EFFECT OF HARMFUL CULTURAL PRACTICES ON WOMEN DEVELOPMENT IN OBIO/AKPOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, RIVERS STATE

Abstract

Culture is an essential principle of man with specific cultural values and norms which society always conserve and defend against foreign interference. The crux of this research is to consider the effect of cultural traditions on women development in Rivers
State: a case study of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council. The population of the study consists of all the indigenes of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area and due to the large scale of the indigenes, the indigenes were limited to a sample size of 200 respondents from four communities namely; Ozuoba, Rumuigbo, Elelenwo and Oginigba. The sample size was selected with the aid of simple random techniques and the data from the field were subjected to a descriptive analysis such as frequency tables,
simple percentages imputed on the SPSS version 25 software. The study discovered that child marriage, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation were minimal in the study area while degrading widowhood practices remain widely practiced. A corollary of these negative activities is the school dropout phenomena recorded among young girls due to stigma associated with these harmful and inhuman cultural practices. Based on the findings, the study also proposed that consultation should be conducted by the government to reduce the proliferation of cultural traditions that are inimical to the community.