WOMEN EMPOWERMENTAND PARTICIPATION IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

There is no gainsaying that women are the heartbeat of men’s strength and success and therefore engine room for development in the society.  Women empowerment can be described as the provision of adequate opportunities to women to develop their potentials and contribute to the development of the nation in particular and the world in general. It has been observed that women have been disempowered since creation. Efforts made so far towards women empowerment has yielded little fruits. This study examined women empowerment and participation in national development with reference to Ahiazu Mbaise LGA, Imo State. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design andin depth interview. 250 copies of questionnaire were administered to 250 respondents from the five sampled communities in Ahiazu Mbaise LGA.  The paper is therefore an attempt to ascertain available empowerment initiatives for women and challenges hindering the effective contributions of women to national development. The paper recommends that since the role of women in national development is very important in the development of any country, the Nigerian government owes it as a duty to remove those artificial and institutional barriers based on religion, culture, or traditional considerations which have incapacitated Nigeria women in participating effectively and freely in national affairs particularly, at the political and economic levels so that women will contribute their quota to National development.