Charter of Demands – Voices of Market Women in Oyo State

The Charter of Demands – Voices of Market Women in Oyo State is an outcome of the project ‘Institutional Capacity Strengthening of Market Women Associations in Oyo State Women’s Leadership Participation’ implemented by Iyamopo Centre for Peace, Women and Youths Development, Ibadan, supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation-Nigeria. 

The Charter of Demands presents a comprehensive articulation of the socio-economic, political, and infrastructural challenges confronting market women in Oyo State, Nigeria. The document situates market women as critical actors in the state’s informal economy, historically central to commerce, food security, and grassroots governance, yet persistently marginalised in modern development frameworks.

It highlights the erosion of women’s leadership structures, particularly the Iyaloja institution, due to political interference, leadership crises, and systemic exclusion from decision-making processes. The Charter underscores the urgent need to restore unity, legitimacy, and representation among market women leaders as a foundation for inclusive governance. The document concludes with a reaffirmation of solidarity, accountability, and collective leadership as essential tools for reclaiming women’s power, voice, and space within Oyo State’s socio-economic structure.