•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Although the past two decades featured burgeoning research on issues affecting women’s lives in Nigeria, the existing studies of women’s status and decision-making autonomy in the country leave important gap in their representations of the high level of sociocultural heterogeneity in the country. Using a nationally representative survey data, the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, n = 26,306), this study examines variations in women’s decision-making autonomy across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. A series of multilevel linear regression models revealed that Nigerian women’s levels of participation in household decision-making varied significantly across states of residence. Particularly, women residing in states that practiced Sharia law reported significantly lower household decision-making autonomy relative to their counterparts in non-Sharia states. The implications of these findings for future research and stakeholders involved in women’s affairs in Nigeria are discussed.

Author Biography

Esther O. Lamidi is a doctoral student at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. She works as a research assistant at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research, also at Bowling Green State University. She studies health and wellbeing of families, gender in families, and reproductive health.

Download

Share

COinS