SOURCE:

Faculty: Environmental Sciences
Department: Estate Management

CONTRIBUTORS:

Obodoh, C. M.
Ogbuefi, J. U.
Emoh, F.I.

ABSTRACT:

In South-East Nigeria and most patriarchal societies, succession and inheritance rights are established procedures of transferring economic, social and even political power. The problem is that women are unequally positioned unlike their male counterparts in the inheritance and other issues relating to ownership of real properties. Even as most of the cultural attitudes or traits are changing, the inheritance rights remain resilient and hence pose challenges to women ownership of land and landed properties. The aim of this research is to analyze the constraints to real estate ownership by women in South-East Nigeria with a view of suggesting means of eliminating the constraints. To achieve the aim of the study, four objectives were pursued, while four corresponding research questions and four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The survey research design was adopted in order to collect data. The population of the study was made up of men and women in public and private sectors of both urban and rural areas of the study area. A sample size of 2304 was determined using the table for determining sample size developed by Krejcie and Morgan (1970). The sample was selected using the cluster random sampling technique. A total of 2120 correctly filled and returned questionnaire representing 92.01 % of the distributed questionnaire were used for data analysis. Data were presented using tables, and pie charts; while analysis was done using percentages, mean, relative importance index and factor analysis. The hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Z tests using SPSS version 23. ANOVA significant value of 0.0027 < alpha value of 0.05 shows that the magnitude of real estate ownership by women in South – East Nigeria is low compared to that of men. The Z score value of 0.007 < alpha value of 0.05 shows that there are significant factors that affect real estate ownership by women in South – East Nigeria. Factor analyses show that the most significant constraining factors include; socio-cultural factors (0.016), economic factors (0.016) as well as legal factors (0.046). Weighted mean identified the most significant sub factors as cultural bias against women (4.33), lack of resources (4.20), and non prescription of women property rights in customary and statutory laws (4.43). ANOVA value of 0.011 < 0.05 shows that there is a significant difference in the extent to which the identified factors constrain real estate ownership by women in the states. The ANOVA value of 0.0001< 0.05 reveal that the identified constraint factors have significant negative effect on women’s contribution to the Nigerian economy. The study recommends among others, the prescription of women property rights in the statutory laws of the South – East, reduction of all challenges face by women in real estate ownership by government and stakeholders.