Assessing The Role of Women in Promoting "Kampala Adire" In Abeokuta, Ogun State

This study assessed the role of women in promoting the Kampala Adire cottage industry in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Adire, the indigo resist-dyed textile rooted in Yoruba culture, has long depended on women as its principal producers, traders, and cultural custodians, yet their contributions remain insufficiently documented in scholarly and policy discourse. Guided by Feminist Theory, Cultural Feminism and African Womanism, and Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Theory, the study adopted a convergent mixed methods design that combined structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentary review. A sample of 400 respondents was drawn from the Itoku and Asero communities using Taro Yamane's formula, and 387 questionnaires were validly completed and analysed alongside data from 30 purposively selected key informants. The findings show that Adire production in Abeokuta remains largely family based and community based, with market demand and cultural heritage preservation identified as the strongest drivers of growth. Women dominate production, marketing, apprentice training, and increasingly social media promotion, and the craft stands as the primary source of household income, funding children's education, housing, and family welfare for many respondents. Even so, women continue to face significant constraints, including limited access to capital, the high cost of materials, poor electricity supply, competition from imported fabrics, and weak institutional support. The study concludes that women are the backbone of the Kampala Adire industry and recommends gender-responsive financing, structured skills training, branding and certification policies, and stronger cooperative organisation to sustain and expand their contributions to Nigeria's cultural economy.