All humans – male or female – are equal before the law. I will have a piece to explain why even though the Igbo Nation seems not to pass inheritance from father to married daughter (not common these days), Igbos see daughters as “greater”. We name our daughters “Nneka” which means “mother is greater” and by tradition the safest place is your mother’s, not father’s. More so, before the oldest man breaks a kola nut/drinks palm wine in any gathering, Nwa-ada, the daughter’s son, is invited, jumping ahead of everyone.
Then, the most consequential: all mother’s inheritance are exclusive for daughters. So, if you look carefully, the real issue is not that a father’s inheritance goes to sons (since mother’s goes to daughters), the problem is this: gender inequality is pervasive that what mothers leave behind is never significant. Imagine a scenario where mothers are earning more than fathers, it would be sons who will wage a fight asking for equity.
Then, you may ask: why not lump mother & father wealth together? The problem has to do with entrepreneurial polygamy where different women were married to help expand farmlands. Linking … ok, let’s stop.
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
