The emergence and history of the “gentlewomen of the bar” into the legal profession in the South West geopolitical zone of Nigeria

Abstract

This research paper focuses on the emergence of women into the legal profession in Nigeria and the gender inequality that pervaded the legal profession in the colonial days of Nigeria’s judicial history. Essentially, most professions in Nigeria were dominated by the male gender and the legal profession was not exclusive, thereby, this paper seeks to understand the historical emergence of women into the legal profession. This paper utilized radical feminism theory in understanding the subject-matter. The paper engaged qualitative research method. The primary data were sourced from historical information such as oral information, observations and interviews. It also includes fieldwork, visits to the Nigerian Bar Association office, Law Schools and Law Faculties in some Universities in Nigeria to obtain vital data for the study. Purposive sampling was engaged in selecting the interviewees. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Findings were able to espouse the genesis and how women emerged into the legal profession in Nigeria.