Individual, Household and Community-level Determinants of Women Empowerment in Nigeria.

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Ahuru Rolle Remi, Okenya Ngozi Alison This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825019/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: This study examines the determinants of women's empowerment in Nigeria carrying out a multi-level analyses. The research is inspired by the limited scholarly attention this subject has received in the extant Nigerian literature. Method: Secondary data comprising 38,156 women from the Nigeria National Demographic and Health Survey for 2023/2024 was used for the analyses. Women empowerment index (WEI) was operationalised using four constructs of women autonomy. A multilevel linear regression model available in Stata was employed for the analysis, with statistical significance set at p < 0.10. Resul t: WEI is estimated at 0.388 indicating 61.2% gap in achieving the full potential of women empowerment. The result from the multilevel linear regression revealed that older women(26 and above) and those formerly educated tend to be more empowered. In contrast, women who had experienced genital mutilation, married as a child, lived in large household (five members or more), were in polygamous marriage or resided in male-headed households tend to be less empowered. Furthermore, women identified as Islam, traditionalist, or belong to the Hausa ethnic group demonstrated low level of empowerment. Conclusion: The low level of women empowerment constitutes a substantial barrier to Nigeria's attainment of Sustainable Development Goals. 1. Introduction Women empowerment has gained increased attention in contemporary global discourse, reflecting the fact that it is widely recognised that sustainable development cannot be achieved without gender equality [ 1 ]. Women empowerment has been prominently featured in several international conventions [ 2 ]. For instance, the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo Egypt in 1994 recommended women empowerment as a strategy to improve women’s health and reduce gender-based discrimination. The Beijing Declarations and platforms for Action-1995, adopted at the fourth world conference on women outlined the strategic framework for achieving gender equality and empowering women [ 3 ]. Furthermore, The Universal Declarations of Human Rights (UDHR) laid a strong foundations for global human rights and recognised the equality of all humans, thereby recognising women empowerment as a fundamental human right. Gender equality and women empowerment are essential pillars of Sustainable Development [ 4 ]. Specifically, gender equality is enshrined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as Goal 5 with several targets: target 5.1 seeks to end discrimination against women and girls; target 5.2 aims at eliminate violence against women and girls); Target 5.3 calls for the elimination of harmful practices such as forced early marriages and female genital mutilation); Target 5.4 promotes the recognition of unpaid care and domestic work; Target 5.5 ensures the full participation of women in leadership and decision-making and Target 5.6 advocates for universal access to sexual and reproductive health and right [ 5 ]. SDG 5, therefore, seeks to achieve full participation of women in socioeconomic activities. According to Leah et al [ 1 ], gender equality is pivotal for achieving sustainable development, as it interfaces and influences all dimensions of development. The benefits of women empowerment are well documented in the literature. For instance, Sen [ 6 ] and Nussbaum [ 7 ] posit that women empowerment increase opportunities for freedom and enhances individuals’ capabilities to pursue their life ambition and dreams. Furthermore, Becker et al [ 8 ] argues that investment in education and health increases skills and productivity, thereby fostering higher income and economic growth. Applied to the context of women and girls, investment in women’s education, health, and well-being raises aggregate human capital and yields substantial economic returns [ 9 ]. Empowering women, therefore, involves expanding their capabilities including education, health, bodily integrity and political voice rather than mere provision of material resources. Sen also advocates that policies should promote women’s agency and substantive freedom, more especially in aspects of reproductive autonomy, economic empowerment and psychological well-being. Women empowerment has been shown to improve various aspects of women’s health. For instance, studies have reported a positive association between women empowerment and adequate uptake of antenatal care[ 3 , 9 – 12 ], health facility delivery [ 3 , 12 ], child immunization and preventive healthcare [ 13 ], utilization of childcare services [ 2 ], maternal nutrition and child weight [ 14 ], as well as ideal family size [ 15 ]. Furthermore, women’s empowerment has been linked to poverty reduction at the household level. Chepng’etich and Nyangau [ 16 ], for example, found that women’s access to productive resources, participation in household decision-making, and higher educational attainment significantly reduced household poverty levels. Similarly, Asimwe et al.[ 17 ] reported that households with empowered women in Western Kenya exhibited lower poverty levels than those in which women were subjugated. Women empowerment is recognized as a fundamental right and an essential component of achieving sustainable development and pro-poor growth [ 9 ]. It has been further argued that women’s empowerment enhances their intra-household bargaining power, access to resources, information, social networks, and decision-making regarding the allocation of resources to health [ 18 ]. Studies have shown that households in which women participate in decision-making allocate a larger share of resources to health [ 5 ]. Empirical evidence also supports the view that greater intra-household bargaining power among women is associated with increased investment in children’s nutrition and education [ 19 – 20 ]. However, Goldin [ 5 ] suggests that the influence of women’s empowerment on child health outcomes may be mediated by gender norms that assign primary care-giving and household responsibilities to women. Nigeria is largely a patriarchal society characterized by gender norms that reinforce male dominance and female subordination [ 21 ]. Many traditional practices promote male authority in inheritance, leadership, and family decision-making, thereby enabling men to exercise control over women within relationships and households [ 3 ]. Similarly, prevailing interpretations of major religions in Nigeria, including Islam and Christianity, often advance patriarchal values that sustain female subjugation. Gender role expectations position men as strong leaders and providers, while women are expected to serve primarily as home managers [ 11 ]. Consequently, indicators of women’s empowerment in Nigeria remain poor. For instance, the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey [ 22 ] reported that only 40% of women participated in decisions regarding large household purchases, and only 44% were involved in decisions about their own health. Among women who earned income, only 66% participated in decisions on how their earnings were spent. Furthermore, merely 5% of women earned as much as their husbands, while approximately 82% earned less [ 22 ]. With regard to economic empowerment, only 11% of Nigerian women of reproductive age either solely or jointly owned a house, compared to 38% of men, and only 12% owned land compared to 34% of men. These disparities highlight a significant gender gap in asset ownership, which has perpetuated women’s disempowerment across many households. In Nigeria, several policies and programmes have been implemented to enhance women’s socioeconomic well-being and promote their empowerment. These include the Better Life Programme (BLP), Family Support Programme (FSP), Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WYEF), Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) initiative, Nigeria for Women Project, Nigeria for Women Programme, UN Women Country Programmes, the Bank of Industry (BOI) gender-focused funding schemes, and the National Gender Policy (revised 2021–2026) [ 2 , 23 – 25 ]. Despite the existence of numerous policies and legislative frameworks, evidence indicates that Nigerian women remain disempowered across several dimensions, including political representation, decision-making autonomy, economic emancipation, and educational attainment [ 22 ]. For instance, more than 30% of Nigerian women have no formal education, and only 6.7% of both elected and appointed political positions are held by women [ 26 – 27 ]. The persistent subjugation of women has spillover effects on healthcare utilization [ 12 , 28 – 30 ] and exposure to intimate partner violence [ 31 – 34 ]. Although numerous studies have examined the impact of women’s empowerment on various aspects of health and socioeconomic development [ 2 – 3 ], there remains a paucity of evidence on the determinants of women’s empowerment using nationally representative data in Nigeria. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the individual, household, and community-level factors influencing women’s empowerment in Nigeria. 2.0 Literature Review The literature presents diverse definitions of women’s empowerment. According to Dixon-Muller [ 35 ], women empowerment relates to the extent of women’s control over economic resources (such as food, land, houses, and businesses) and social resources (including knowledge, power, and prestige) within the family, community, and society at large [ 2 ]. Kabeer [ 36 ] conceptualizes women’s empowerment as a multidimensional process through which women gain the capability to make strategic life choices, access material resources, and influence decisions that are central to their lives and communities. Alam et al. [ 37 ] note that while the understanding of women’s empowerment varies across contexts, it is generally associated with decision-making power, autonomy, asset ownership, mobility, education, and participation in the labor force [ 3 ]. Empirical studies examining the impact of women’s empowerment on health outcomes have typically focused on four dimensions: decision-making autonomy, economic empowerment, attitudes toward wife beating, and access to information [ 3 , 38 – 39 ]. Other perspectives emphasize empowerment through access to land, home ownership, credit, markets, and education [ 40 ]. Kaaria et al. [ 4 ] further conceptualize empowerment in terms of women’s control over decisions regarding their own healthcare, participation in the labor market, access to and control over contraceptive use, involvement in domestic decision-making, access to information, knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission, and attitudes toward gender-based violence and wife beating. At the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994, the need to enhance women’s empowerment was strongly emphasized [ 3 ]. Countries in attendance resolved to improve the status of women, promote their reproductive rights and health, and recognize women’s autonomy as a strategic policy concern. The conference not only opened a new vista for advancing women’s empowerment globally but also inspired research into the barriers limiting empowerment in developing countries. A wide range of factors have since been identified in the literature as determinants of women’s empowerment, including socioeconomic variables, social norms and gender roles, political and legal structures, health and reproductive rights, as well as psychological and personal attributes [ 5 , 9 , 41 – 42 ]. Education is among the key socioeconomic determinants influencing women empowerment through its effects on decision-making power, economic emancipation, labor market participation, and improved social status [ 11 ]. For instance, in a study among refugee women in Kenya, Kaaria and Murithi [ 4 ] found that both the education level of the household head and that of the woman significantly and positively influenced women empowerment. Similarly, Abbas et al. (2021), in a study conducted in Pakistan, reported that higher levels of women’s education substantially increased the likelihood of empowerment. In Gilgit, Murtaza [ 41 ] argued that higher education enhances women’s knowledge and capacity to participate actively in community life. Education also boosts women’s confidence, self-efficacy, and ability to make independent decisions. According to Upadhyay and Karasek [ 15 ], education improves health outcomes and participation in decision-making because it equips women with the skills necessary to build relationships and negotiate within their social environments. Education attainment has been widely associated with increased utilization of maternal and child healthcare services and improved health outcomes [ 44 ]. Other studies, including Ahuru [ 3 ], Upadhyay and Karasek [ 15 ], and Kishor and Subaiya [ 45 ], corroborate this finding, highlighting female literacy as a crucial enabler of modern maternal healthcare utilization. However, findings on the influence of a husband’s education on women empowerment have been mixed. For instance, Sathar and Kazi [ 46 ] found it to be detrimental to women’s empowerment, while Khan and Noreen [ 47 ] reported no significant impact. Employment opportunities provide women with financial independence, enhance intra-household bargaining power, and create avenues for self-investment and family well-being. In rural Pakistan (Okara District, Punjab), Akhter and Khan [ 48 ] found that maternal age, decision-making autonomy, and participation in paid employment were positively associated with women empowerment and negatively related to poverty. Similarly, Khan and Ali [ 49 ] argued that paid employment improves access to resources, enhances women’s financial independence, and empowers them to make decisions regarding their children’s health, education, and political participation. At the individual and household levels, several factors influence women empowerment. Studies have shown that a woman’s age, family type, and household structure affect her intra-household decision-making ability [ 50 – 51 ]. Similarly, job type, educational attainment, and asset ownership have been identified as significant determinants of empowerment [ 42 ]. Economic empowerment, in particular, enhances women’s independence, boosts confidence, and strengthens their ability to contribute meaningfully within households and communities. Baig et al.[ 9 ] argued that older women are better positioned to influence household decisions and that larger family sizes often provide women with more opportunities to participate in decision-making. However, the effect of family size on empowerment remains ambiguous. While several studies associate higher empowerment with lower fertility and smaller family sizes [ 52 ], others report contrasting findings. For instance, in Namibia, women in larger families were found to have greater opportunities to negotiate sexual relations and participate in household decision-making [ 15 ]. Similarly, Acharya et al. [ 53 ] reported that Nepalese women with more living children were more likely to take part in household decisions, while Musonera and Heshmati [ 54 ] observed that Rwandan women with more than five children were more empowered in making household decisions regarding healthcare, food choice, major purchases, and social visits. Stromquist [ 55 ] also noted that older women often assume leadership roles within their communities, thereby enhancing their agency. In the same vein, Ansari et al. [ 56 ] found that women empowerment and agency tend to increase with age due to improved social networks and better access to resources. Culture, religion, and gender norms play crucial roles in shaping women empowerment, particularly their ability to make decisions and access resources [ 9 ]. In societies that promote female submissiveness and reinforce male preference, women are often denied equal opportunities for education and personal development, which constrains their autonomy and decision-making power. For instance, Noureen [ 57 ] documented the case of Pakistan, where parents tend to prioritize the education of male children over females. Consequently, many girls are forced into early marriages, prematurely ending their education and limiting their empowerment prospects. In such cultural contexts, marriage is perceived as the ultimate goal of a woman’s life rather than an avenue for partnership or personal growth. Place of residence has also been identified as a significant determinant of women empowerment [ 58 ]. Women living in urban areas generally enjoy better access to education, employment opportunities, healthcare, and media exposure, all of which contribute to greater autonomy and empowerment. Conversely, rural women often face limited access to these resources, which restricts their ability to participate meaningfully in household and community decision-making [ 59 ]. The disparity in access to opportunities between urban and rural settings underscores the importance of contextual and structural factors in shaping empowerment outcomes. 