Bolanle Akinwande

Poverty and Well-being of Women in Rural Nigeria Bolanle Akinwande

The well-being of rural households is a major pursuit of policy makers and other development stakeholders in developing countries. The livelihood conditions of women in rural areas are often precarious and have attracted attention from analysts from diverse backgrounds. This book reports the findings of an investigation on the state of poverty and well-being of women in the rural areas of Nigeria from a multidimensional perspective. The results of the study demonstrate that the well-being index of women in rural Nigeria is generally below the expected minimum, confirming the a priori expectation that rural women are not fairing well. The well-being index however differs based on gender of household head, sector of employment, and geopolitical zone of residence of the rural women. The findings raises concern for accelerating the implementation of national and international initiatives aimed at improving the well-being status of rural women. In this respect, emphasis should be on improving education of rural women, increasing access to land, capital and other production inputs for those in the agriculture; and improving access to information through their social organizations.