WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN TRADITIONAL IGBO SOCIETY: A STUDY OF AKACHI ADIMORA-EZEIGBO’S THE LAST OF THE STRONG ONE

Abstract

This paper explores the empowerment of the Igbo woman before and during the advent of the colonial masters.  It examines the empowerment roles of the Igbo women in traditional society and how they fair in the power equation defined by dominant patriarchal principles that restrict them. Using a qualitative approach which requires a literary text analysis of Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo’s THE LAST Of THE STRONG ONES and relating it to other research findings by renowned scholars in Igbo traditions and cultural heritage, the researcher discovers that women's empowerment was driven by the financial strength of the traditional Igbo women in their social environments.