3. Materials and Methods 3.1 Data Source The study utilized secondary cross-sectional data obtained from the individual recode file of the 2023/2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The NDHS is a nationally representative household survey conducted across Nigeria, and as of the time of this study, the 2023/2024 edition is the most recent publicly available data set. The individual recode file contains anonymized information on various aspects of women’s reproductive health, household characteristics, and sociodemographic variables [60]. The NDHS employed a three-stage stratified sampling design. In the first stage, the population was stratified by place of residence (urban and rural). In the second stage, enumeration areas (EAs) were selected from each stratum using probability proportional to size. In the third stage, households were systematically selected from each EA using equal probability sampling. In total, 1,400 EAs were selected, with 30 households sampled per EA. Overall, 39,050 women aged 15–49 years were successfully interviewed [61]. For this study, a subsample of 38,156 women with complete responses on all variables of interest was included in the analysis. Consequently, the 2023/2024 NDHS data have a multilevel or hierarchical structure , with women nested within households and households nested within clusters (enumeration areas). Detailed information on the sampling design and survey procedures can be found in the National Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024) report . 3.2 Study Design This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design and utilized nationally representative data from the 2023/2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) [22]. The NDHS employed a two-stage cluster sampling design in which each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was stratified into urban and rural areas to ensure adequate representativeness across all geopolitical zones 3.3 Dependent Variable: Women Empowerment Index (WEI) The dependent variable for this study is the Women Empowerment Index (WEI) , which is numerical and constructed based on four dimensions of empowerment: (i) decision-making autonomy, (ii) economic empowerment, (iii) attitude towards wife beating, and (iv) access to information. This operationalization aligns with previous empirical studies [9]. Each dimension was standardized on a 0-1 scale, and the WEI was computed as the unweighted mean of the four indices for each respondent. The index ranges from 0 to 1, where higher values indicate greater empowerment. Based on established thresholds, WEI values were categorized as low (0.00-0.33), medium (0.34-0.66), and high (0.67-1.00). (i) Decision-Making Autonomy Decision-making autonomy was assessed using three indicators reflecting women’s participation in household decisions: 1.Decisions regarding the woman’s own healthcare 2.Major household purchases 3.Visits to family or friends Each indicator had five DHS response options: (i) respondent alone, (ii) respondent and husband/partner, (iii) husband/partner alone, (iv) someone else, and (v) others. A binary variable was generated for each indicator, assigning 1 if the woman participated in the decision (either alone or jointly with her husband/partner) and 0 otherwise. A Decision-Making Autonomy Index was then computed as the individual row mean across the three items. (ii) Economic Empowerment Four indicators were considered to measure economic empowerment: 1.Ownership of land 2.Ownership of a house 3.Participation in decision-making on spending own earnings 4. Ownership of a bank account Land and house ownership were coded as 1 if the woman owned the asset either alone or jointly, and 0 otherwise. Decision-making on own earnings was coded as 1 if the woman participated alone or jointly with her partner, and 0 if the decision was made by others. Bank account ownership was coded 1 if the woman had a bank account and 0 otherwise. An Economic Empowerment Index was computed as the row mean of these four indicators for each woman. (iii) Attitude Towards Wife Beating Women’s attitudes toward wife beating were evaluated based on five scenarios where justification for wife beating was assessed: 1.Neglecting the children 2.Leaving home without permission 3.Refusing sexual intercourse 4. Arguing with husband/partner 5. Burning food Each response had two options: Yes or No . A binary variable was created, assigning 1 if the respondent rejected wife beating ( No ) and 0 if she justified it ( Yes ). The Attitude Towards Wife Beating Index was computed as the mean of the five binary variables. Higher scores indicate lower acceptance of wife beating and hence greater empowerment. (iv) Access to Information Access to information was measured through three indicators: 1.Frequency of listening to the radio 2.Frequency of watching television 3. Frequency of reading newspapers or magazines Each had three response options: (i) not at all, (ii) less than once a week, and (iii) at least once a week. Respondents who reported access either less than once a week or at least once a week were coded 1 , while those who had no access were coded 0 . The Information Access Index was calculated as the mean of the three items. Computation of WEI Finally, the Women Empowerment Index (WEI) was computed as the unweighted average (row mean) of the four sub-indices: WEI= The WEI ranges between 0 and 1, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of empowerment among women. 3.4 Individual Level/Household-Level Variables Individual/household level variables included in this study are maternal age ( 15-25/26-49) , maternal education (formerly educated/Non-formerly educated), female genital cutting (No/yes), early marriage (No/yes), Religion (Christians/Islam/Traditional/others), sex of head of household (female/male) , ethnicity (Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri/minority), polygamy (Yes/No) and family size (1-4/5-9/10+). 3.5 Community-Level Variables Community-level variables were constructed by aggregating individual responses at the cluster level because the DHS dateset does not provide direct measures of community characteristics. The community-level factors included in this study were: (i) community cultural norms regarding wife beating, (ii) community women’s autonomy, (iii) prevalence of child marriage, (iv) place of residence, and (v) geographical region. Place of residence was extracted directly from the DHS datasets and coded as rural or urban . Geographical region was categorized into North and South based on similarities in sociocultural and religious contexts within these zones [3]. Community cultural norms regarding wife beating were derived by aggregating individual responses within each cluster. Respondents were asked whether a husband is justified in beating his wife under any of the following circumstances: neglecting the children, arguing with the husband, refusing sexual intercourse, leaving the house without permission, or burning food. A binary variable was then created to represent the overall community acceptance of wife beating, coded as low or high [62]. Community women’s autonomy was generated based on four dimensions of household decision-making: (i) decisions on a woman’s own healthcare, (ii) major household purchases, (iii) visits to family or friends, and (iv) control over how her own income is spent. A woman was classified as autonomous if she participated (alone or jointly with her spouse) in at least one of these decisions. At the community level, autonomy was categorized as high if the proportion of autonomous women in the cluster ranged between 43–100%, and low if the proportion ranged between 0–42%. 3.6 Analytical Technique All analyses were performed using Stata MP version 17.0 . The Survey (svy) module was employed to adjust for stratification, clustering, and sampling weights in order to account for the complex survey design of the 2023/2024 DHS. This ensures that parameter estimates and standard errors are representative of the national population. Prior to model estimation, the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) was computed to test for multicollinearity among explanatory variables. Following Midi, Sarkar, and Rana [63] , a VIF cut-off of 0.7 was used as the threshold beyond which multicollinearity would be considered problematic. 3.7 Model Specification A multivariable multilevel linear regression model was employed to estimate both the fixed and random effects of individual, household, and community-level factors associated with women empowerment. The multilevel framework was chosen to account for the hierarchical nature of the DHS data, where individuals are nested within households, and households are nested within communities or clusters. Four models were estimated as follows: Model I (Null Model): An unconditional model without explanatory variables, used to partition the total variance in women’s empowerment into community- and household-level components. The null model provides the baseline for assessing between-cluster variation and justifies the use of a multilevel modeling approach. Model II: Controlled for individual-level and household-level variables only. Model III: Controlled for community-level variables only. Model IV (Full Model): Controlled for both individual/household-level and community-level variables. Model selection was guided by Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) values, with the model having the lowest AIC/BIC considered the most parsimonious and best fitting. Fixed and Random Effects Estimation For the fixed effects , results were presented as Adjusted Odds Ratios (aORs) with corresponding 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) . For the random effects , three statistics were computed to evaluate community- and household-level variance components: Intra-Class Correlation (ICC): Measures the proportion of total variance in women’s empowerment attributable to differences between clusters. A higher ICC indicates greater clustering effects. Proportional Change in Variance (PCV): Assesses the percentage reduction in cluster-level variance after adding explanatory variables, thereby showing how much of the variation in women’s empowerment is explained by the included regressors [64]. Median Odds Ratio (MOR): Represents the median value of the odds ratio between two individuals with identical covariates from randomly selected clusters. MOR quantifies the contextual influence of cluster-level factors on women’s empowerment. An MOR equal to 1 indicates no cluster-level variance, while higher MOR values suggest stronger contextual effects. 4.0 Results 4.1 Summary Statistics Table 1 presents the individual- and community-level characteristics of Nigerian women aged 15–49 years who had a birth within the five years preceding the survey. The majority of the women were aged 25–49 years (58.9%), had formal education (68.9%), resided in rural areas (51.5%), and lived in the northern region (59.9%). Most had not experienced female genital mutilation (76.6%), practiced Islam (49.8%), were in non-polygamous marriages (74.1%), and lived in male-headed households (79.2%). Majority of the women reported having 1–4 children (80.2%). At the community level, most women resided in communities characterized by low women’s autonomy (68.9%), low acceptance of wife beating (64.8%), and a high prevalence of child marriage (98.9%). Table 1 Summary Statistics of study sample (n = 38,156). Frequency % Maternal Age: 15–24 15,699 41.1 25–49 22,457 58.9 Maternal Education : Non-Formal 11,881 31.1 Formal 26,275 68.9 Residence : Rural 19,665 51.5 Urban 18,491 48.5 Region : North 22,836 59.9 South 15,320 40.2 Ethnicity : Fulani 2,882 7.5 Hausa 10,525 27.6 Igbo 6,405 16.8 Kanuri 870 2.3 Yoruba 5041 13.2 Minority 12,433 32.6 Female Genital Cutting : No 17,663 76.6 Yes 5,409 23.4 Religion : Christianity 18,872 49.5 Islam 19,000 49.8 Traditionalist/others 284 0.7 Early Marriage : No 11,515 42.3 Yes 15,722 57.7 Polygamous Marriage : No 18,700 74.1 Yes 6,563 25.9 Sex of head of Household : Female 7,940 20.8 Male 30,216 79.2 Number of living Children : 1–4 30,611 80.2 5–9 7,303 19.1 10+ 242 0.6 Community women’s Autonomy : Low 24,723 68.9 High 11,879 31.1 Community Cultural Norms of Wife Beating : Low acceptance 24,723 64.8 High acceptance 13,433 35.2 Prevalence of Child Marriage in community : Low 461 1.2 High 37,695 98.8 Source: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024). Table 2 presents the indicators for the four dimensions of women’s empowerment. Regarding decision-making, the data show that for the three aspects assessed, in decisions related to their own healthcare and decisions on major household purchase fewer women participate compared to those who did not, but concerning decisions on when to visit friends and relatives, majority of the women exercised control. In terms of economic empowerment, most women were involved in decisions about how to spend their own income. However, several of the women reported lack of freedom to either jointly or alone own land or house. With respect to attitudes toward wife beating, the majority of respondents rejected wife beating for all listed reasons, including leaving the home without permission, neglecting children, arguing with the husband, refusing sexual relations, or burning food. Finally, analysis of access to information revealed that most women never listened to the radio, watched television, or read newspapers. Table 2 Indicators for Women Empowerment Indicators Frequency % Decision-making Autonomy Participate in making decision on own Health care: No 12,107 47.9 Yes 13,156 52.1 Participate in making decisions on major household purchase : No 13,727 54.3 Yes 11,536 45.7 Participate in making decisions on visits to friends and relatives : No 9,755 16.8 Yes 15,508 83.2 Economic Empowerment Participate in making decision on Spending own income : No 1,474 9.7 Yes 13,682 90.3 Freedom to own land : No 34,051 89.2 Yes 4,105 10.8 Freedom to own House No 34,172 89.6 Yes 3,984 10.4 Own a bank account : No Yes Attitudes towards Wife Beating Justify wife beating because of leaving home without husband’s permission : No 32,958 86.4 Yes 5,198 13.6 Justify Wife Beating Because You neglect the Children : No 32,683 85.7 Yes 5,473 14.3 Justify wife beating because you argue with the husband No 32,963 86.5 Yes 5,193 13.6 Justify Wife Beating Because You deny the husband’s sex : No 32,988 86.5 Yes 5,168 13.5 Justify Wife Beating Because You Burnt Food : No 34,844 91.3 Yes 3,312 8.7 Access to Information Frequency of Listening to the Radio : Not at all 20,065 52.6 Less than once a week 8,548 22.4 At Least once a Week 9,543 25.0 Frequency of Watching Television : Not at all 19,675 51.6 Less than once a week 6,539 17.1 At Least once a Week 11,942 31.3 Frequency of Reading the Newspaper : Not at all 34,137 89.5 Less than once a week 2,566 6.7 At Least once a Week 1,453 3.8 Source: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024). In Table 3 , the composite indices for the four constructs are presented. The index for decision-making autonomy is 0.331, indicating a 66.9% gap in achieving full potential in this domain. The economic empowerment index stands at 0.201, revealing a 79.9% gap in attaining full potential economic empowerment. For attitude towards wife beating, the index is 0.805, reflecting a relatively small 19.5% gap in achieving full potential resistance to wife beating. The information access index is 0.213, showing a 78.7% gap in realizing full potential access to information. Overall, the Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) is 0.388, suggesting a 61.2% gap in achieving full empowerment. Notably, all constructs except for attitude towards wife beating and WEI, fall within the low range (0-0.33). The WEI lies within the medium range (0.34–0.66), while attitude towards wife beating is the only construct within the high range (0.67-1.0). Table 3 Autonomy/Empowerment Index Dimensions Index Decision-makig 0.331 Economic empowerment 0.201 Attitude towards Wife Beating 0.805 Information Access 0.213 Women Empowerment Index(WEI) 0.388 Source: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024). 4.2 Random Effects Results The results of the random-effects model are summarized at the bottom of Table 4 . Based on the optimality criteria of the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), the full model (Model IV) was selected as the most appropriate specification. Model IV exhibited the lowest AIC and BIC values (1,861 and 1,391, respectively), indicating superior model fit compared to the other models. The estimated variance in the odds of women’s empowerment across communities was 0.02 (S.E. = 3.12). In the null model, the Intra-Class Correlation (ICC) indicated that 36.81% of the total variation in women’s empowerment was attributable to differences between clusters. After controlling for both individual/household and community-level factors in Model IV, the ICC declined to 18.9%, suggesting that these covariates substantially reduced between-community disparities in empowerment. The Proportional Change in Variance (PCV) for Model IV revealed that the combined inclusion of individual/household and community-level predictors explained 13.07% of the total variance in women’s empowerment across clusters. Furthermore, the Median Odds Ratio (MOR) of 8.91 indicates considerable heterogeneity in women’s empowerment across clusters. This implies that women residing in communities with a high prevalence of empowerment were approximately nine times more likely to be empowered than those in communities with low empowerment prevalence. 