Nigeria's women oil protesters

By Sam Olukoya
BBC, Delta State, Nigeria

Shell oil company says the fence will protect the women

Protests by women against western oil companies operating in Nigeria's Delta region have become a common occurrence.

The latest protest is in Amukpe village, in Delta State, where angry women are occupying an oil installation belonging to the Anglo Dutch oil company Shell.

The women chased away workers and policemen guarding the flow station and they have been occupying it for the past five weeks.

Noki Ogodo explains how they managed to take over the oil installation despite the heavy presence of armed policemen.

"We came at night as soldiers, overwhelmed them [police] and entered the compound.

"You know we are over 300 women - they could not contain us, so we chased them away," said Ms Ogodo.

The women who came with their cooking utensils and bedding have been eating and sleeping in the oil installation.

Fence row

They are mainly traders who dry and sell tapioca - a by-product of the local staple food, cassava.

When your husband has three or four wives and has children, you have to struggle to fend for yourself Amukpe women

The women, most of whom are breadwinners for their families, are protesting against Shell's decision to fence off a gas flare which they had been using to dry the tapioca they have been selling for the past 33 years.

The company's sudden action denied them their means of making their livelihood, says Ms Ogodo.

"Some of our men are unemployed. It is the women that work. You know that our people, like plenty wives.

"When your husband has three or four wives and has children, you have to struggle to fend for yourself."

Shell says that it was necessary to build a fence around the huge gas flare because it is potentially dangerous.

Moral responsibility

The women however argue that since the company makes millions of dollars from oil taken from their land, it has a moral responsibility to improve their living standard.

Women have been drying tapioca using gas fires for 33 years

In essence, they want the company to either rescind the decision to fence off the gas flare or cushion the effect of preventing them from using the gas flare.

Negotiations between the women and Shell have dragged on for the last three months without a compromise.

It is not clear when and how the occupation of the flow station will cease.

Abomination

But the women have warned that they would strip naked if any attempt is made to use policemen or soldiers to forcefully eject them from the oil installation.

The women, many of who are elderly, say as the mothers of policemen and soldiers it is traditionally believed that it would be an abomination for them to see the nakedness of their mothers.

In the meantime, the noisy oil installations here are silent - and the only sounds that are heard are the protest songs of the women.