By Yusuf Abdulbasit Hozaifah
In the past few years, there have been conscious actions on the part of the government and non-governmental agencies to take concrete steps to promote the development of women in Hausa land.
However, these spirited efforts have always been dogged by obstacles. The nature of the African and Hausa society of which Nigeria is no exception has particularly complicated these problems and added new dimensions to efforts made to promote the status of women.
Women in Hausa land have over the years suffered several setbacks and obstacles. This of course cannot be attributed to the general apathy of the women to their inertia or ineptitude in coping with the demands of their development.
The general concept has always been that women in Hausa land are to be seen, not to be heard. The Hausa society has long thought that the woman's rightful place should be within the context of the matrimonial home and that whatever contributions she could make to the society or whatever Rights she should exercise should be circumscribed by societal, externally- imposed restrictions.
This has affected the women and their nature to contribute to the development of the society and the nation at large. It is no wonder that women in Hausa land have not benefited much in terms of the means and benefits derivable from Western education and other developments. They have naturally been relegated to the background in traditional politics and the decision-making process of their respective societies as a result of this perception of their role in society.
Women are homemakers and the center of the family, they are the main custodians of social, cultural, and economic development. Actual values of the society and permanent changes are often best to be achieved through them. Full development is not possible without their cooperation, understanding, and effective participation and they have contributed immensely to national development.
Therefore; the development of women in Hausa land is constantly low due to the following reasons;
Hausa society didn't focus on the development of women because they believed that girls were not functioning In outside activities and even when You trained and concerned with their development they would marry into another family and such they will not perform the function of keeping the family name
Assistant with household chores is another reason because women are socialized in such a way that they are the ones that do most of the household work in most families.
In Hausa land, most parents still have the view that women are exposed to immoral behaviors and vices if they have enough development, especially educational development.
Pessimistic attitudes towards good education because it's often said that women's education is the kitchen. The negative comment rather makes parents not invest seriously in the development of women
Religious learning is another important reason why the development of women is constantly low in Hausa land in the sense that most Hausa people are Muslims and some people persist in this Islamic education only without enrolling the women in formal schools so that they will learn different things that will help in their development.