4.3 Fixed Effects Results Model IV was identified as the best-fitting model, having the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) values (Table 4 ). The results show that older women exhibited significantly higher levels of empowerment compared to younger women (coefficient = 0.37, p = 0.02). Likewise, formerly educated women were more empowered than those with no formal education (coefficient = 3.91, p = 0.05), holding all other factors constant. In terms of religion, Islamic women (coefficient = -0.37, p < 0.001) and traditionalists (coefficient = -4.32, p = 0.01) were significantly less empowered than their Christian counterparts. Similarly, women residing in male-headed households were less empowered than those in female-headed households (coefficient = -0.39, p = 0.07). Cultural practices were also found to influence empowerment. Women who had experienced female genital mutilation were less empowered compared to those who had not (coefficient = -0.05, p = 0.03). In addition, women in polygamous unions (coefficient = -0.01, p = 0.02) were less empowered than those in monogamous marriages. Number of living children showed a negative relationship with empowerment: women with 5–9 living children (coefficient = -0.38, p = 0.01) and 10 or more living children (coefficient = -0.04, p = 0.01) were significantly less empowered compared to those (1–4) living children. Regional differences were also evident. Women from southern Nigeria were more empowered than those from the northern region (coefficient = 0.99, p = 0.01). At the community level, women residing in areas with a high prevalence of child marriage (coefficient = -0.39, p = 0.03) and strong cultural norms of acceptance of wife beating (coefficient = -4.09, p = 0.02) were substantially less empowered, after adjusting for other covariates. Table 4 Predictors of women empowerment among Childbearing Women in Nigeria Variables Model I Model II Model III Model IV Maternal Age: 15–25 (RC) 1.0 1.0 25–49 3.01(0.01)** 0.37(0.02)** Maternal Education : Non-formal (RC) 1.0 1.0 Formerly educated 0.98(0.01)** 3.91 (0.05)*** Ethnicity : Hausa (RC) 1.0 1.0 Fulani 3.21(0.01)** 1.21(0.78) Igbo 2.78(0.01)** 0.38(0.01)** Kanuri 3.78(0.96) 3.21(0.34) Yoruba 1.87(0.01)** 0.03(0.01)** Minority 2.08(0.08)*** 2.12(0.07)*** Religion : Christians (RC) 1.0 1.0 Islam 0.08(0.01)** −0.37 (0.000)* Traditionalist/others 0.98(0.23) −4.32(0.01)** Female Genital cutting : No (RC) 1.0 1.0 Yes 2.03(0.01)** −0.05(0.03)** Polygamous marriage : No (RC) 1.0 1.0 Yes −0.03(0.89) -0.01(0.02)** Early Marriage : No (RC) 1.0 1.0 Yes −0.01(0.48) −0.03(0.01)** Sex of head of household : Female (RC) 1.0 1.0 Male −0.02(0.57) −0.39 (0.07)*** Number of Living Children : 1–4 (RC) 1.0 1.0 5–9 −1.98(0.01)** −0.38(0.01)** 10+ −2.89(0.09)*** -0.04(0.01)** Community women’s Autonomy : Low (RC) 1.0 1.0 High −0.08(0.01)** 2.68(0.98) Community Cultural Norms of Wife Beating : Low acceptance (RC) 1.0 1.0 High acceptance −0.01(0.09)*** 4.09 (0.02)** Prevalence of Early Marriage in Community : Low (RC) 1.0 1.0 High −0.38(0.01)** −0.39(0.03)** Residence : Urban (RC) 1.0 1.0 Rural −0.04(0.89) 0.89(0.34) Region : North (RC) 1.0 1.0 South 0.04(0.03)** 0.99(0.01)** Random Effects Variance (SE) 2.76(0.09) 1.89(0.61) 1.81(0.01) 0.02(3.12) ICC (%) 36.81 29.36 21.81 18.91 Explained varaince (PVC) (%) Reference 30.21 33.48 50.78 MOR 3.31 6.71 7.86 8.91 Model-fit AIC 2,899 2,988 2,987 1,391 BIC 2045 2,098 1,988 1,861 Source: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024). Values in parentheses are the probability values. *p < 0.01 ** p < 0.05 *** p < 0.1 Note Model 1: is the null model, a baseline model without any determinant variable; Model II: is adjusted for individual-level/household variables; Model III: is adjusted for Community-level variables; Model IV:is adjusted for community-level variables and individual/household- level factors; RC, Reference category; ICC, Intra-Class Correlation; PVC, Proportional change in variance; MOR, Median odds ratio; AIC, Akaike’s Information Criterion; BIC,Bayesian Information Criterion. 5. Discussion of the Results The Women Empowerment Index (WEI) value of 0.388 indicates a low level of empowerment among Nigerian women, showing that women are attaining only about 35% of their potential empowerment, with a 61.2% gap remaining to achieve full empowerment. The indices for three key latent constructs decision-making autonomy, economic empowerment, and access to information were all below 50%, except for attitudes toward wife beating, which recorded a relatively high value (0.805). This finding suggests strong intolerance for spousal abuse and intimidation among women in the study population. The low WEI underscores that Nigeria is lagging behind in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality by 2030. Specifically, the index for decision-making autonomy (0.331) reflects weak progress toward SDG 5.5, which calls for ensuring women’s full participation and equal opportunities for leadership. Since women’s empowerment is a cross-cutting driver of progress across the SDGs, its low level will likely hinder progress toward other goals: SDG 1 (poverty reduction), SDG 2 (food security), SDG 3 (maternal health), SDG 8 (economic growth), SDG 10 (inequality reduction), SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 16 (inclusive institutions), and SDG 17 (partnerships for development). These findings call for targeted interventions to promote gender equality, especially in economic empowerment, political participation, and access to information. Consistent with previous studies in Pakistan [ 9 , 41 , 43 ], Ethiopia [ 11 ], Kenya [ 4 ], and selected African countries [ 15 ], the results revealed that educated women are more empowered than their non-educated counterparts. Education enhances empowerment through multiple pathways: it broadens exposure, increases access to information, and enhances negotiation skills within the household. Educated women are also more likely to be gainfully employed and enjoy access to financial resources, thereby improving their decision-making autonomy. Moreover, education correlates positively with urban residence, access to healthcare, and exposure to diverse job opportunities. It also fosters cognitive development and self-confidence, enabling women to actively participate in economic and social spheres. Conversely, uneducated women are more likely to be confined to domestic roles, which limits their empowerment prospects across much of sub-Saharan Africa. The significant positive association between age and empowerment shows that older women are more empowered than younger women. This finding aligns with studies conducted in Pakistan [ 43 ], South Africa [ 53 ], and Bangladesh [ 65 ],. Older women often gain empowerment through accumulated social capital, established household authority, and long-term relationships that afford them greater autonomy [ 66 ]. Contrary to expectations, place of residence had no significant impact on women’s empowerment, unlike previous research which found rural women to be less empowered [ 43 – 68 ]. This divergence may reflect gradual rural transformation, increased rural education, or improved media penetration in Nigeria, which could be reducing the empowerment gap between urban and rural women. Women who married early were significantly less empowered than those who married at age 18 or above, consistent with prior findings [ 43 , 69 ]. Early marriage restricts education and skill acquisition, limiting women’s human capital development and economic independence. It also reinforces power imbalances, as younger brides often marry older men and have limited say in household decision-making. In addition to adverse reproductive health outcomes, early marriage perpetuates social dependence and hinders empowerment. The study also found a negative association between number of living children and empowerment, with women (5 + living children) being less empowered. This result supports earlier findings [ 43 ] and may be explained by increased financial strain, greater childcare burdens, and reduced opportunities for women with large number of children to pursue education or employment. Ethnicity emerged as a significant factor in women’s empowerment. Although no significant differences were observed among the Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri groups, likely due to cultural similarities women from the Igbo, Yoruba, and minority ethnic groups were more empowered. These groups tend to display more liberal gender norms that permit women greater educational, entrepreneurial, and social autonomy, despite the persistence of patriarchal values. Religious affiliation also significantly influenced empowerment. Compared to Christian women, those practising Islam were less empowered, a finding consistent with earlier studies [ 3 , 43 , 70 ]. The patriarchal underpinnings of Islamic tradition, particularly through the Sharia legal framework and the Purdah system, limit women’s mobility, participation in public life, and access to education and health services. These restrictions constrain women’s ability to achieve economic and social empowerment. The finding that women in male-headed households are less empowered than those in female-headed households reinforces existing evidence [ 71 – 72 ]. In male-headed homes, female agency is typically constrained, while women in female-headed households have greater involvement in household decision-making. This highlights the importance of community-level interventions that promote joint household decision-making and gender-equitable relationships. Research suggests that shared decision-making enhances family welfare and contributes to social stability [ 73 ]. A major focus of this study is to go beyond individual and household factors and explore the effects of community contextual factors on women empowerment. At the community level, region, prevalence of child birth marriage and community cultural norms of wife beating were significant predictors of women empowerment. Regional variation was also pronounced. Southern Nigerian women were significantly more empowered than those in the North. This disparity is rooted in the stronger patriarchal and religious norm s prevalent in the North, where Islamic law shapes inheritance, mobility, and access to education [ 3 , 74 – 75 ]. To close this gap, legal reforms and affirmative policies are needed to address gender-based discrimination and improve women’s socioeconomic outcomes [ 76 – 77 ]. The results indicate that women from communities with high acceptance of cultural norms justifying wife beating exhibit lower levels of empowerment compared to those from communities with low acceptance. This finding aligns with previous studies conducted in Nigeria [ 78 – 79 ] and in other contexts [ 80 – 81 ]. Several explanations have been advanced for why communities with high acceptance of wife beating tend to have lower levels of women empowerment. First, women in such settings who attempt to assert autonomy or pursue economic independence often encounter social resistance in the form of sanctions such as shaming, social isolation, or even increased violence, which diminishes their ability and motivation to exercise autonomy [ 78 ]. Second, women living in these communities may internalize patriarchal norms, reflected in their own acceptance of wife beating, which lowers their expectations of autonomy and contributes to reduced empowerment [ 79 ]. Third, such communities often exhibit weaker legal and social protections for women, fewer economic and educational opportunities, and greater male dominance in household decision-making, all of which further constrain women’s empowerment [ 80 – 81 ]. The results show that women residing in communities with a high prevalence of early marriages tend to demonstrate lower level of empowerment compare to communities with low prevalence of early child marriages. The result confirms to those of past studies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other developing areas [ 82 – 83 ]. There are several reasons advanced for this trend in relationship between prevalence of early marriage and women empowerment. First, early marriage often disrupts girls’ education, limiting access to information, skills and opportunities for economic and decision-making empowerment [ 83 ]. Second, married child or adolescent are often socially isolated and have restricted access to resources, information and institutional supports, which weakens autonomy and economic empowerment [ 82 ]. Finally, in communities where child marriage is wide spread, the practice tends to be accommodated and accepted as a norm, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that sustains inequalities and limit women’s autonomy [ 83 – 86 ]. 6. Limitations Two limitations apply to this study. First, its cross-sectional design allows only for associations, not causal inferences. The static nature of the data prevents examination of inter-temporal relationships between empowerment and its determinants. Second, the data relied on self-reported interviews, which may be prone to social desirability bias. Future research should consider a mixed-methods approach, incorporating qualitative data to provide deeper insights into the dynamics of women’s empowerment in Nigeria. 7. Conclusion and Recommendations The study provides valuable insights into women empowerment and its determinants in Nigeria deploying a multi-level analyses. Drawing on data from a nationally representative household survey, the findings can be generalized to the entire female population of Nigeria. The results highlight the need to discourage female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced child marriage, both of which have adverse effects on women’s reproductive health and social well-being. The Nigerian government should therefore strengthen and enforce laws prohibiting child marriage. Furthermore, women’s economic empowerment can be enhanced through vocational and entrepreneurial training programs. To mitigate the negative impact of large family size on women empowerment, the government should implement policies that promote family planning education and services, integrating these programs into community initiatives to increase their effectiveness. Additionally, to address the detrimental effects of male-dominated household leadership on women empowerment, education and awareness campaigns should be launched to engage institutions, families, and cultural groups in adopting gender-equitable customs and practices. These efforts should also create safe platforms for women to express their concerns and participate in decision-making processes. Finally, the study suggests that the negative influence of certain interpretations of Islamic practices on women empowerment can be mitigated through targeted legal reforms and administrative actions across northern states. Declarations Ethics and Consent to Participate This study utilised secondary data obtained from a publicly available source. As all identifying information had been removed prior to access, ethical approval and informed consent were not required. Funding The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8825019","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":596531435,"identity":"cd34b2a4-179f-4980-9eba-5df565e05560","order_by":0,"name":"Ahuru Rolle Remi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAwwMFjIMzMwHH3yoYGAwIFKLBA8DO1uy4YwzRGphAGvh5zGT5mwjQot5e3fi4YoKCR5+Zh5jY8Z5h+XN2ZsPMPyo2IZTi8yZsxsOnjkjwSPZzFb4uHDbYcOdPccSGHvO3MbtIoncDQcb2yR4DA4zbzaeue0w44YbOQbMjG14tMi/hWixP8xgJs0757A9YS0SvFBbmFmAWhoOJxLWwgN0WAPQLxKHQYF8LD15w5ljCQfx+oX97OaPDRU2cvz9h4FRWWNtu+F488EHPypwa0EHzWDyANHqgaCOFMWjYBSMglEwQgAAp11aIlqX0JEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahuru","middleName":"Rolle","lastName":"Remi","suffix":""},{"id":596531436,"identity":"057f7f98-0079-4362-a990-bca34fa0bc5e","order_by":1,"name":"Okenya Ngozi Alison","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Dennis Osadebay University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Okenya","middleName":"Ngozi","lastName":"Alison","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-09 02:38:04","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825019/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825019/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104399660,"identity":"2bfd8d63-3247-42fe-8999-cd3d075be648","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:07:07","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2406618,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8825019/v1/458daf4f-451c-4a0c-8c12-12056e1b9510.