The FEMALE-HUSBAND culture in IGBOLAND: a critical discourse

The institution of the female-husband in Igboland is a complex, indigenous, and non-sexualised customary practice that allows a woman to act as a ‘husband’ to a younger woman, with the primary goal of securing lineage continuity, preserving inheritance rights, and mitigating the social stigma of childlessness or barrenness within a deeply patriarchal society. Using qualitative data from oral interviews with 18 respondents, observation and ethnographic sources, it situates the institution within Igbo kinship ideology. Findings show that although the female-husbands culture exercised economic and social authority, this power depended on adopting a symbolic male identity. In conclusion, the practice preserved male-centred lineage, property transmission, and ancestral legitimacy, demonstrating Igbo society’s cultural flexibility while sustaining patriarchal foundations.