"Ibo women have always worked. They grow up in their villages with selfconfidence and courage, knowing that they can always support themselves and their children. Even if a husband is generous and wealthy, his wives are expected to work all the same," states anthropologist Sonia Bleeker.

Women's work in traditional Ibo society, therefore, meant that in addition to cooking, housework, and taking care of the children, women were expected to work outside the home and to make economic contributions to the well-being of their families.

The wife's contribution to the needs of the household was direct and indispensable. According to G. T. Basden, an Iboland archbishop, "Women who worked hard were appreciated and a husband showed his appreciation of the wife's services by giving her a present occasionally, usually in the form of a wrapper [an article of clothing]." Conversely, a woman who was not considered...