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Individual, Household and Community-level Determinants of Women Empowerment in Nigeria.","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eWomen empowerment has gained increased attention in contemporary global discourse, reflecting the fact that it is widely recognised that sustainable development cannot be achieved without gender equality [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. Women empowerment has been prominently featured in several international conventions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. For instance, the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo Egypt in 1994 recommended women empowerment as a strategy to improve women\u0026rsquo;s health and reduce gender-based discrimination. The Beijing Declarations and platforms for Action-1995, adopted at the fourth world conference on women outlined the strategic framework for achieving gender equality and empowering women [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, The Universal Declarations of Human Rights (UDHR) laid a strong foundations for global human rights and recognised the equality of all humans, thereby recognising women empowerment as a fundamental human right.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender equality and women empowerment are essential pillars of Sustainable Development [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. Specifically, gender equality is enshrined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as Goal 5 with several targets: target 5.1 seeks to end discrimination against women and girls; target 5.2 aims at eliminate violence against women and girls); Target 5.3 calls for the elimination of harmful practices such as forced early marriages and female genital mutilation); Target 5.4 promotes the recognition of unpaid care and domestic work; Target 5.5 ensures the full participation of women in leadership and decision-making and Target 5.6 advocates for universal access to sexual and reproductive health and right [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. SDG 5, therefore, seeks to achieve full participation of women in socioeconomic activities. According to Leah et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e], gender equality is pivotal for achieving sustainable development, as it interfaces and influences all dimensions of development.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe benefits of women empowerment are well documented in the literature. For instance, Sen [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e] and Nussbaum [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e] posit that women empowerment increase opportunities for freedom and enhances individuals\u0026rsquo; capabilities to pursue their life ambition and dreams. Furthermore, Becker et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e] argues that investment in education and health increases skills and productivity, thereby fostering higher income and economic growth. Applied to the context of women and girls, investment in women\u0026rsquo;s education, health, and well-being raises aggregate human capital and yields substantial economic returns [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. Empowering women, therefore, involves expanding their capabilities including education, health, bodily integrity and political voice rather than mere provision of material resources. Sen also advocates that policies should promote women\u0026rsquo;s agency and substantive freedom, more especially in aspects of reproductive autonomy, economic empowerment and psychological well-being.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWomen empowerment has been shown to improve various aspects of women\u0026rsquo;s health. For instance, studies have reported a positive association between women empowerment and adequate uptake of antenatal care[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR10 CR11\" citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e], health facility delivery [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e], child immunization and preventive healthcare [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e], utilization of childcare services [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e], maternal nutrition and child weight [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e], as well as ideal family size [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment has been linked to poverty reduction at the household level. Chepng\u0026rsquo;etich and Nyangau [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e], for example, found that women\u0026rsquo;s access to productive resources, participation in household decision-making, and higher educational attainment significantly reduced household poverty levels. Similarly, Asimwe et al.[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] reported that households with empowered women in Western Kenya exhibited lower poverty levels than those in which women were subjugated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWomen empowerment is recognized as a fundamental right and an essential component of achieving sustainable development and pro-poor growth [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. It has been further argued that women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment enhances their intra-household bargaining power, access to resources, information, social networks, and decision-making regarding the allocation of resources to health [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. Studies have shown that households in which women participate in decision-making allocate a larger share of resources to health [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical evidence also supports the view that greater intra-household bargaining power among women is associated with increased investment in children\u0026rsquo;s nutrition and education [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. However, Goldin [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e] suggests that the influence of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment on child health outcomes may be mediated by gender norms that assign primary care-giving and household responsibilities to women.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNigeria is largely a patriarchal society characterized by gender norms that reinforce male dominance and female subordination [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. Many traditional practices promote male authority in inheritance, leadership, and family decision-making, thereby enabling men to exercise control over women within relationships and households [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Similarly, prevailing interpretations of major religions in Nigeria, including Islam and Christianity, often advance patriarchal values that sustain female subjugation. Gender role expectations position men as strong leaders and providers, while women are expected to serve primarily as home managers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. Consequently, indicators of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment in Nigeria remain poor. For instance, the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e] reported that only 40% of women participated in decisions regarding large household purchases, and only 44% were involved in decisions about their own health. Among women who earned income, only 66% participated in decisions on how their earnings were spent. Furthermore, merely 5% of women earned as much as their husbands, while approximately 82% earned less [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. With regard to economic empowerment, only 11% of Nigerian women of reproductive age either solely or jointly owned a house, compared to 38% of men, and only 12% owned land compared to 34% of men. These disparities highlight a significant gender gap in asset ownership, which has perpetuated women\u0026rsquo;s disempowerment across many households.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Nigeria, several policies and programmes have been implemented to enhance women\u0026rsquo;s socioeconomic well-being and promote their empowerment. These include the Better Life Programme (BLP), Family Support Programme (FSP), Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WYEF), Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) initiative, Nigeria for Women Project, Nigeria for Women Programme, UN Women Country Programmes, the Bank of Industry (BOI) gender-focused funding schemes, and the National Gender Policy (revised 2021\u0026ndash;2026) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR24\" citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite the existence of numerous policies and legislative frameworks, evidence indicates that Nigerian women remain disempowered across several dimensions, including political representation, decision-making autonomy, economic emancipation, and educational attainment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. For instance, more than 30% of Nigerian women have no formal education, and only 6.7% of both elected and appointed political positions are held by women [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. The persistent subjugation of women has spillover effects on healthcare utilization [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR29\" citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e] and exposure to intimate partner violence [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR32 CR33\" citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. Although numerous studies have examined the impact of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment on various aspects of health and socioeconomic development [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e], there remains a paucity of evidence on the determinants of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment using nationally representative data in Nigeria. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the individual, household, and community-level factors influencing women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment in Nigeria.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2.0 Literature Review","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe literature presents diverse definitions of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment. According to Dixon-Muller [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e], women empowerment relates to the extent of women\u0026rsquo;s control over economic resources (such as food, land, houses, and businesses) and social resources (including knowledge, power, and prestige) within the family, community, and society at large [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Kabeer [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e] conceptualizes women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment as a multidimensional process through which women gain the capability to make strategic life choices, access material resources, and influence decisions that are central to their lives and communities. Alam et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e] note that while the understanding of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment varies across contexts, it is generally associated with decision-making power, autonomy, asset ownership, mobility, education, and participation in the labor force [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical studies examining the impact of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment on health outcomes have typically focused on four dimensions: decision-making autonomy, economic empowerment, attitudes toward wife beating, and access to information [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e]. Other perspectives emphasize empowerment through access to land, home ownership, credit, markets, and education [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e]. Kaaria et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e] further conceptualize empowerment in terms of women\u0026rsquo;s control over decisions regarding their own healthcare, participation in the labor market, access to and control over contraceptive use, involvement in domestic decision-making, access to information, knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission, and attitudes toward gender-based violence and wife beating.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994, the need to enhance women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment was strongly emphasized [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Countries in attendance resolved to improve the status of women, promote their reproductive rights and health, and recognize women\u0026rsquo;s autonomy as a strategic policy concern. The conference not only opened a new vista for advancing women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment globally but also inspired research into the barriers limiting empowerment in developing countries. A wide range of factors have since been identified in the literature as determinants of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment, including socioeconomic variables, social norms and gender roles, political and legal structures, health and reproductive rights, as well as psychological and personal attributes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation is among the key socioeconomic determinants influencing women empowerment through its effects on decision-making power, economic emancipation, labor market participation, and improved social status [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. For instance, in a study among refugee women in Kenya, Kaaria and Murithi [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e] found that both the education level of the household head and that of the woman significantly and positively influenced women empowerment. Similarly, Abbas et al. (2021), in a study conducted in Pakistan, reported that higher levels of women\u0026rsquo;s education substantially increased the likelihood of empowerment. In Gilgit, Murtaza [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e] argued that higher education enhances women\u0026rsquo;s knowledge and capacity to participate actively in community life. Education also boosts women\u0026rsquo;s confidence, self-efficacy, and ability to make independent decisions. According to Upadhyay and Karasek [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e], education improves health outcomes and participation in decision-making because it equips women with the skills necessary to build relationships and negotiate within their social environments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducation attainment has been widely associated with increased utilization of maternal and child healthcare services and improved health outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e]. Other studies, including Ahuru [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e], Upadhyay and Karasek [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e], and Kishor and Subaiya [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e], corroborate this finding, highlighting female literacy as a crucial enabler of modern maternal healthcare utilization. However, findings on the influence of a husband\u0026rsquo;s education on women empowerment have been mixed. For instance, Sathar and Kazi [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e] found it to be detrimental to women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment, while Khan and Noreen [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e] reported no significant impact.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmployment opportunities provide women with financial independence, enhance intra-household bargaining power, and create avenues for self-investment and family well-being. In rural Pakistan (Okara District, Punjab), Akhter and Khan [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e] found that maternal age, decision-making autonomy, and participation in paid employment were positively associated with women empowerment and negatively related to poverty. Similarly, Khan and Ali [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e49\u003c/span\u003e] argued that paid employment improves access to resources, enhances women\u0026rsquo;s financial independence, and empowers them to make decisions regarding their children\u0026rsquo;s health, education, and political participation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the individual and household levels, several factors influence women empowerment. Studies have shown that a woman\u0026rsquo;s age, family type, and household structure affect her intra-household decision-making ability [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e50\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e51\u003c/span\u003e]. Similarly, job type, educational attainment, and asset ownership have been identified as significant determinants of empowerment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e]. Economic empowerment, in particular, enhances women\u0026rsquo;s independence, boosts confidence, and strengthens their ability to contribute meaningfully within households and communities. Baig et al.