Beyond Patriarchy: A Contextual Theoretical Exploration of Gender Discrimination Among Women in Yoruba Society

Abstract

Dominant feminist narratives often conceptualize gender discrimination primarily as male-dominated oppression. This paper challenges such unidirectional frameworks by theorizing how gender-based hierarchies also operate among women within Yoruba society in Nigeria. Drawing on intersectionality, African womanist thought, and postcolonial feminist theory, the study offers a critical examination of intra-gender discrimination—how women participate in the marginalization of other women based on age, marital status, fertility, economic capital, and social positioning. Employing a critical-interpretive methodology rooted in qualitative cultural analysis, the paper interrogates Yoruba kinship structures, religious practices, and gendered norms to reveal how symbolic and socio-economic hierarchies are internalized and reproduced by women themselves. Findings illustrate that seniority, motherhood, and material privilege serve as tools through which women exert exclusionary power over other women, particularly in domestic, religious, and market spaces. These practices not only fracture female solidarity but also sustain patriarchal orders through divided and competitive female agency. By repositioning the lens of gender analysis to include intra-female relations of power and exclusion, the paper contributes to broader feminist conversations on intersectionality and the politics of difference. It concludes by advocating for indigenous feminist approaches that prioritize collective healing, intergenerational dialogue, and solidarity across the diverse lived experiences of women.