SUMMARY
So far, this study had examined the role of women in the socio-political and economic activities of Uhen in pre-colonial times that is from early time to 1900. The study showed the origin of the Uhen people, the role of women in the pre-colonial Uhen community, the place of women in the socio-political affairs of the Uhen community, and the contribution of Uhen women in building a strong economy of the Uhen community. It has been demonstrated from the available sources that the dynamism of women in the growth and development of Benin economy appears to have been obscured by negative and erroneous ideas by some European scholars like Helleiner, Trevor Roper, David Hume contends that there was no culture, education commerce, craft, no science or arts in pre-colonial Africa prior to the emergence of colonial regime.
The fact remains that the attempt by classical scholars to underestimate the development of pre-colonial African societies facts and data have reflected the complex and diversified nature of indigenous economy. The point here is that the pre-colonial history of Benin abounds indeed the widespread nature of the social and economic activities of women. Indigenous technology during this period encouraged specialization in numerous fields such as; weaving, pottery, palm oil processing and Uhen village was not isolated in this development.
Uhen’s economy like every other Benin society evolved as a local phenomenon on which was organized in three major sectors; agriculture, trade and industry. History has given the testimony that all these three sectors had prospered before the emergence of colonial power, it had maintained and took care of the needs of the people at the local level.
The position of women in pre-colonial Nigeria obviously differed in the vast number of ethnic groups in Nigeria. A woman’s position varied according to the kinship structure of the group and the role of women within the economic structure of the society. Common factors among women of different ethnic groups however, included the domestically oriented jobs and the range of economic activities that the societies reserved for women.
Women in pre-colonial societies held a complementary position to men although patrilineal and patriarchal kinship structures predominated Nigerian societies. The kinship group expected women who were married into the Benin patrilineage to give birth to sons to ensure the future of the group.
The Benin society offered the greatest opportunities for women to participate in other economic activities such as manufacturing, farming and trade. In the Benin and Yoruba society, the responsibility of a woman to provide for her family included producing the material resources for such care. Women believed that providing such materials met their responsibility as women and citizens. Their society considered the work the women did complementary to the work of men, and some women achieved impressive status in the economic and social realms of the Benin/Yoruba life.
However, more commonly women achieved power by means of their lineage or by means of marriage into ruling families. By achieving such power they obtained direct political influence, but they rarely showed their influence in public.
Like the family and economic structure, the religions of many Nigerian tribal societies conceived the position of women as complementary to that of men. However, the fact remains that the society of pre-colonial Nigeria believed men superior to women and some extent in control of women.
