Benue State University, Makurdi

Ka Kwase Ikyur Gaa? (Is it Not a Woman with a Vagina? ): An Expression of Sexism in Tiv Traditional Society

Andrew Philips Adega, PhD, Maria Mvaaga Kachii, and Bitrus Dami Yokkos

Sexism is an unfair treatment or discrimination based on differences in sex or gender. The paper is motivated by the misconception in Tiv traditional and the African society generally that the male gender is superior to the female gender. The study adopts the descriptive and analytic methods. In its data collection procedure, the primary and secondary sources were employed. The primary source is principally drawn from the oral interview and observation methods; while the secondary source draws information from documented sources in journals, books, newspapers/magazines. The paper established that sexism is a sad reality in Tiv and the African society at large where the male folk in demonstration of its superiority lords over women in deeds and actions demonstrative of sexism. Utterances such as: ka kwase ikyur gaa? Literary “is it not a woman with a vagina? ” condemns the womenfolk perpetually as they are dismissed with a wave of the hand and not taken seriously. The implication of this and similar utterances is that it dampens the spirit of the woman who is condemned to a state of nothingness and irrelevance. No society can develop with this attitude of sexism and derogatory and denigrating utterances against the womenfolk. The paper calls on the male-dominant Tiv society to have a rethink as women are also capable of impacting society positively.

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