Award-winning author, Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, says South-East women have contributed a lot in developing and promoting Igboland.
Adimora-Ezeigbo stated this during "May 2025 edition of Ńkàtá Ụ́mụ̀Íbè, a monthly distinguished speaker series, organised by the Centre for Memories, Enugu.
The author spoke on a lecture titled "Nwoke Nuchaa Ogu, Nwanyi Enwere Akuko: A Critique of War, Memory, and Power in the Reimagination of Ìgbò Historical Narratives"
According to her, the Igbo women historical contribution to Igbo society were overlooked, particularly during the Nigeria-Biafra War.
The author equally challenged the age-old adage that positions women as mere storytellers in the aftermath of men’s
battles, noting that in Igbo culture women were frequently assigned secondary roles.
She examined how male-dominated narratives had shaped popular understandings of the
war, reducing women to background figures or stereotyped roles such as housewives.
This, she said, ignored their presence as soldiers, intelligence officers, and freedom fighters, including their
work within the Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters (BOFF).
According to her, their stories were erased and reduced to domesticity.
“Of over fifty published accounts on the Biafra War, only a handful reflect
women’s perspectives and that does not serve the inclusive history we must build.” she decried.
"Drawing from both research and lived experience, Adimora-Ezeigbo recounted her own service as a special constable during the war:
“We manned checkpoints and intercepted infiltrators. The historical record must reflect the truth not the limited vision implied by the saying, ‘Nwoke Nụchaa
Ọgụ, Nwanyị Enwere Akụkọ," she said.
The don added that the root causes of the gendered erasure include inadequate documentation of women's wartime contributions, dominance of male-authored historical texts and
limited circulation of women’s narratives
Other are the neglect of oral histories as legitimate sources of knowledge.
She, however, called for a paradigm shift, arguing that there was no end to what women had done and continue to do to promote Ìgbò land and Nigeria.
"We must write, record, and remember these stories for our children, for our history, and for the development of Ala Ìgbò," Adimora-Ezeigbo said.
Speaking, the Executive Director of the Centre, Maazi Iheanyi Igboko, said
Ńkàtà Ụmụ Íbè, was a monthly distinguished speakers’ series organised by the centre which rooted in the Ìgbò tradition of communal discourse.
He added that the programme had become a vital platform for addressing pressing issues affecting Ndigbo, promoting Ìgbò values, heritage, and collective prosperity.
"This powerful edition of Ńkàtá Ụ́mụ̀Íbè was made possible through the generous support of the Ford Foundation, as part of its ongoing commitment to Enhancing inclusion across Ala Ìgbò," Igboko explained.
The event also honored the courageous efforts of women like Rose Njoku and Ms. Leslie Ofoegbu, who documented their wartime experiences which remained largely underacknowledged.