I have written this book because Nigerian women and their fate are important, as is the fate of Nigeria. Their fates are intertwined and what happens in their future together matters not only to themselves, but to Africa and to the world. As the cover of this book conveys, unless that woman in the center, who is representative of the many is sorted out, what happens to the few lucky ones pales in comparison. While it might not be possible to transform her life at this point, what should be avoided at all costs is the perpetuation of circumstances that landed her in this condition.

This book aims to illuminate important issues about the Nigerian ecosystem of support for women. While the book has six chapters that delve into critical issues in their respective domains, the topic is very big and there are many perspectives about the 5Ws—what, where, who, why, & when—and about how the condition of women has come to be what it is? Nigerian scholars have shed light on many of the answers to these questions and to the extent possible some of their analyses have been incorporated in the chapters of this book.