Tradition, Power and Women's Agency: The Challenging Role of Umuada in Contemporary Igbo Society
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article critically examines the changing authority of Umuada, associations of daughters linked by birth to Igbo lineages and communities, in relation to tradition, power and women's agency. Rather than treating indigenous women's institutions as either unqualified instruments of emancipation or simple extensions of patriarchy, it investigates how their authority is negotiated across family governance, conflict mediation, cultural regulation and collective development. The study adopts a critical narrative-review design and thematically synthesises historical accounts and secondary scholarship identified in the supplied manuscript. Its discussion is organised around institutional origins, mechanisms of legitimacy, peacebuilding, marital and widowhood practices, social welfare, and transformations associated with migration, religion, formal law and generational change. The literature portrays Umuada as potentially influential mediators and organisers whose birth-based membership can give married women continuing standing in their natal communities. At the same time, accounts of punitive sanctions, asymmetric marital standards and widowhood regulation illustrate that women's collective power does not automatically guarantee gender justice. The article argues that the contemporary significance of Umuada lies in their capacity to combine socially recognised customary authority with accountable, inclusive and rights-respecting practices. It recommends transparent mediation, safeguards for vulnerable participants, intergenerational participation and carefully defined collaboration with formal institutions. Because this is a narrative synthesis rather than field research or a systematic review, its conclusions are interpretive and require further community-level investigation.
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225652512
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