Biography
Inyama was born Rosemary Ike on 11 November 1913 to Mazi Okoronkwo Ike and Madam Otonahu Ike in Arochukwu, Igboland, Nigeria. She attended the Mary Slessor Memorial School where she later became a teacher. When she married in 1934, she resigned from teaching. However Inyama was heavily involved in community. She started a Domestic Science Business Training Center in 1935 which became a profitable enterprise and taught women skills they could use in work or at home. [1] [2] [3]
In 1942 Inyama got a license for buying gold and started a business importing gold from Ghana and creating jewellery from it. She became one of the first women in the area to have a bank account, with African Continental Bank in Aba. Inyama was involved in a trading partnership buying and selling foodstuffs until the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70) ended the business. She founded the Girl Guides in the district, and helped found a motherless babies home in 1965. During the Nigerian civil war she brought together the various groups of Ututu, Ihechiowa, Isu, Ewe and Arochukwu communities under the banner of the Association of Arochukwu women. Inyama was a member of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) and organised the women's wing. A successful business woman amassing a significant fortune, Inyama educated all her children in university and dedicating herself to improving the lives of women and her community in general. She was given a number of awards for her service. [2] [1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Inyama married fellow teacher P.K. Inyama and one of their children, Hycientha Inyama Nwauba became the consul-general for Nigeria in New York, United States. Their other children were Nnenna Inyama, Jennifer Inyama and Okoro Inyama. [2]
The Igbo people are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A sizable Igbo population is also found in Delta and Rivers States. Ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as migrants as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, which are largely unknown. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River—an eastern and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
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Mary Mitchell Slessor was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Nigeria. Once in Nigeria, Slessor learned Efik, one of the numerous local languages, then began teaching. Because of her understanding of the native language and her bold personality Slessor gained the trust and acceptance of the locals and was able to spread Christianity while promoting women's rights and protecting native children. She is most famous for her role in helping to stop the common practice of infanticide of twins in Okoyong, an area of Cross River State, Nigeria.
Arochukwu Local Government Area, sometimes referred to as Arochuku or Aro Oke-Igbo, is the third largest local government area in Abia State in southeastern Nigeria and homeland of the Igbo subgroup, Aro people.
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Igboland, also known as Southeastern Nigeria, is the indigenous homeland of the Igbo people. It is a cultural and common linguistic region in southern Nigeria. Geographically, it is divided into two sections by the lower Niger River: an eastern and a western one. Its population is characterised by the diverse Igbo culture and the speakers of equally diverse Igbo languages.
The Aro Confederacy (1240–1902) was a political union orchestrated by the Aro people, an Igbo subgroup, centered in Arochukwu in present-day southeastern Nigeria. The Aro Confederacy kingdom was founded after the beginning of the Aro-Ibibio Wars. Their influence and presence was all over Eastern Nigeria, lower Middle Belt, and parts of present-day Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Arochukwu Kingdom was an economic, political, and an oracular center as it was home of the Ibini Ukpabi oracle, High Priests, the Aro King Eze Aro, and central council (Okpankpo). The Aro Confederacy was a powerful and influential political and economic alliance of various Igbo-speaking communities in southeastern Nigeria. It emerged during the 17th century and played a significant role in the region until the late 19th century.
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Women in Nigeria are a diverse group of individuals who have a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. They are mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, entrepreneurs, professionals, and activists. Women in Nigeria face numerous challenges, including gender inequality, poverty, and a lack of access to education and healthcare. Despite these challenges, Nigerian women are making strides in all areas of life and are becoming increasingly empowered to take control of their lives and their futures.
Igbo culture are the customs, practices and traditions of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It consists of ancient practices as well as new concepts added into the Igbo culture either by cultural evolution or by outside influence. These customs and traditions include the Igbo people's visual art, music and dance forms, as well as their attire, cuisine and language dialects. Because of their various subgroups, the variety of their culture is heightened further.
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Ada Priscilla Nzimiro was a trained medical doctor with family roots in Oguta, present-day Imo State. She attended the University of Glasgow and earned her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1950. She was the first woman from Igboland to graduate as a medical doctor. Nzimiro is said to have died an unnatural death a year after she graduated.
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Janet Okala (1894–1971) was a Nigerian political leader and community organiser. She led protests during the Aba Women's War, and formed local and nationally-linked organisations to advocate for Nigerian women's political power.
