International Council for Education, Research and Training

Women in Pandemics and Sustainability of African Rural Communities

Omokhabi, Abiola Adiat1 

Fajimi, Babatunde Ayoola2 

 

1,2Department of Adult Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Covid-19 pandemic mitigation measures in the global South, particularly African developing countries like Nigeria were inadequate to alleviate socioeconomic effects of the pandemic on the livelihood and survival of rural communities. Rural women dominate the informal sector and have been active in agriculture, food security, health, nutrition, home management, traditional elderly care, and micro and small-scale enterprises. Whilst the effects of the pandemic on Nigerian rural women have been measured, the contribution of rural women to the sustainability of agrarian rural communities in the country have not been studied. This paper explored the role of women in supporting their families and communities for the sustainability of rural communities and challenges they faced as they serve as buffers for the survival of their families and sustenance of livelihood in rural communities during the pandemic. The paper adopted qualitative phenomenological research design. A sample of 30 rural women were drawn from Gbara Village, an agrarian rural community in Sagamu Local Government, Ogun State, Nigeria through convenience sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Semi-structured Interviews, focus group meetings, and documents were used as data sources and descriptive analysis was used to analyses the demographic characteristics of the respondents. The qualitative results were analyzed through content analysis and eight themes emerged. There were responses on contributions of rural women to the sustainability of Gbara Village during the pandemic in agriculture and food security value chain, health and nutrition, home management, traditional elderly care, and rural entrepreneurship. The paper also found that rural women were confronted with socio-economic challenges of gender inequalities, illiteracy, and limited access to technology to enhance their role as change agents in rural communities during the pandemic. The study suggested that the government, organized private sector, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and civil society organizations should priorities and fast-track the attainment of gender equality and women education to empower rural women and increase their capacity for socio-economic transformation of rural communities in Nigeria. 

 

Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemic, African Rural Communities, Rural Women, Gender Equality and Women Education, Sustainability

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Impact statement

 

This paper explored the role of women in supporting their families and communities for the sustainability of rural communities and challenges they faced as they serve as buffers for the survival of their families and sustenance of livelihood in rural communities during Covid-19 pandemic. The qualitative phenomenological research design was adopted. Results were analyzed through content analysis of the eight themes in the study. The paper found that despite the contribution of rural women to the sustainability of rural communities during the pandemic, they were confronted with gender inequalities, illiteracy, and limited access to technology that could enhance their role as change agents. The study suggested that the government, organized private sector, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and civil society organizations should priorities and fast-track the attainment of gender equality and women education to empower rural women and increase their capacity for socio-economic transformation of rural communities in Nigeria. 

About author

Abiola Adiat Omokhabi Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Adult Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Dr. Omokhabi’s specialism are in the areas of Social Welfare, Gender Studies and literacy. She has published over 35 papers in local and international journals with high impact factor

Babatunde A. Fajimi is a postgraduate student of Industrial Education in the Department of Adult Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is a researcher and consultant and specialises in Industrial and Labour Education, Human Resources Management, and Social Entrepreneurship. He has published over 25 papers in local and international journals.

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