Paper short abstract:

The research attempts a philosophical interrogation of the nature of patriarchal arrangement in rural-urban Africa locales and impact on women’s participation in economy and knowledge production, with specific emphasis on the Nigerian example.

Paper long abstract:

Largely, contemporary livelihood within most sub-Saharan African nations is not bereft of socio-cultural dynamics derived partly from patriarchal norms or expectations that underscore social relations in matters of politics, economy, religion, family and other institutions. It is difficult to treat lightly the reality of this livelihood in sprawling urban and dwindling rural areas in most part of Africa, Nigeria inclusive. The impact that this have for enacting a supposed social order of participation in knowledge and economic production is not little and the consequences of subjugating women oftentimes as the 'gendered' other, in cases where patriarchal arrangement wholesomely thrives demands a critical outlook. This discourse leaps from this understanding to engage the socio-cultural condition of gendered economy and knowledge production in Nigeria; substantiated by the normative idea or understanding about women as subordinate 'other' in rural and urban spaces. Adopting a critical and conceptual approach, the discourse advances a liberal individualist perspective over radical standpoint theories and stresses the need to re-enact a neutral gender norm that proffers equitable capacity for all persons to participate in knowledge and economic production within the African space.