Misogyny is like bread and butter for Nigerians and is prevalent in every sector, even the ones where we least expect it. Every day, Nigerian women experience subpar services in hospitals and health centres. Some of them go years without a proper diagnosis and end up finding out about their issues when it is unfortunately too late.

In this article, we spoke to five Nigerian women, patients and medical practitioners, on their experiences with misogyny in medical spaces. Some of what they have to say will shock you.

1. “After Finally Getting a Diagnosis, Doctors Tell Me to Come Back for Treatment After I Have Kids”- Temiloluwa*, 19

It took me nearly five years to get an endometriosis diagnosis. Doctors kept telling me that my body would resolve on its own in due time. I got a diagnosis when it was looking like my period wasn’t going to stop. I was bleeding for three months, and the doctor told me it would stop by itself. He didn’t even try to do a proper test. Another one told me I needed to gain weight. I got prescribed pills for about three months. But it’s finished now, and I’m currently experiencing the same thing, and I’m stressed out thinking about which hospital to visit. Even after I got a diagnosis, some of them will tell me to come back when I’m ready to have kids. Every day, I am fighting for my life, barely getting through, and people are talking about non-existent kids before they attend to me.

2. “I’ve Started Self-medicating. From Vinegar to Fenugreek Seeds and Pawpaw Leaf Tea”- Hanatu*, 24

I have PCOS, and it’s basically genetic. It started with me not seeing my period for two months, then three and then eight months straight. Beyond not seeing my period, it also affected my appearance. I was constantly bloated and trying to lose weight felt like war, especially because I have ulcer. When I started visiting hospitals, some doctors actually told me that I needed to get married early. I started self-medicating. One time, I took vinegar, and it gave me heartburn. Then I started taking fenugreek seeds as tea, and it helped a bit. Sometimes I ear scent leaves and make tea with pawpaw leaves.

Doctors actually told me that there’s medication I can take, but they will only give it to me when I’m ready to get married. Apparently, giving me the pills can lead to something else. But the more I skip my period, the more painful it becomes.

3. “I’ve Seen a Doctor Beat a Woman in Labour”- Amaka*, 28*

As a health worker, the medical misogyny I experience from my colleagues and even the patients themselves is crazy. Sometimes patients come in, and when they admit to being sexually active and using contraceptives, they judge them. I remember one time the doctor called this lady an ashewo because she said she had sex the day before. Some doctors go as far as telling women to calm down or relax when they complain about cramps. ‘No be ordinary menstrual pain dey do you?’ Mind you, this person couldn’t even walk by herself. I’ve even seen a doctor beat a woman in labour. He was saying things like “When you were doing it, you were enjoying yourself o, but now that it’s time to push, you won’t push”.

Sometimes even towards colleagues they work with. There was a doctor who was moving to one of my colleagues. Because he was our senior, she didn’t know how to navigate it, so she reported to the hospital’s HR. When they called in the man to share his own account of the story, he swore he would never move to her because she looked like someone who had multiple STDs. Even buying pregnancy test strips comes with judgment. They act like it’s wrong for women to be sexually active. But who are they sleeping with? Even when women want to pay their bills, they ask for their husbands. Before they attend to women in labour, they ask for their husbands. So many things that we don’t know about are happening. If you’re married, you’re off the hook. But you can’t look too young as well.

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4. “The Doctor Told Me to Bring My Non-existent Husband for a Proper Discussion About My Body”- Ewoma*, 26*

My biggest issue is how some of them encourage family planning and contraceptive use, but judge you when you try to take it up. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Every complaint I’ve ever had, they attribute it to my cycle. Some of them make it seem like women just like complaining unnecessarily.  I remember one time I brought up birth control, and the man said he wouldn’t recommend it for me, especially as I’m “young, unmarried and childless” (Like that’s not the whole point for me).

Then he followed it up with “If to say you were married now, I would have said you should come with your husband so we can have a proper discussion”. I looked at this man. At that point, I’d spent ₦50k out of my own pocket to cover those two weeks of hospital visits and didn’t really appreciate being talked to like I couldn’t have agency over my own life. He kept giving vague answers to the other questions I had. I didn’t even want to talk anymore.

The only time someone actually did something tangible was when I was speaking to a female doctor. She was even more concerned than I was. However, the male doctor shut it down before it even gained proper ground. Sometimes, I’d rather just stay at home and power through whatever my body has decided to do that day, unless I feel like it’s an emergency.

Even with other women, too. My cousin tried to get contraceptives to aid her family planning. They asked her to come back when she had at least three children. She’s had two kids within two years, and I can tell that she’s really struggling.

5. “Men Think I’ve had Many Abortions Because I’m a Nurse”- Fatima*, 26*

I work in the family planning unit at a health centre, so sometimes I go to pharmacies to purchase pregnancy test strips. One time, I went to get from my regular pharmacy, and the lady there looked at me like I was doing something wrong. Because of the way she looked at me, I had to price the strips down to ₦100 from the ₦150 that she had said. Part of me even feels like she increased the price because she wasn’t happy with me buying it. Another pharmacy I used to go to, the lady’s husband used to speak Yoruba and say, ‘She don go play rough play’. Sometimes, the women who have experienced these things do it more often.

One time, a couple came to the health centre for family planning, and when they told them I would be attending to them, they had an issue with it because of my stature. So, misogyny in the health space, I think, it can come from both men and women. Some mothers even discourage their daughters from taking on family planning because they believe it causes family planning.

I’ve even experienced men telling me they can’t be in relationships with me because I’m a nurse. Their view is either that I’ve had too many abortions or that if I get pregnant, I’ll know how to hide it from them.

Women come into the clinic all the time asking for family planning options. Some of them are scared of what their husband will do, so they ask us to do it secretly. One time, somebody’s husband came and caused a scene. The man even came with the police. We always ask them to sign in case of situations like this, so we show them that their wives came on their own and consented to whatever treatment we’ve administered.

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