Single Women are not Wanted Here: Unmarried Women’s Struggle for Private Rental Accommodation in a Nigerian City

This article examined gendered relations in urban housing market as it affect women of marriageable age who choose to stay unmarried. Drawing upon patriarchal theoretical framework, the author start from the assumption that heterosexual normative values and deep-rooted stereotypes upon which single women are constructed compound their access to urban vacant accommodation. A qualitative approach to data collection was adopted to elicit information from purposively selected 12 single female accommodation seekers and 45 estate agents/landlords in Osogbo. Result showed that discrimination against single female accommodation seekers is pervasive in this market. It also shows that discrimination against this group was due to (1) perceived behavioural deficiency of singletons and (2) the Yoruba normative system which frowns at unmarried women living alone. Based on this, the article concludes that many single women find themselves in struggling position with deep rooted stereotype which expose them to discriminatory practices in their bid to secure decent accommodation.