Nigeria is a patriarchal society, which puts women in subordinate positions that
may prompt gender-based discrimination. While evidence of this phenomenon has been
investigated in Nigeria and other African countries, no such investigation has been
conducted with immigrant and first-generation Nigerian women in the United States. The
purpose of this study was to examine the role of a Nigerian woman’s perceived
empowerment and status on her willingness to access reproductive health services. The
research questions examined views of Nigerian traditional beliefs’ influence on status and
how attitudes around traditional beliefs relate to access to reproductive health services
and/or knowledge. Data were gathered through semi structured interviews with 9
Nigerian women in the Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia area. The women were
recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using the
ecological systems theory as a framework, which theorizes that a woman’s status is
related to her ability to access services or information; empowerment increases that
access of services/information, and that traditional Nigerian beliefs have mostly positive
effects on their status. However, the findings revealed that, among these 9 women,
traditional beliefs did not have an overwhelming direct effect to access to services or
information. Empowering women is vital for social growth, no matter what the place of
origin. This study contributes to positive social change by providing a resource that
demonstrates the importance of these women’s contributions to society, thus helping to
move society forward.