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European Journal of Education Studies

ISSN: 2501 - 1111 (on-line)
ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 (print)
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10.5281/zenodo.57339 Volume 1│Issue 4│2016

ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES;

A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Anurugwo Appolonia Osita

Department of Adult and Non-Formal Education,
Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, Imo, Nigeria

Abstract:
Women, from history, are known as active contributors towards the socio-economic
development of any nation. From family units to the larger society, women are
prominent in virtually all human activities that generate development. Rural women
particularly constitute the bulk of the rural population however; they face lots of
structural challenges which tend to limit their potentials in contributing meaningfully
both to themselves and to rural development. Most of them are poor and voiceless
because they lack access to education, finance, facilities and decision making. They may
continue to be helpless unless their potentials are developed and harnessed through
creative entrepreneurial skills and establishment of creative industries. This paper
therefore x-rayed the need for the establishment of creative industries for the
empowerment of rural women. It highlighted the plight of rural women, rural women
empowerment and creative industries. It also discussed the challenges of women
entrepreneurial efforts and suggested a way forward.

Keywords: creative industries, creative entrepreneurial skills, women empowerment

1. Introduction

Rural women simply refers to women who live in rural areas, that is, parts of the state
not properly developed with social amenities, infrastructures and other facilities that
make life worth living. According to Ngwu (2006), rural women constitute the highest
percentage of the rural dwellers in Nigeria. It is imperative to note that most of these
women are petty traders, subsistent farmers and illiterate house wives who have no
reasonable source of income; yet, they are the busiest category of people in terms of
Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved 64
Published by Open Access Publishing Group ©2015.
 Anurugwo Appolonia Osita -
ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

time burden. The potentials of these women can be harnessed and utilized for their self-
improvement and for sustainable rural development through the establishment of
creative industries.

The Plight of Rural Women

Rural women play prominent roles both at the family and community levels. They are
instrumental in the achievement of food security, income generation, as well as
improving rural livelihoods and over all wellbeing. Obidiegwu (2013) asserted that
women are instrumental in achieving the Millennium Development Goal. This is
because the impact of all their efforts is felt right from the family before it extends to the
outside environment. This is in concord with the maxim educate a man, you educate an
individual, educate a woman, you educate a nation . Rural women contribute not only to
agriculture and rural enterprises but fuel local and global economies. Saleh and Lasisi
(2011) observed that rural women are hard-working and resourceful group which if
properly harnessed can provide the impetus required by the government to achieve its
integrated rural development programme.
Rural women face persistent structural constraints that prevent them from fully
enjoying their human rights, hamper their efforts to improve their lives as well as those
of others around them. In rural areas, women s participation in development activities
is limited, as a result of culturally assigned roles coupled with inadequate
infrastructures and services. “ woman s traditional duty is to keep the home, work in
the farm, and teach her female children the rudiments of home keeping. This perception
has led some of the rural women to resign to fate, believing that they cannot go beyond
their culturally assigned roles.
A good number of rural women lack means of livelihood and opportunity for
economic independence. According to Onyeagu and Essiet (2002, p.23) women are
discriminated against in the employment field, poverty has assumed the status of their second
nature. Ill health, inadequate shelter and blighted environment, malnutrition, inability to
provide for their children are some of the features of their poverty-ridden life . Though this
may not be applicable to the generality of women, the researcher is of the view that
most rural women fit into Onyeagu and Essiet s description. The UN population
Information Network, (n.d) in recognition of the predicament of the rural women
informs us that:

ȃIn all parts of the world, women are facing threats to their lives, health and well-being.
They receive less education than men and are over-represented among the poor and

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 Anurugwo Appolonia Osita -
ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

powerless. Achieving change requires policy and programme actions that will improve
women's access to the scarce and valued resources of their societies (particularly secure
livelihoods and economic resources), alleviate their disproportionate household
responsibilities, remove legal and social impediments to their participation in the public
sphere, eliminate the specter of domestic and sexual violence from their daily lives and
raise social awareness through effective programmes of education and mass
communication.Ȅ

This underscores the imperativeness of capacity building programme as an

indispensable tool for empowering rural women and ensuring their optimal
contribution to sustainable rural and national development.

Rural women empowerment

Empowerment can be seen as a process of giving power to or strengthening the

existing capabilities of an individual to be more productive in his endeavors.
Akomolafe (2006) defined women empowerment as the development of mental and
physical capacity, power and skills in women for them to operate meaningfully in their
social milieu, thereby experiencing a more favorable level of social recognition and
subsequently enhance their economic status.
The Federal government of Nigerian, in an effort to empower the rural women
implemented programmes like Better Life Programme for Rural Women1987, Family
Support Programme1994, Family Economic Advancement Programme 1997, National
Poverty Eradication Programme 1999, and Poverty Alleviation Program in 2000.
However, it is worrisome to note that the impact of those programmes is insignificant in
relation to the poor status of the rural women.
Azikiwe (as cited in Mbara, Anurugwo & Alatare, 2015) described an
empowered woman as a woman who can and has transformed herself into a subject
rather than an object, the one who has access to and control over resources such as land,
money and assets. An empowered woman has power over economic, social,
psychological, health and cultural situations. Rural women s empowerment in this
context therefore entails equipping the rural women through capacity building
programmes so that they can contribute meaningfully both to themselves and the rural
community. The aim of women economic empowerment is to enhance the socio-
economic status of women through creating an economic culture that will address the
technical know-how in the pursuit of women s multi-faceted roles, retooling them with
various economic ventures as well as enhancing the emancipation of women from

