Infertility, Varsity Don recommends establishment of sperm bank

A senior lecturer with the department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Osun State, Dr. Amaka Theresa Emordi has called on the Federal Government to establishment sperm banks to tackle the problem of infertility and childlessness which has forced many women especially in the Southeastern part of the country into bigamy.

Emordi made this call while delivering October lecture of the Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) on Tuesday in Ibadan.

Speaking on the topic 'Women Bigamists in Southeast Nigeria: The Social Contradictions of the Feminist Struggles' Emordi said this is necessary considering the fact that women without children particularly in the southeast are devalued and sometimes demonized to have eaten up their children.

She however insisted that "The law needs to ensure that the problem of infertility should not be a lonely road for infertile women but a problem that should be handled by both individuals involve (husband and wife).

The Political Scientist who said gender still constitutes one of the inherent obstacles towards the advancement of women especially in Nigeria and many developing countries despite their numerical strength posited that "There is a need for gender solidarity and collective will by the women themselves.

She then maintained that "Government should establish sperm banks and encourage anonymous donors of sperms and female eggs to such banks. Such legal sperm and egg banks would proffer solution to the problem of infertility and childlessness which force women into bigamy.

The guest lecturer then described Women bigamist as those women who are engaged in more than one marriage and practice of multiple marriages at the same time and successfully too, the practice she said it still persists in the South Eastern states of Imo, Enugu, Anambra among others.  

She spoke further saying "There is the need for aggressive advocacy to provide medical, legal and social support for women seeking to have children of their own. This is because women's exclusion/marginalization does not occur in isolation; it is connected to other forms of legal and social exclusion.

"There should be adequate protection by the law and adequate provision for the administration of justice against dehumanizing treatment on chlidless women especially in the rural areas.

"The law should abolish the boy child syndrome and elevate the social status of the girl through educational policy.