Women are Flexible and Better Managers: The Paradox of Women's Identities, their Educational Attainments and Political Power

Abstract

Through a phenomenological reading of Nigerian women’s lived experiences, I examined the processes that account for the present low level of women’s participation in civic-political affairs and I argue that: there is magic consciousness in the religions and religious practices in Nigeria; that the official and unofficial presence of the religions in formal schools ensure that the beliefs and the values of their adherents fuse with the structure of the school (through the official and the hidden curriculum) and the larger society to construct an identity for women; and that the constructed identity represents a major factor in determining whether women have political power. I conclude that the potential for challenging and reordering the status quo exists in the women who perceive themselves as different from whom men would rather they are.