[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e] argued that older women are better positioned to influence household decisions and that larger family sizes often provide women with more opportunities to participate in decision-making.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, the effect of family size on empowerment remains ambiguous. While several studies associate higher empowerment with lower fertility and smaller family sizes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e], others report contrasting findings. For instance, in Namibia, women in larger families were found to have greater opportunities to negotiate sexual relations and participate in household decision-making [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. Similarly, Acharya et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e] reported that Nepalese women with more living children were more likely to take part in household decisions, while Musonera and Heshmati [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e54\u003c/span\u003e] observed that Rwandan women with more than five children were more empowered in making household decisions regarding healthcare, food choice, major purchases, and social visits. Stromquist [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e55\u003c/span\u003e] also noted that older women often assume leadership roles within their communities, thereby enhancing their agency. In the same vein, Ansari et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e] found that women empowerment and agency tend to increase with age due to improved social networks and better access to resources.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCulture, religion, and gender norms play crucial roles in shaping women empowerment, particularly their ability to make decisions and access resources [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. In societies that promote female submissiveness and reinforce male preference, women are often denied equal opportunities for education and personal development, which constrains their autonomy and decision-making power. For instance, Noureen [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e] documented the case of Pakistan, where parents tend to prioritize the education of male children over females. Consequently, many girls are forced into early marriages, prematurely ending their education and limiting their empowerment prospects. In such cultural contexts, marriage is perceived as the ultimate goal of a woman\u0026rsquo;s life rather than an avenue for partnership or personal growth.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlace of residence has also been identified as a significant determinant of women empowerment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e]. Women living in urban areas generally enjoy better access to education, employment opportunities, healthcare, and media exposure, all of which contribute to greater autonomy and empowerment. Conversely, rural women often face limited access to these resources, which restricts their ability to participate meaningfully in household and community decision-making [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e]. The disparity in access to opportunities between urban and rural settings underscores the importance of contextual and structural factors in shaping empowerment outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3. Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.1 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Data Source\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe study utilized secondary cross-sectional data obtained from the individual recode file of the 2023/2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).\u003c/strong\u003e The NDHS is a nationally representative household survey conducted across Nigeria, and as of the time of this study, the 2023/2024 edition is the most recent publicly available data set. The individual recode file contains anonymized information on various aspects of women’s reproductive health, household characteristics, and sociodemographic variables [60].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe NDHS employed a three-stage stratified sampling design. In the first stage, the population was stratified by place of residence (urban and rural). In the second stage, enumeration areas (EAs) were selected from each stratum using probability proportional to size. In the third stage, households were systematically selected from each EA using equal probability sampling. In total, \u003cstrong\u003e1,400 EAs\u003c/strong\u003e were selected, with \u003cstrong\u003e30 households\u003c/strong\u003e sampled per EA. Overall, 39,050\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;women aged 15–49 years\u003c/strong\u003e were successfully interviewed [61]. For this study, a \u003cstrong\u003esubsample of 38,156 women\u003c/strong\u003e with complete responses on all variables of interest was included in the analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsequently, the 2023/2024 NDHS data have a \u003cstrong\u003emultilevel or hierarchical structure\u003c/strong\u003e, with women nested within households and households nested within clusters (enumeration areas). Detailed information on the sampling design and survey procedures can be found in the \u003cstrong\u003eNational Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024) report\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.2 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Study \u0026nbsp; Design\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design and utilized nationally representative data from the 2023/2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) [22].\u003c/strong\u003e The NDHS employed a two-stage cluster sampling design in which each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was stratified into urban and rural areas to ensure adequate representativeness across all geopolitical zones\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.3 \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u003cstrong\u003eDependent Variable: Women Empowerment Index (WEI)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dependent variable for this study is the \u003cstrong\u003eWomen Empowerment Index (WEI)\u003c/strong\u003e, which is numerical and constructed based on four dimensions of empowerment: (i) decision-making autonomy, (ii) economic empowerment, (iii) attitude towards wife beating, and (iv) access to information. This operationalization aligns with previous empirical studies [9]. Each dimension was standardized on a 0-1 scale, and the WEI was computed as the unweighted mean of the four indices for each respondent. The index ranges from 0 to 1, where higher values indicate greater empowerment. Based on established thresholds, WEI values were categorized as \u003cem\u003elow\u003c/em\u003e (0.00-0.33), \u003cem\u003emedium\u003c/em\u003e (0.34-0.66), and \u003cem\u003ehigh\u003c/em\u003e (0.67-1.00).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(i) Decision-Making Autonomy\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDecision-making autonomy was assessed using three indicators reflecting women’s participation in household decisions:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.Decisions regarding the woman’s own healthcare\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.Major household purchases\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.Visits to family or friends\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach indicator had five DHS response options: (i) respondent alone, (ii) respondent and husband/partner, (iii) husband/partner alone, (iv) someone else, and (v) others.\u003cbr\u003eA binary variable was generated for each indicator, assigning \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e if the woman participated in the decision (either alone or jointly with her husband/partner) and\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e0\u003c/strong\u003e otherwise.\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cstrong\u003eDecision-Making Autonomy Index\u003c/strong\u003e was then computed as the individual row mean across the three items.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(ii) Economic Empowerment\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFour indicators were considered to measure economic empowerment:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.Ownership of land\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.Ownership of a house\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.Participation in decision-making on spending own earnings\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4. Ownership of a bank account\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLand and house ownership were coded as \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e if the woman owned the asset either alone or jointly, and\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e0\u003c/strong\u003e otherwise.\u003cbr\u003eDecision-making on own earnings was coded as \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e if the woman participated alone or jointly with her partner, and\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e0\u003c/strong\u003e if the decision was made by others.\u003cbr\u003eBank account ownership was coded \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e if the woman had a bank account and\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e0\u003c/strong\u003e otherwise.\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cstrong\u003eEconomic Empowerment Index\u003c/strong\u003e was computed as the row mean of these four indicators for each woman.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(iii) Attitude Towards Wife Beating\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWomen’s attitudes toward wife beating were evaluated based on five scenarios where justification for wife beating was assessed:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.Neglecting the children\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.Leaving home without permission\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.Refusing sexual intercourse\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4. Arguing with husband/partner\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5. Burning food\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach response had two options: \u003cem\u003eYes\u003c/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eNo\u003c/em\u003e. A binary variable was created, assigning \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e if the respondent rejected wife beating (\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNo\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e) and \u003cstrong\u003e0\u003c/strong\u003e if she justified it (\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYes\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e).\u003cbr\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eAttitude Towards Wife Beating Index\u003c/strong\u003e was computed as the mean of the five binary variables. Higher scores indicate lower acceptance of wife beating and hence greater empowerment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(iv) Access to Information\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccess to information was measured through three indicators:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.Frequency of listening to the radio\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.Frequency of watching television\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3. Frequency of reading newspapers or magazines\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach had three response options: (i) not at all, (ii) less than once a week, and (iii) at least once a week.\u003cbr\u003eRespondents who reported access either \u003cem\u003eless than once a week\u003c/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eat least once a week\u003c/em\u003e were coded \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e, while those who had \u003cem\u003eno access\u003c/em\u003e were coded\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e0\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eInformation Access Index\u003c/strong\u003e was calculated as the mean of the three items.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComputation of WEI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, the \u003cstrong\u003eWomen Empowerment Index (WEI)\u003c/strong\u003e was computed as the unweighted average (row mean) of the four sub-indices:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWEI=\u0026nbsp;\u003cimg width=\"358\" height=\"25\" src=\"https://myfiles.space/user_files/69519_bce2c0439cd956a6/69519_custom_files/img1772229515.gif\" alt=\"image\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe WEI ranges between 0 and 1, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of empowerment among women.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.4 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Individual Level/Household-Level Variables\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndividual/household level variables included in this study are maternal age \u003cstrong\u003e(\u003c/strong\u003e15-25/26-49)\u003cstrong\u003e,\u003c/strong\u003e maternal education (formerly educated/Non-formerly educated), \u0026nbsp;female genital cutting (No/yes), early marriage (No/yes), Religion (Christians/Islam/Traditional/others), \u0026nbsp; sex of head of household (female/male) , \u0026nbsp; ethnicity (Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri/minority), polygamy (Yes/No) and family size (1-4/5-9/10+).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.5 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Community-Level \u0026nbsp;Variables\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCommunity-level variables were constructed by aggregating individual responses at the cluster level because the DHS dateset does not provide direct measures of community characteristics.\u003c/strong\u003e The community-level factors included in this study were: (i) community cultural norms regarding wife beating, (ii) community women’s autonomy, (iii) prevalence of child marriage, (iv) place of residence, and (v) geographical region.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlace of residence\u003c/strong\u003e was extracted directly from the DHS datasets and coded as \u003cem\u003erural\u003c/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eurban\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cstrong\u003eGeographical region\u003c/strong\u003e was categorized into \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNorth\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSouth\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e based on similarities in sociocultural and religious contexts within these zones [3].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCommunity cultural norms regarding wife beating\u003c/strong\u003e were derived by aggregating individual responses within each cluster. Respondents were asked whether a husband is justified in beating his wife under any of the following circumstances: neglecting the children, arguing with the husband, refusing sexual intercourse, leaving the house without permission, or burning food. A binary variable was then created to represent the overall community acceptance of wife beating, coded as \u003cem\u003elow\u003c/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003ehigh\u003c/em\u003e [62].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCommunity women’s autonomy\u003c/strong\u003e was generated based on four dimensions of household decision-making: (i) decisions on a woman’s own healthcare, (ii) major household purchases, (iii) visits to family or friends, and (iv) control over how her own income is spent. A woman was classified as \u003cem\u003eautonomous\u003c/em\u003e if she participated (alone or jointly with her spouse) in at least one of these decisions. At the community level, autonomy was categorized as \u003cem\u003ehigh\u003c/em\u003e if the proportion of autonomous women in the cluster ranged between 43–100%, and \u003cem\u003elow\u003c/em\u003e if the proportion ranged between 0–42%.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.6 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; Analytical Technique\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll analyses were performed using \u003cstrong\u003eStata MP version 17.0\u003c/strong\u003e. The \u003cstrong\u003eSurvey (svy)\u003c/strong\u003e module was employed to adjust for stratification, clustering, and sampling weights in order to account for the complex survey design of the 2023/2024 DHS. This ensures that parameter estimates and standard errors are representative of the national population.