Abstract
This paper examined the legal appraisal of the protection of women from discriminatory laws, policies and practices in Nigeria. The Nigerian Constitution and the various international and regional instruments to which the country is a signatory, have guaranteed women certain rights. However, the implementation of these laws and policies has been less than satisfactory. There have been instances of discrimination and violence against women, as well as a lack of access to education and healthcare. Objectives of this paper were to ascertain how the relevant laws have assisted in protecting women against sexual harassment and discrimination; determine the extent to which women’s rights have been violated in the public and private sectors of Nigeria; determine the extent to which women have been protected against sexual harassment and discrimination in the United Kingdom and the United States of America; examine the lessons on the legal protection of women against sexual harassment from other jurisdictions. The doctrinal research method was adopted for this paper. The paper found that in Nigeria, women have several legal rights that are enshrined in the Constitution and other laws. These rights include the right to equality, the right to life, and many others. These include gender-based violence, early marriage, and lack of access to education and economic opportunities. There are several key lessons that can be drawn from the experiences of the UK and the USA in protecting women’s rights and applying them to the Nigerian context. These include the need for a comprehensive legal framework that addresses all aspects of women’s rights, including economic, social, and political rights. Therefore, the paper recommended Strengthen the legal framework by enacting laws that explicitly address all aspects of women’s rights, establish an independent body to monitor and enforce the laws, and the government should domesticate all international conventions and treaties relating to female gender.
Keywords: Empowerment, Women, Examination and Legal Rights