Traditional Practices and Social Well-being of Rural Women in Gwer East Local Government area Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

Traditional Practices (TPs) are shared perceptions of how people routinely behave in a culture. Some of these practices are beneficial to all members; others are harmful and consequential to specific groups, such as women. This study examined the traditional practices affecting the social well-being of rural women in Gwer East, Benue State. The specific objectives of the study were to: assess the effects of child preference and social well-being of rural women and ascertain the effect of nutritional taboos and social well-being of rural women in Gwer East Benue State. The study was anchored on the theory of reasoned action/ planned behaviour. The study adopted a multistage sampling technique to select 400 respondents. Data was collected through the instrument of the questionnaire and was analyzed using simple frequencies and percentages. The findings revealed that child preference; nutritional taboos have significant effects on the social well-being of rural women in Gwer-East LGA. The study 
concluded that traditional practices have significant effect on the health of rural women. The study therefore recommended community awareness to rural dwellers about the dangers associated with traditional practices that are detrimental to women. This will reduce to a greater extent the dehumanizing traditional practices directed against women in the study area.