Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with a population of about 140 million (2006
National Population Census). Of this number, over half (51%) live in the rural areas. The
majority of the poor, illiterate rural dwellers are women.
For several decades now, women empowerment has been an issue of great concern
especially among developing nations such as Nigeria. Given the fact that over 50 percent of
the total world population is made up of women, their empowerment, health, and well-being
is crucial to the development of any nation and to the attainment of the Millllenium
Development Goals. Arising from the Beijing conference of 1995, the concept of women empowerment took a firm root as one of the strategic objectives under the women and
health platform for action.