Gender Equality in Dual-Sex System: The Case of Onitsha

Abstract

In republishing the following essay to bring it to a wider audience, I have tried to preserve the original version of the essay. Most of the editorial changes I made are quite minor and are designed to clarify certain sentences and issues that seemed obtuse. However, since the publication of the essay in 1994, I have radically revised it in light of on going discussions in the field, and to accentuate certain issues that were treated with brevity. Consequently, the essay has expanded into two full-blown chapters: one chapter is devoted to the docu-drama, with an expanded range of issues under discussion, and the second chapter, more extensively examines the dynamics of a equality as comparable worth. In the process of making these changes, I have subjected the concept of equality to radical critique with the aim of transcending the notion of equality as something individuals possess. In my view, the shift to social responsibilities and obligations allows a different, more responsible way of thinking about equality.