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrior to model estimation, the \u003cstrong\u003eVariance Inflation Factor (VIF)\u003c/strong\u003e was computed to test for multicollinearity among explanatory variables. Following Midi, Sarkar, and Rana [63]\u003cstrong\u003e,\u003c/strong\u003e a VIF cut-off of \u003cstrong\u003e0.7\u003c/strong\u003e was used as the threshold beyond which multicollinearity would be considered problematic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.7 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Model Specification\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA \u003cstrong\u003emultivariable multilevel linear regression\u003c/strong\u003e model was employed to estimate both the fixed and random effects of individual, household, and community-level factors associated with women empowerment. The multilevel framework was chosen to account for the hierarchical nature of the DHS data, where individuals are nested within households, and households are nested within communities or clusters.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFour models were estimated as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModel I (Null Model):\u003c/strong\u003e An unconditional model without explanatory variables, used to partition the total variance in women’s empowerment into community- and household-level components. The null model provides the baseline for assessing between-cluster variation and justifies the use of a multilevel modeling approach.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModel II:\u003c/strong\u003e Controlled for individual-level and household-level variables only.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModel III:\u003c/strong\u003e Controlled for community-level variables only.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModel IV (Full Model):\u003c/strong\u003e Controlled for both individual/household-level and community-level variables.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModel selection was guided by \u003cstrong\u003eAkaike Information Criterion (AIC)\u003c/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eBayesian Information Criterion (BIC)\u003c/strong\u003e values, with the model having the lowest AIC/BIC considered the most parsimonious and best fitting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFixed and Random Effects Estimation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the \u003cstrong\u003efixed effects\u003c/strong\u003e, results were presented as \u003cstrong\u003eAdjusted Odds Ratios (aORs)\u003c/strong\u003e with corresponding \u003cstrong\u003e95% Confidence Intervals (CIs)\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the \u003cstrong\u003erandom effects\u003c/strong\u003e, three statistics were computed to evaluate community- and household-level variance components:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntra-Class Correlation (ICC):\u003c/strong\u003e Measures the proportion of total variance in women’s empowerment attributable to differences between clusters. A higher ICC indicates greater clustering effects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProportional Change in Variance (PCV):\u003c/strong\u003e Assesses the percentage reduction in cluster-level variance after adding explanatory variables, thereby showing how much of the variation in women’s empowerment is explained by the included regressors \u0026nbsp;[64].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMedian Odds Ratio (MOR):\u003c/strong\u003e Represents the median value of the odds ratio between two individuals with identical covariates from randomly selected clusters. MOR quantifies the contextual influence of cluster-level factors on women’s empowerment. An MOR equal to \u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e indicates no cluster-level variance, while higher MOR values suggest stronger contextual effects.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"4.0 Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 Summary Statistics\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e presents the individual- and community-level characteristics of Nigerian women aged 15\u0026ndash;49 years who had a birth within the five years preceding the survey. The majority of the women were aged 25\u0026ndash;49 years (58.9%), had formal education (68.9%), resided in rural areas (51.5%), and lived in the northern region (59.9%). Most had not experienced female genital mutilation (76.6%), practiced Islam (49.8%), were in non-polygamous marriages (74.1%), and lived in male-headed households (79.2%). Majority of the women reported having 1\u0026ndash;4 children (80.2%). At the community level, most women resided in communities characterized by low women\u0026rsquo;s autonomy (68.9%), low acceptance of wife beating (64.8%), and a high prevalence of child marriage (98.9%).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary Statistics of study sample (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;38,156).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal Age:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u0026ndash;24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15,699\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u0026ndash;49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22,457\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMaternal Education\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNon-Formal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11,881\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFormal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26,275\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResidence\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRural\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19,665\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18,491\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRegion\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNorth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22,836\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSouth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15,320\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEthnicity\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFulani\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,882\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHausa\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10,525\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIgbo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6,405\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKanuri\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e870\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYoruba\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMinority\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12,433\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFemale Genital Cutting\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17,663\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5,409\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReligion\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChristianity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18,872\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIslam\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19,000\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTraditionalist/others\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e284\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEarly Marriage\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11,515\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15,722\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolygamous Marriage\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18,700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6,563\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSex of head of Household\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7,940\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30,216\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e79.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber of living Children\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30,611\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u0026ndash;9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7,303\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e242\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCommunity women\u0026rsquo;s Autonomy\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24,723\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11,879\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCommunity Cultural Norms of Wife Beating\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow acceptance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24,723\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh acceptance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13,433\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePrevalence of Child Marriage in community\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e461\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37,695\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSource: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024).\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e presents the indicators for the four dimensions of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment. Regarding decision-making, the data show that for the three aspects assessed, in decisions related to their own healthcare and decisions on major household purchase fewer women participate compared to those who did not, but concerning decisions on when to visit friends and relatives, majority of the women exercised control. In terms of economic empowerment, most women were involved in decisions about how to spend their own income. However, several of the women reported lack of freedom to either jointly or alone own land or house.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith respect to attitudes toward wife beating, the majority of respondents rejected wife beating for all listed reasons, including leaving the home without permission, neglecting children, arguing with the husband, refusing sexual relations, or burning food. Finally, analysis of access to information revealed that most women never listened to the radio, watched television, or read newspapers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndicators for Women Empowerment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndicators\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecision-making Autonomy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParticipate in making decision on own Health care:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12,107\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13,156\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eParticipate in making decisions on major household purchase\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13,727\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11,536\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eParticipate in making decisions on visits to friends and relatives\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9,755\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15,508\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e83.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEconomic Empowerment\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eParticipate in making decision on\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpending own income\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,474\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13,682\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFreedom to own land\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34,051\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4,105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFreedom to own House\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34,172\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3,984\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOwn a bank account\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAttitudes towards Wife Beating\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustify wife beating because of leaving home without husband\u0026rsquo;s permission\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32,958\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e86.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5,198\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustify Wife Beating Because You neglect the Children\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32,683\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5,473\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustify wife beating because you argue with the husband\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32,963\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e86.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5,193\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustify Wife Beating Because You deny the husband\u0026rsquo;s sex\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32,988\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e86.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5,168\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustify Wife Beating Because You Burnt Food\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34,844\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3,312\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAccess to Information\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrequency of Listening to the Radio\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot at all\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20,065\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLess than once a week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8,548\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt Least once a Week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9,543\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrequency of Watching Television\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot at all\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19,675\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLess than once a week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6,539\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt Least once a Week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11,942\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrequency of Reading the Newspaper\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot at all\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34,137\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLess than once a week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,566\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt Least once a Week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,453\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSource: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024).\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, the composite indices for the four constructs are presented. The index for decision-making autonomy is 0.331, indicating a 66.9% gap in achieving full potential in this domain. The economic empowerment index stands at 0.201, revealing a 79.9% gap in attaining full potential economic empowerment. For attitude towards wife beating, the index is 0.805, reflecting a relatively small 19.5% gap in achieving full potential resistance to wife beating. The information access index is 0.213, showing a 78.7% gap in realizing full potential access to information. Overall, the Women\u0026rsquo;s Empowerment Index (WEI) is 0.388, suggesting a 61.2% gap in achieving full empowerment. Notably, all constructs except for attitude towards wife beating and WEI, fall within the low range (0-0.33). The WEI lies within the medium range (0.34\u0026ndash;0.66), while attitude towards wife beating is the only construct within the high range (0.67-1.0).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAutonomy/Empowerment Index\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDimensions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecision-makig\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.331\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEconomic empowerment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.201\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttitude towards Wife Beating\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.805\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInformation Access\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.213\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWomen Empowerment Index(WEI)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.388\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSource: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024).