Elizabeth Adekogbe
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Adekogbe was a Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

n nationalist, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, and women's rights leader. She was the leader of the Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...

-based Women's Movement. In 1954, the movement changed its name to Nigerian Council of Women and in 1959, merged with the Women's Improvement League to form the National Council of Women Societies, a dominant pressure group and a leading women's coalition in Nigeria.

Women's movement

The Women's Movement was formed in Ibadan in 1952. The group's objectives were universal suffrage, admission of women to Native Authority councils, the nomination of members to the Western House of Assembly, enrollment of more girls in secondary schools, a reduction in the bride price and controls over Syrian and Lebanese trading monopolies. The organization was sometimes aligned with the Action Group
Action group
In sociology and anthropology, an action group or task group is a group of people joined temporarily to accomplish some task or take part in some organized collective action....

. However, few or zero politicians and parties put forth women candidates in federal elections during the period, though women played a major role in electioneering at the time. The women groups were more likely used for gaining votes
Votes
Votes are a people of Votia in Ingria, the part of modern day northwestern Russia that is roughly southwest of Saint Petersburg and east of the Estonian border-town of Narva. Their own ethnic name is Vadjalain . The Finnic Votic language spoken by Votes is close to extinction. Votians were one of...

.

Early battle and the Action Group

In 1953, a women's conference was convened in Abeokuta
Abeokuta
Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....

. The conference
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...

 contained all the major women's organization in the country. A leader of the assembly, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
Funmilayo Ransome Kuti ,, born Francis Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas to Daniel Olumeyuwa Thomas and Lucretia Phyllis Omoyeni Adeosolu, was a teacher, political campaigner, Women's rights activist and traditional aristocrat...

, who was favorably disposed towards the political group, NCNC, named the congregation: the Federation of Nigerian Women's Society. However, there was a battle of wills among the two prominent women at the assembly: Adekogbe and Kuti. Adekogbe lost, and left the assembly. Later, she supported an alliance with the women's league of the Action Group.
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