayed because my mother told me that a woman must endure in marriage,” she says. “My sister also went through the same, but she later survived it.”

In some families, leaving an abusive marriage is unthinkable. Women are told to “make it work,” to endure for the sake of their children, families, and community approval. Many remain silent, even as their bodies bear the scars of violence.

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Out of reach

The silencing extends beyond the home. Education, a fundamental right, remains out of reach for many Nigerian women. While some girls are pulled out of school to marry, others are simply denied the opportunity by cultural beliefs that place little value on female education.

“I wanted to go to school, but my family didn’t know the essence of being educated,” says a 47-year-old pepper seller interviewed by Guardian Life. “They never thought about it. So, I started learning a trade, but I regretted not going. I really missed a lot. If I had gone, I know for sure that I would have been a great person today, maybe even a doctor.”

The consequences of these exclusions are devastating. A 2025 Financial Times report emphasised that women’s education is key to fighting extremism in Africa. Without it, women remain vulnerable, locked in cycles of poverty, early marriage, and dependence.

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But the barriers placed on women do not end there. In Nigeria, abortion is illegal except when a mother’s life is in danger. This forces thousands of women into unsafe, life-threatening procedures.

Illustration of a woman sitting alone, visibly upset and overwhelmed, surrounded by dark clouds and multiple speech bubbles filled with negative comments

Abolish Harmful Practices

A 2025 Guardian article exposed the struggles Nigerian women face in accessing safe abortions, calling for urgent legal reforms. Many women risk death at the hands of unqualified individuals, while others are left with lifelong complications.

Then there is the horror of human trafficking, a crisis that continues to consume the lives of young women.

Every year, thousands are lured with false promises of jobs, only to be trapped in forced prostitution. A 2024 Guardian investigation revealed that many Nigerian women remain enslaved in the Ivory Coast sex industry, unable to escape.

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With between 750,000 and 1 million people trafficked in Nigeria annually, the problem remains a stain on the country’s human rights record. Victims are exploited in different forms, begging, domestic servitude, armed conflict, and prostitution.

These acts and practices are violations of human dignity. In 2024, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) urged Nigeria to abolish harmful practices against women. Yet, in many communities, little has changed.

The fight against these injustices is not just about legal reforms, it is about changing mindsets, challenging customs, and empowering women to reclaim their rights.

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For women like Blessing, Esther, and Adenike, the fight is not just theoretical. It is daily survival. It is the difference between a life of dignity and a life of oppression.

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