In Northeastern Nigeria, there is a village where only a woman can rule. She is not just a figurehead, she truly governs both men and women, and her people see her as their supreme leader. When people gather to meet her, they sit on the ground and bow down their heads, leaning towards her to listen intently and agreeing to every direction she gives. Seeing the respect she received, I thought I had discovered a rare matriarchy among Nigeria’s many ethnic groups.
My excitement, however, turned to deep concern when the tour guide proudly narrated how this “supreme leader” is chosen. In that moment, I saw the gap between what appears to be a matriarchy and the practical realities behind securing that authority.
Hundreds of years ago, the village faced attacks from lions and other wild animals coming down from the surrounding mountains to feed. The elders, mostly men, noticed that when a man was in power, attacks were frequent and deadly. So, the community decided to try placing a woman as leader and to their surprise, the attacks reduced drastically. From then on, they decided that only a woman could be their supreme leader to keep everyone safe.
When the ruler dies, the male elders secretly choose her replacement. At night, they barge into her house, capture the chosen woman and take her to the palace. She has no choice, no matter how old she is. Her family cannot stop this old “law of the land.”
This “supreme leader” is essentially forced by men to lead for the rest of her life. She cannot choose a different path; she is made to sacrifice her life for the tribe. She sits on a throne, but she is a captive. She is called a ruler, but in reality, she is a slave.
What Truly Grants a Woman Her Rights?
Some of the world’s most advanced gender-equality laws have been enacted in Africa. The Maputo Protocol, for example, calls for the elimination of discrimination, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and child marriage. Countries like Kenya and Rwanda have introduced quotas to ensure women’s representation in government, while Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon have passed major reforms to strengthen the protection of women from domestic abuse and expand their economic roles. Tanzania saw its first female president in 2021, and in South Africa and Senegal, women now occupy over 40% of parliamentary seats.
However, there is a big gap between what the law says and how African women can exercise those freedoms. Women’s rights are limited by customs and religion every day. Many girls are raised to be obedient and to joyfully anticipate the day when they get married and get to focus on domestic roles. Colonialism replaced more flexible traditions with strict patriarchy. In many cultures, only men can inherit land. Today, gender equality is often seen as something foreign and a threat to the family unit.
This raises a question: Are these progressive gender-equality laws just for show, used by politicians to make their countries appeal to global expectations and international donors? When a woman is given power by the system, is she truly in charge, or just a high-ranking servant in a system still run by others? Stories like the village’s show that this question exists everywhere in society.
Functional Rights or Fundamental Rights
In my story, the woman is given power not because she has a basic right to lead, but because she is needed to stop the lion attacks. We see similar things around the world—in offices, streets, boardrooms, schools, courts, churches, and government. Women are often ‘allowed’ to lead not just because they are qualified, but also because gender quotas must be met or organizations want to look good to donors or the public. If this ‘function’ fails, the ‘lions’ come back, and women’s right to lead is often the first to be discarded.
In Africa, women carry an unfair burden where their ability to keep the community is valued more than their right to choose their own path. On paper, women have rights, but who is in charge? Whose system is it?
Claiming Our Rights
Women need to take up more space. The only way to win this struggle is to stop quietly hoping for rights to be given and instead boldly claim them.
True freedom is not just having a seat at someone else’s table. It is having the power to decide if we want to sit there at all. It means having dignity that we define for ourselves and by ourselves. We cannot be “Supreme Leaders” in a system that treats our lives as a price for the group’s comfort. We cannot be sacrifices for “tradition” while the law ignores the injustices we face daily.
What is given can also be taken away. Perhaps the rights we are granted today are just longer, prettier chains. What is power when it depends on someone else’s permission? What is freedom when it is a reclaimable gift? What is a throne when you did not choose it freely? It is just a cage. It is time to close that cage, throw away the key, and move forward into a future of our own design.
By Joy Ebere