A close examination of petitions shows how Igbo women formed part of the complex power relations between the women and the colonial state, and enabled them to influence events.
Selected petitions and written correspondence between Igbo women and British officials between 1892 and 1960 shed fresh light on how women navigated male-dominated colonial institutions and structures of the time.
On June 5, 1885, Great Britain proclaimed Nigeria as a colony. It declared a protectorate over territories on the coast between the British Protectorate of Lagos and both banks of the Rivers Niger and Benue . Although treaties were signed with rulers by 1885, actual British control of northern and southern Nigeria was not attained until 1900. Colonial rule lasted until 1960 and was resisted in various forms. In Igboland, this included warfare, protests, tax evasion and petition writing.
It also challenged the outmoded narrative of the passivity of women in the colonial power structure. They were actively involved as individuals or groups in shaping public policies in the colonial era. On November 16, 1937, Mary Nna of Ohambele petitioned the Senior Resident, Owerri Province, concerning what she perceived to be an unfair judgement against her in the group native court of Ikwueke. She wrote:
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