\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec23\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 Random Effects Results\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of the random-effects model are summarized at the bottom of Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. Based on the optimality criteria of the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), the full model (Model IV) was selected as the most appropriate specification. Model IV exhibited the lowest AIC and BIC values (1,861 and 1,391, respectively), indicating superior model fit compared to the other models.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe estimated variance in the odds of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment across communities was 0.02 (S.E. = 3.12). In the null model, the Intra-Class Correlation (ICC) indicated that 36.81% of the total variation in women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment was attributable to differences between clusters. After controlling for both individual/household and community-level factors in Model IV, the ICC declined to 18.9%, suggesting that these covariates substantially reduced between-community disparities in empowerment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Proportional Change in Variance (PCV) for Model IV revealed that the combined inclusion of individual/household and community-level predictors explained 13.07% of the total variance in women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment across clusters. Furthermore, the Median Odds Ratio (MOR) of 8.91 indicates considerable heterogeneity in women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment across clusters. This implies that women residing in communities with a high prevalence of empowerment were approximately nine times more likely to be empowered than those in communities with low empowerment prevalence.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec24\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3 Fixed Effects Results\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel IV was identified as the best-fitting model, having the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) values (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). The results show that older women exhibited significantly higher levels of empowerment compared to younger women (coefficient\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.37, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.02). Likewise, formerly educated women were more empowered than those with no formal education (coefficient\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.91, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05), holding all other factors constant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of religion, Islamic women (coefficient = -0.37, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and traditionalists (coefficient = -4.32, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01) were significantly less empowered than their Christian counterparts. Similarly, women residing in male-headed households were less empowered than those in female-headed households (coefficient = -0.39, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.07).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCultural practices were also found to influence empowerment. Women who had experienced female genital mutilation were less empowered compared to those who had not (coefficient = -0.05, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.03). In addition, women in polygamous unions (coefficient = -0.01, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.02) were less empowered than those in monogamous marriages.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of living children showed a negative relationship with empowerment: women with 5\u0026ndash;9 living children (coefficient = -0.38, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01) and 10 or more living children (coefficient = -0.04, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01) were significantly less empowered compared to those (1\u0026ndash;4) living children.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegional differences were also evident. Women from southern Nigeria were more empowered than those from the northern region (coefficient\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.99, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01). At the community level, women residing in areas with a high prevalence of child marriage (coefficient = -0.39, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.03) and strong cultural norms of acceptance of wife beating (coefficient = -4.09, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.02) were substantially less empowered, after adjusting for other covariates.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePredictors of women empowerment among Childbearing Women in Nigeria\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel I\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel II\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel III\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel IV\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal Age:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u0026ndash;25 (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u0026ndash;49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.01(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.37(0.02)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMaternal Education\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNon-formal (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFormerly educated\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.98(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.91 (0.05)***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEthnicity\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHausa (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFulani\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.21(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.21(0.78)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIgbo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.78(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.38(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKanuri\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.78(0.96)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.21(0.34)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYoruba\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.87(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.03(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMinority\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.08(0.08)***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.12(0.07)***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReligion\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChristians (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIslam\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.08(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.37 (0.000)*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTraditionalist/others\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.98(0.23)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;4.32(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFemale Genital cutting\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.03(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.05(0.03)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolygamous marriage\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.03(0.89)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.01(0.02)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEarly Marriage\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.01(0.48)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.03(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSex of head of household\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.02(0.57)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.39 (0.07)***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber of Living Children\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;4 (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u0026ndash;9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;1.98(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.38(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10+\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;2.89(0.09)***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.04(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCommunity women\u0026rsquo;s Autonomy\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.08(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.68(0.98)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCommunity Cultural Norms of Wife Beating\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow acceptance (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh acceptance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.01(0.09)***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.09 (0.02)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePrevalence of Early Marriage in Community\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.38(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.39(0.03)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResidence\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRural\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.04(0.89)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.89(0.34)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRegion\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNorth (RC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSouth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.04(0.03)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.99(0.01)**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRandom Effects\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariance (SE)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.76(0.09)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.89(0.61)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.81(0.01)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.02(3.12)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eICC (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExplained varaince (PVC) (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMOR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel-fit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAIC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,899\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,988\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,987\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,391\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBIC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2045\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,098\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,988\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,861\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSource: Demographic and Health Survey (2023/2024).\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eValues in parentheses are the probability values.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003e*p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01 ** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 *** p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.1\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eModel 1: is the null model, a baseline model without any determinant variable; Model II: is adjusted for individual-level/household variables; Model III: is adjusted for Community-level variables; Model IV:is adjusted for community-level variables and individual/household- level factors; RC, Reference category; ICC, Intra-Class Correlation; PVC, Proportional change in variance; MOR, Median odds ratio; AIC, Akaike\u0026rsquo;s Information Criterion; BIC,Bayesian Information Criterion.\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Discussion of the Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Women Empowerment Index (WEI) value of 0.388 indicates a low level of empowerment among Nigerian women, showing that women are attaining only about 35% of their potential empowerment, with a 61.2% gap remaining to achieve full empowerment. The indices for three key latent constructs decision-making autonomy, economic empowerment, and access to information were all below 50%, except for attitudes toward wife beating, which recorded a relatively high value (0.805). This finding suggests strong intolerance for spousal abuse and intimidation among women in the study population.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe low WEI underscores that Nigeria is lagging behind in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality by 2030. Specifically, the index for decision-making autonomy (0.331) reflects weak progress toward SDG 5.5, which calls for ensuring women\u0026rsquo;s full participation and equal opportunities for leadership. Since women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment is a cross-cutting driver of progress across the SDGs, its low level will likely hinder progress toward other goals: SDG 1 (poverty reduction), SDG 2 (food security), SDG 3 (maternal health), SDG 8 (economic growth), SDG 10 (inequality reduction), SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 16 (inclusive institutions), and SDG 17 (partnerships for development). These findings call for targeted interventions to promote gender equality, especially in economic empowerment, political participation, and access to information.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsistent with previous studies in Pakistan [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e], Ethiopia [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e], Kenya [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e], and selected African countries [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e], the results revealed that educated women are more empowered than their non-educated counterparts. Education enhances empowerment through multiple pathways: it broadens exposure, increases access to information, and enhances negotiation skills within the household. Educated women are also more likely to be gainfully employed and enjoy access to financial resources, thereby improving their decision-making autonomy. Moreover, education correlates positively with urban residence, access to healthcare, and exposure to diverse job opportunities. It also fosters cognitive development and self-confidence, enabling women to actively participate in economic and social spheres. Conversely, uneducated women are more likely to be confined to domestic roles, which limits their empowerment prospects across much of sub-Saharan Africa.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe significant positive association between age and empowerment shows that older women are more empowered than younger women. This finding aligns with studies conducted in Pakistan [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e], South Africa [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e], and Bangladesh [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e65\u003c/span\u003e],. Older women often gain empowerment through accumulated social capital, established household authority, and long-term relationships that afford them greater autonomy [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e66\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eContrary to expectations, place of residence had no significant impact on women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment, unlike previous research which found rural women to be less empowered [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR44 CR45 CR46 CR47 CR48 CR49 CR50 CR51 CR52 CR53 CR54 CR55 CR56 CR57 CR58 CR59 CR60 CR61 CR62 CR63 CR64 CR65 CR66 CR67\" citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e68\u003c/span\u003e]. This divergence may reflect gradual rural transformation, increased rural education, or improved media penetration in Nigeria, which could be reducing the empowerment gap between urban and rural women.