The Supreme court of Nigeria pronounced a very controversial ruling this morning in Abuja, declaring that all women with clitorises longer than 7.5 centimetres (3 inches) can now be legally considered as men.
In a unanimous decision, the five-member Supreme Court panel, led by Mary Odili ruled that 36-year old Isioma Adeyemi’s request was “perfectly sound and legitimate”, ordering that her legal status be changed immediately.
Ms. Adeyemi celebrated her victory which puts an end to a 7-year legal battle for the woman with an exceptionally large clitoris.
“This is the greatest day of my life! My first husband repudiated me because my clitoris was bigger than his penis, now I finally get some kind of justice.”
Ms. Inna Shevchenko, leader of The radical feminist exhibitionist group Femen, describes the ruling as “a great advancement for African women in general”.
“A small number of women just obtained a great boost in their legal status and are now in a position to help their peers. It’s a great day for women!”
Meeting journalists is Strasburg, in France, the leader of Femen, Inna Shevchenko, described the ruling as a great advancement for women in Africa.
Under Nigerian law, Ms. Adeyemi can now own land, have several wives, work at night, and can no longer be legally beaten to the level of “grievous hurt” by her husband or male relatives.
According to governmental experts, over 600 other Nigerian women have sufficiently big clitorises to apply for a change to their legal status.
Nigeria is only the second country in the world to offer women with large clitorises the option of being legally considered as men.
Uganda offers the same choice to all women with clitorises longer than 5 centimetres (2 inches). Only 11 women have legally changed their status to men since the law was passed in 2011.