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 Anurugwo Appolonia Osita -
ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

poverty Danjuma, Muhammad & “lkali, . This retooling entails the acquisition
of entrepreneurial and vocational skills through capacity building programmes which
will equip them in involving in various income generating ventures to make them
financially independent. The capacity building programmes to empower rural women
when focused on creative entrepreneurial skills and creative industries will in no small
measure equip them to deal with the dynamism of modern society.

Creative Industries

Creativity can be seen as the ability to use one s imagination to generate new ideas,
produce new things or come up with better solutions to existing problems.
United Nations Development Organization UNIDO (2013) defined creativity as
the untapped and innate human resource, whose potential economies are yet to
harness. UNIDO noted that it is the inspirational energy and knowledge that spurs one
to undertake new industrial ventures. This implies that the creative ability of an
individual motivates him to involve in productive ventures like industrial and or
entrepreneurial activities. It is imperative to note that rural women are endowed with
unharnessed creative potentials which can only manifest when they are empowered
through creative industries.
UNIDO (2013) defined creative industries as those industries that have their
origin in individual creativity, skill, and talent, and have potential for job creation
through the generation and exploitation of ideas or imagination. Similarly, British
Council (2011) defined creative industry as the socio-economic potential of activities
that trade with creativity, knowledge and information. Other names associated with
creative industries are cultural industries and creative economy. Creative industries
include a broad spectrum of subsectors – art, crafts, design, textiles, leather, furniture,
(slow) food, and even community-based tourism related services – that allow for
innovative and expanded opportunities for income generation (UNIDO, 2013).
This offers the rural women ample opportunity to develop and utilize their
talents in the multifarious vocational skills in order to be self-reliant as well as improve
their status in the society. Vocational skills are empirical skills that individuals acquire
in a specific area of interest. Individuals learn vocational skills from hands-on
experience. In other words, attention and emphasis in this context is on the acquisition
of practical skills.

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 Anurugwo Appolonia Osita -
ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Creative Industries and Rural Women Empowerment in Oru-East LGA

Creative industries cover a wide range of income generating activities capable of

liberating the rural women in Oru-East from abject poverty. Oru-East rural women are
known for being very industrious in their respective endeavors which include;
subsistent farming, petty trading, palm oil processing among others in addition to
domestic chores and home management. It is no gain saying that they will perform
creditably when involved in non-formal training programmes in the wide scope of
creative industries which include art, craft, design, textile, fashion, music, and
advertising. These sub-sectors of creative industries when established could
metamorphose in to non-formal education programmes for training the rural women in
acquiring skills in the following income generating activities; hair dressing, tailoring,
interior and exterior decoration, embroidery, fashion designing, pedicure and
manicure, cake deigning, bead making, weaving with wool, crochet work, soap making,
local disinfectant making, air fresher and perfume making, bakery among others.
Rural women in Oru-East have the potentials and capabilities to learn, acquire
and develop these skills only that they are incapacitated by structural challenges.
Hence, the acquisition and utilization of creative skills by these rural women will equip
them to start up small and medium enterprises and subsequently advance to full-
fledged creative entrepreneurs.
Creative entrepreneurship can be seen as an act of is setting up a business or
being self-employed in one of the creative industries. Creative entrepreneurs invest in
either their own talents or those of other people. Howkins (2001) opined that creative
entrepreneurs use creativity to unlock the wealth that lies within them. In other words,
effective management of creative ventures unlocks wealth. He further identified three
unique characteristics of creative entrepreneur as creativity, collaboration and
entrepreneurship.
Creativity skills involves the generation of new ideas, evaluating them effectively
and taking action to turn them into new products and services. It enables one to use
insight in generating solutions to problems. It also involves the development of new
methods, procedures and rules rather than using the existing standards. Rural women
when properly guided will apply same creative skills used in solving domestic
problems in art, design, craft or whatever training programme they are exposed to.
Collaboration has to do with connecting and working with partners, clients, and other
significant players in one s network. This will in no small measure encourage team
work among the rural women. Such training can be organized for them through their
various women organizations. Entrepreneurship implies identifying opportunities in

