In the story of Things Fall Apart, women of the Igbo tribe are awfully mistreated, and considered as weak and get little or no respect outside of their role as a mother.
It was obvious from the way the crowd stood that the ceremony was for men. There were a lot of women in the ceremony, but they only looked on from the edge like outsiders. Women are not invited nor allowed to stay while men are engaging in any discussion. Women are also not included in the council of war and hence they do not form any part of the masquerades representing the judiciary and ancestral spirits.