Veteran actress Kate Henshaw has voiced a strong opinion that Nigerian men are inherently predisposed to view women as inferior.
Speaking on Arise TV, Henshaw referenced the biblical account of Eve’s creation from Adam’s rib, asserting that this signifies women are meant to be partners “by his side,” not subservient. However, she believes the deeply entrenched patriarchal culture in Nigeria has distorted this understanding, leading men to perceive and treat women as lesser beings.
Henshaw further contended that even Nigerian laws are skewed in favor of men, at the expense of women.
The mother-of-one elaborated during the interview: “God created man and woman. He created the man first, no doubt, but He brought the woman from the side – not from the head to rule over the man, or from under to be beneath him, but beside, to reign beside him, to be fruitful, multiply, and bring up children and grow together. But Nigerian men see women as less than human. That is why when you leave these shores and go somewhere else, they show you people pepper.”
She continued, “You see us as… even our laws, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, favors the man… A man is reasonably allowed to chastise his wife. Why? A man who marries a foreigner can get a passport for her, but a woman who marries a foreigner would go through loops before she can give the same passport to her husband who is a foreigner in this same Nigeria. So what are we talking about?”
