Veteran Nollywood actress Kate Henshaw has strongly criticised the unfair treatment of women in Nigeria, blaming both society’s mindset and outdated laws that continue to discriminate against women.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday, Henshaw referred to the biblical story of creation, saying that women were made to be equal partners with men, not to be treated as less important. Henshaw said this message has been twisted over time by culture, religion, and the law, leading to a society where women are often treated unfairly and unequally.
The actress pointed to specific laws in Nigeria that she believes institutionalise discrimination, such as citizenship provisions that favour foreign women married to Nigerian men while denying the same rights to foreign men married to Nigerian women
She also raised concerns about parts of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, which still allows a man to “reasonably chastise” his wife. Henshaw said this kind of law supports domestic violence and should be removed.
She said, “God created man and woman. He created the man first, no doubt. Even pastors and churches are at fault for this. He (God) brought the woman from the side, not from the head over the man or from under to be beneath him but beside, to reign beside him, to be fruitful, multiply and bring up children and grow together but Nigerian men see women as less than human that is why when you leave these shores and go somewhere else, they show you people pepper.
“You see us as this wood…even our laws, the violence against persons’ prohibition laws favour the man…A man is reasonably allowed to chastise his wife. Why?”
“A man who marries a foreigner can get a passport for her but a woman who marries a foreigner would go through loops before she can give the same passport for her husband who is a foreigner in this same Nigeria. So what are we talking about?‘’
Watch the video below:
𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 – 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐰
Veteran Nollywood actress Kate Henshaw has strongly criticised the unfair treatment of women in Nigeria, blaming both society’s mindset and outdated laws that… pic.twitter.com/reSFaRTFBy
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) June 1, 2025
