By Law & Society Editorial Board
A 44-year-old woman, Zainab Isah, recently stood before a Shari’a Court in Kaduna State with a heartbreaking confession: After 30 years of marriage and 10 children, she had nowhere to go. Her husband had divorced her and wanted her out of the house after the completion of the waiting period prescribed under Islamic law.
What should trouble the conscience of every Nigerian is not simply the collapse of a marriage, but the reality that a woman could spend virtually her entire life building a home and raising a family only to find herself facing homelessness, poverty and uncertainty when the marriage ends.
Zainab’s story is not an isolated tragedy. It reflects the painful reality of countless Nigerian women who devote their youth, strength and opportunities to marriage and motherhood, only to discover that their sacrifices carry little economic value in the eyes of society.
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Married off at 14, she spent three decades raising children and managing a household. While her husband may have accumulated assets and authority over the years, she was left without financial independence, property, employable skills or social protection. After years of unpaid domestic labour, she stood before the court not demanding luxury or revenge, but simply asking for dignity and shelter.
This is one of the deepest yet least discussed inequalities in Nigerian society. Many women, particularly in conservative and economically disadvantaged communities, are raised to believe that marriage is their ultimate security. In the process, education is sacrificed, careers abandoned and financial independence discouraged.
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The result is a dangerous dependence that leaves many women vulnerable when marriages fail through divorce, abandonment or death. A woman who spent decades nurturing children, caring for a household and supporting her husband often discovers that she has no legal or financial claim strong enough to protect her from destitution.
The injustice becomes even more disturbing when early marriage is involved. A girl who should be in school, learning a vocation or building her future is instead pushed into adulthood before she is emotionally or economically prepared for it. By the time such a marriage collapses, she may be in her forties or fifties with little education, no savings and no realistic pathway to economic recovery. Society then expects her to start over in one of the harshest economic climates in the world.
The emotional burden is equally severe. Mental health professionals have repeatedly warned that divorce can trigger depression, anxiety, loneliness and emotional trauma, particularly for women who have spent years as full-time homemakers.
Beyond the psychological pain lies the harsh reality of survival. Many divorced women suddenly become solely responsible for feeding and caring for children while receiving little or no support from former spouses. Some return to relatives who are themselves struggling financially, while others are rejected altogether because of harmful cultural attitudes toward divorced women.
There is also a dangerous tendency to treat domestic work as though it has no economic value. Yet raising children, maintaining a household and supporting a family require enormous physical, emotional and mental labour. If those services were outsourced, they would command significant financial costs. It is therefore unjust for society to pretend that a woman who dedicated decades to family life contributed nothing simply because she did not earn a salary.
Nigeria must begin to rethink the structure of marriage, divorce and women’s economic rights. Marriage should not become a trap that leaves women economically stranded after years of sacrifice. There must be stronger legal protections for women, particularly those who spent decades as homemakers. Child maintenance laws should be enforced more aggressively, and women should have better access to legal aid, temporary housing support and vocational rehabilitation after divorce.
More importantly, financial empowerment must become a national priority. Every girl deserves access to quality education, vocational training and economic opportunities before marriage. Women should be encouraged to develop skills, own property, save money and maintain some degree of financial independence regardless of marital status. Marriage should complement a woman’s life, not erase her identity or economic security.
There is at least some hope within the Nigerian Constitution. Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution prohibits discrimination based on sex, while Section 34 guarantees the dignity of the human person. Section 17 also speaks to equality of rights and opportunities before the law. Although these constitutional provisions are not always fully reflected in customary or religious practices, they provide a legal foundation for challenging laws and traditions that unfairly disadvantage women. Nigerian courts have, in some instances, struck down discriminatory customs relating to inheritance and property rights, showing that progress, though slow, is possible.
Still, constitutional promises mean little without enforcement and social reform. Laws alone cannot change deeply rooted attitudes that treat women as disposable once marriages fail. Real change will require governments, religious leaders, traditional institutions and families to collectively reject practices that deny women dignity and economic security after years of service and sacrifice.
No woman who devoted 30 years of her life to raising a family should be left with nowhere to sleep. No mother of 10 children should face the humiliation of begging for shelter after spending most of her life caring for others. A just society cannot continue to treat women’s sacrifices as invisible.
The story of Zainab Isah should not merely provoke sympathy; it should force Nigeria to confront an uncomfortable truth about how easily women’s labour, pain and humanity are ignored once they are no longer considered useful within marriage.