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ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

the marketplace and using business skills to turn ideas into products into profits
(Howkins, 2001). It is imperative to note that a lot of opportunities and ideas exist,
hence the need to train these rural women in the vocational skills enumerated above so
as to turn their ideas in these skills in to products and profits . This will in turn equip
them financially to contribute to both self and rural development.
Creative industries are instrumental to the improvement of national economy. For
instance, craft as a sub-sector of creative industry contributed 33.2% GDP in Indonesia
in 2010. This sector consists of thousands of SMEs in Indonesia and is a major source of
new entrepreneurship among the youth of the country (Santi, Rucita, Ummu & Ilma,
2012). Similarly, Oru-East rural women when trained in various craft activities will
equally advance to full-fledged creative entrepreneurs.
Creative industries are vehicles of cultural identity that play an important role in
fostering cultural diversity. Cultural identity includes cultural activities uniquely
associated with a particular social group. In Oru-East, this ranges from traditional
wears, costumes, adornment to cultural display, music and food types and habits.
Cultural identity is important in linking social groups in communities and contributing
to social cohesion.
According to Creative Economy Report (2010) the manifestations of a people's
culture - customs, rituals, artifacts, music and so on - permeate the daily lives of men,
women and children and constitute a significant element in providing for their
education, culture, happiness and well-being. Every society is denoted with specific
material culture; similarly, the production of such materials in creative industries will
help in reinforcing the values of such materials in relation to cultural identity. Rural
women s involvement in the production of traditional costumes used for adornments in
cultural festivals and ceremonies for instance, will instill in them a sense of
responsibility as stake holders of community s cultural development.
The involvement of rural women in creative industries is instrumental in
achieving the millennium development goals especially in the following areas;
eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, promotion of gender equality and
empowerment of women, improvement of maternal health , ensuring environmental
sustainability and development of a global partnership for development. These are the
challenges of this generation and should not be addressed without the involvement of
rural women who constitute a significant percentage of the country s population.
Hence, their empowerment in the creative industries will place them in a better position
to contribute to the solutions of national challenges. The Creative Economy Report
(2010) noted that the creative industries have a multitude of dimensions and contributes
to economic, social, cultural and sustainable development in a number of ways. It

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ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

promotes economic diversification, revenues, trade and innovation, contributes to

employment, particularly for women and the youth and fosters social inclusion.

Challenges of Rural Women’s Creative Entrepreneurial Efforts

Rural women in spite of their potentials and capabilities to excel in entrepreneurship

and creative industries are faced with structural and socio-cultural constraints which
make it difficult for them to realize their potentials as leaders in business. Mbara,
Anurugwo and Alatare (2015) observed that the following challenges are associated
with women entrepreneurship; traditional gender roles, access to finance and respect,
women as low risk takers and inability to achieve growth.
Entrepreneurship is still considered as male dominated field, and it may still be
difficult to surpass these conventional views. In fact, the manifestation of the gender
phenomenon is often reflected in the size of the business, product line, growth
composition and management of women owned enterprises. Similarly, successful
entrepreneurship requires access to financial support. To this effect, loans are obtained
from banks to lending institution at the presentation of collateral which in most cases is
landed property. But the traditions of most communities prohibit women from owning
land. This severely limits their capacity to start their own business.
Women generally are low risk takers probably as a result of their primary
responsibility for dependents. More often than not women perceive risk as involving
loss, danger, ruin and hurt, and therefore involve to a low extent in taking business risk.
Most women entrepreneurs are unable to achieve growth especially sales growth. Since
women have problems in assembling external resources, they start less ambitious firms
with their own available resources, which definitely affect the future growth of the firm.
Adegoroye and Adegoroye (2008) observed that low literacy level of the rural
women denied them access to vital information that can improve their lots
economically. Similarly, Izuagba, Nwigwe and Nwamuo (2014) noted that illiteracy
keeps women marginalized and is a major obstacle to the reduction of extreme poverty
in a technology-driven world. For the fact that most rural women are illiterates they
find it difficult to cope with activities that require functional literacy skills in creative
economy.
Malami (2008) identified lack of proper funding as one of the fundamental
problems blocking the chances of women from attaining economic empowerment and
that if provided, it will assist to empower the economic position of women and
consequently reduce their level of poverty.

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ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

The Way Forward

Based on the envisaged challenges of rural women creative entrepreneurial efforts the
researcher therefore suggests that the following strategies should be adopted to ensure
the empowerment of rural women through the establishment of creative industries.
1. The traditional gender role of women which limits them to domestic duties
should be discouraged through awareness/enlightenment programmes. Women
should be encouraged to compete with their male counterparts in all facets of life
including economic ventures.
2. Government micro credit as well as private micro finance programmes should
assist rural women in starting up Small and Medium Enterprise after their
training in the creative industries.
3. Women are encouraged to enroll in to adult literacy programmes to update their
knowledge and acquire the necessary skills and knowledge that will help them
in life ventures. This will make them to be functionally literate as well as engage
in activities that require literacy skills in the creative industries. Besides, literacy
skill will equip them with the courage require for risk bearing in business
ventures.
4. More representation of women in decision making positions in government, non-
governmental organization and financial institutions, would undoubtedly
promote change and help in the gender sensitization process needed to make
financial support readily available for women entrepreneurs.

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ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

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ESTABLISHMENT OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES; A PANACEA FOR RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN
ORU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

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