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWomen who married early were significantly less empowered than those who married at age 18 or above, consistent with prior findings [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e69\u003c/span\u003e]. Early marriage restricts education and skill acquisition, limiting women\u0026rsquo;s human capital development and economic independence. It also reinforces power imbalances, as younger brides often marry older men and have limited say in household decision-making. In addition to adverse reproductive health outcomes, early marriage perpetuates social dependence and hinders empowerment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study also found a negative association between number of living children and empowerment, with women (5\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;living children) being less empowered. This result supports earlier findings [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e] and may be explained by increased financial strain, greater childcare burdens, and reduced opportunities for women with large number of children to pursue education or employment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEthnicity emerged as a significant factor in women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment. Although no significant differences were observed among the Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri groups, likely due to cultural similarities women from the Igbo, Yoruba, and minority ethnic groups were more empowered. These groups tend to display more liberal gender norms that permit women greater educational, entrepreneurial, and social autonomy, despite the persistence of patriarchal values.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligious affiliation also significantly influenced empowerment. Compared to Christian women, those practising Islam were less empowered, a finding consistent with earlier studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e70\u003c/span\u003e]. The patriarchal underpinnings of Islamic tradition, particularly through the Sharia legal framework and the Purdah system, limit women\u0026rsquo;s mobility, participation in public life, and access to education and health services. These restrictions constrain women\u0026rsquo;s ability to achieve economic and social empowerment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe finding that women in male-headed households are less empowered than those in female-headed households reinforces existing evidence [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e71\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e72\u003c/span\u003e]. In male-headed homes, female agency is typically constrained, while women in female-headed households have greater involvement in household decision-making. This highlights the importance of community-level interventions that promote joint household decision-making and gender-equitable relationships. Research suggests that shared decision-making enhances family welfare and contributes to social stability [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e73\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA major focus of this study is to go beyond individual and household factors and explore the effects of community contextual factors on women empowerment. At the community level, region, prevalence of child birth marriage and community cultural norms of wife beating were significant predictors of women empowerment. Regional variation was also pronounced. Southern Nigerian women were significantly more empowered than those in the North. This disparity is rooted in the stronger patriarchal and religious norm\u003cb\u003es\u003c/b\u003e prevalent in the North, where Islamic law shapes inheritance, mobility, and access to education [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e74\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR75\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e75\u003c/span\u003e]. To close this gap, legal reforms and affirmative policies are needed to address gender-based discrimination and improve women\u0026rsquo;s socioeconomic outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR76\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e76\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR77\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e77\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results indicate that women from communities with high acceptance of cultural norms justifying wife beating exhibit lower levels of empowerment compared to those from communities with low acceptance. This finding aligns with previous studies conducted in Nigeria [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR78\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e78\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR79\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e79\u003c/span\u003e] and in other contexts [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR80\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e80\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR81\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e81\u003c/span\u003e]. Several explanations have been advanced for why communities with high acceptance of wife beating tend to have lower levels of women empowerment. First, women in such settings who attempt to assert autonomy or pursue economic independence often encounter social resistance in the form of sanctions such as shaming, social isolation, or even increased violence, which diminishes their ability and motivation to exercise autonomy [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR78\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e78\u003c/span\u003e]. Second, women living in these communities may internalize patriarchal norms, reflected in their own acceptance of wife beating, which lowers their expectations of autonomy and contributes to reduced empowerment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR79\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e79\u003c/span\u003e]. Third, such communities often exhibit weaker legal and social protections for women, fewer economic and educational opportunities, and greater male dominance in household decision-making, all of which further constrain women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR80\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e80\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR81\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e81\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results show that women residing in communities with a high prevalence of early marriages tend to demonstrate lower level of empowerment compare to communities with low prevalence of early child marriages. The result confirms to those of past studies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other developing areas [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR82\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e82\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e83\u003c/span\u003e]. There are several reasons advanced for this trend in relationship between prevalence of early marriage and women empowerment. First, early marriage often disrupts girls\u0026rsquo; education, limiting access to information, skills and opportunities for economic and decision-making empowerment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e83\u003c/span\u003e]. Second, married child or adolescent are often socially isolated and have restricted access to resources, information and institutional supports, which weakens autonomy and economic empowerment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR82\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e82\u003c/span\u003e]. Finally, in communities where child marriage is wide spread, the practice tends to be accommodated and accepted as a norm, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that sustains inequalities and limit women\u0026rsquo;s autonomy [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR84 CR85\" citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e83\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR86\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e86\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"6. Limitations","content":"\u003cp\u003eTwo limitations apply to this study. First, its cross-sectional design allows only for associations, not causal inferences. The static nature of the data prevents examination of inter-temporal relationships between empowerment and its determinants. Second, the data relied on self-reported interviews, which may be prone to social desirability bias. Future research should consider a mixed-methods approach, incorporating qualitative data to provide deeper insights into the dynamics of women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment in Nigeria.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"7. Conclusion and Recommendations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study provides valuable insights into women empowerment and its determinants in Nigeria deploying a multi-level analyses. Drawing on data from a nationally representative household survey, the findings can be generalized to the entire female population of Nigeria. The results highlight the need to discourage female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced child marriage, both of which have adverse effects on women\u0026rsquo;s reproductive health and social well-being. The Nigerian government should therefore strengthen and enforce laws prohibiting child marriage.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, women\u0026rsquo;s economic empowerment can be enhanced through vocational and entrepreneurial training programs. To mitigate the negative impact of large family size on women empowerment, the government should implement policies that promote family planning education and services, integrating these programs into community initiatives to increase their effectiveness.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, to address the detrimental effects of male-dominated household leadership on women empowerment, education and awareness campaigns should be launched to engage institutions, families, and cultural groups in adopting gender-equitable customs and practices. These efforts should also create safe platforms for women to express their concerns and participate in decision-making processes. Finally, the study suggests that the negative influence of certain interpretations of Islamic practices on women empowerment can be mitigated through targeted legal reforms and administrative actions across northern states.\u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics and Consent to Participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study utilised secondary data obtained from a publicly available source. As all identifying information had been removed prior to access, ethical approval and informed consent were not required.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eRRA conceived the study and design the research study. RRA and ONA reviewed the literature. RRA extracted the data and carried out the analyses. Both authors discussed the findings and proof the draft.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors are grateful to MEASURE DHS for granting access to the data.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data used for the analyses is hoisted on the DHS data set website.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLeach M, Mehta L, Prabhakaran P. 2016 Gender equality and sustainable development: A pathways approach. The UN Women Discussion Paper, 13, 2016.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhou D, Ahuru RR, Yan M, Osabohien R, Jakovljevic M. Influences of women empowerment indices on demand for childcare services: Evidence from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys. 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J social work Pract. 2015;29(2):151\u0026ndash;62.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNasir MH, Anser MK, Ahuru RR, Osabohien R, Ebiaku KC, Abbas S. A comparative study of the effect of health insurance on women\u0026rsquo;s use of health facility delivery: Evidence from demographic health survey in Benin Republic. Afr J Reprod Health. 2022;26(6):104\u0026ndash;15.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEkholuenatale M, Benebo FO, Idebolo AF. 2020. Individual, household and community-level factors associated with eight or more antenatal care contacts in Nigeria: Evidence from Demographic and Health Survey, 15(9\u003cem\u003e),:e0239855\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBenebo FO, Schumann B, Vaezghasemi M. Intimate partner violence against women in Nigeria: a multilevel study investigating the effect of women\u0026rsquo;s status and community norms. BMC Women\u0026rsquo;s Health, 18(1):136. pmid:30092785.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMidi H, Sarkar SK, Rana S. Collinearity diagnostics of binary logistic regression model. J Interdisciplinary Math. 2010;13(3):253\u0026ndash;67.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFenta SM, Fenta HM, Yilema SA, Chen DG, Mekonnin AW. 2024. Individual and community-level factors associated with adequate antenatal care service utilization in sub-Saharan Africa. \u003cem\u003eTropical Medicine and Health\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e52\u003c/em\u003e(1), p.70.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePhan L. Measuring women\u0026rsquo;s empowerment at household level using DHS data of four southeast Asian countries. Soc Indic Res. 2016;126(1):359\u0026ndash;78.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOlaOlorun FM, Hindin MJ. 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Int J Epidemiol. 2021;50(2):560\u0026ndash;72.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825019/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825019/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eThis study examines the determinants of women's empowerment in Nigeria carrying out a multi-level analyses. The research is inspired by the limited scholarly attention this subject has received in the extant Nigerian literature.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethod:\u003c/strong\u003eSecondary data comprising 38,156 women from the Nigeria National Demographic and Health Survey for 2023/2024 was used for the analyses. Women empowerment index (WEI) was operationalised using four constructs of women autonomy. A multilevel linear regression model available in Stata was employed for the analysis, with statistical significance set at \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt; 0.10.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResul\u003c/strong\u003et: WEI is estimated at 0.388 indicating 61.2% gap in achieving the full potential of women empowerment. The result from the multilevel linear regression revealed that older women(26 and above) and those formerly educated tend to be more empowered. In contrast, women who had experienced genital mutilation, married as a child, lived in large household (five members or more), were in polygamous marriage or resided in male-headed households tend to be less empowered. Furthermore, women identified as Islam, traditionalist, or belong to the Hausa ethnic group demonstrated low level of empowerment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion: \u003c/strong\u003eThe low level of women empowerment constitutes a substantial barrier to Nigeria's attainment of Sustainable Development Goals.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Individual, Household and Community-level Determinants of Women Empowerment in Nigeria.","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-27 22:01:26","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8825019/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"187880934321255731782716883357386937253","date":"2026-05-03T12:57:04+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"266424432862977806425823628516395950580","date":"2026-05-01T06:34:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"67666082462218118047975706834733339324","date":"2026-04-15T11:29:02+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"233412534186130573065763222051098973686","date":"2026-04-08T17:10:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"173742261419609793922690259501023328324","date":"2026-03-02T15:19:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-24T21:11:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-13T16:34:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-02-12T01:33:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-02-12T01:32:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2026-02-09T02:20:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bad24b91-8963-4589-91c7-c8a9cc3bcc1d","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 27th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"187880934321255731782716883357386937253","date":"2026-05-03T12:57:04+00:00","index":99,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"266424432862977806425823628516395950580","date":"2026-05-01T06:34:16+00:00","index":98,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-27T22:01:26+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-27 22:01:26","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8825019","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8825019","identity":"rs-8825019","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}