Women's+Associations*

Women were important in the Igbo community as they acted as checks and balances in the social and political organization. The women had their own clubs, age-group associations and titles that complemented those of men. Women were perceived as possessing superior spiritual well-being and therefore were in charge of many traditional cults and shrines. They were able to gain wealth by means of trade, farming or weaving and in certain districts wealthy women married other women. Omu society was one of the most important women's association and only women who had enough wealth could be admitted because they had to pay for the initiation ceremonies. Like men, a woman began her life as an apprentice and at a very young age assisted her mother at home, the farm or the marketplace. As she grows older she learns the importance of hard work, marriage and membership of certain associations in society. Women also held a great deal of power over local trade because most local traders were women. Igbo women's associations upheld gender balance and equality, however men occasionally felt they were contentious.