Some pregnant women are also forced to eat a lizard or toad, which could be dangerous to both mother and child, to ensure that if the baby they are carrying is a boy it will not die as an infant. Wife battering is also a problem in Nigeria. Some men see their wives as ordinary house objects, such as a piece of furniture, which can be replaced when the owner becomes tired of it. If a wife wishes to practice family planning, she may be met with violence, and accusations that she is having an extra-marital affair. Beatings have become such a problem that some women s groups are setting up free legal services for battered women.
Rape is also a problem.
When a man rapes, he destroys a young woman's dream of becoming something in her life. If a raped woman becomes pregnant her parents especially their fathers, throw her out of the house and she becomes a prostitute or commits suicide. Lack of education is another important issue facing women in our country. Once only boys were sent to school. Parents, particularly fathers, felt that the money spent in educating a girl was wasted since a girl will get married and bear the name of another family.