Globalization: Is African Women’s Reproductive Health Getting Better or Worse? The Nigerian Experience

Beyond the economy; information and communication technology; politics; and even cultural differences between nations human reproduction in Africa has much implications for women’s participation in the process of globalization which is created and shaped by both gender. Accounting for social change in any human society implies a recognition of some relatively stable social and cultural elements. African women’s participation in the process of globalization is, to a large extent determined by their traditional sex role and their reproductive health especially because child bearing remains a vital function of the women. At the same time, globalization is expected to help improve the general well-being of men and women as global citizens. Hence the gate-keeping role of the government of any nation in the process of globalization is critical. This paper examines and assesses the efforts of the Nigerian government towards ensuring the reproductive health of women and girls by tapping into global best practices; and ensuring women’s active participation in the process of globalization. It uses the qualitative method, to analyse some indicators in the key reproductive health related policies, documents and practices in Nigeria against the recommendations of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other key international and regional instruments to which Nigerian is signatory. It evaluates the level and quality of implementation of these instruments and documents in order to ascertain the effects of the government’s effort at enhancing Nigerian women’s reproductive health and ensuring their valued contribution to the globalization process. The analysis reveals the negative effect of the lack of domestication of CEDAW on women’s reproductive rights and reproductive health; a wide gap between existing policies and their implementation; and the resultant generally poor outcome of Nigerian women’s reproductive health especially in the rural areas. In conclusion, the paper argues for a genuine domestication of international best practices in addressing the socio-cultural constraints to women’s reproductive rights in Nigeria so as to achieve the desired women’s reproductive health and increase their chances of actively contributing to the process of globalization from their little corners of the world no matter how remote.