Advocacy & Lobbying
The advocacy for empowering women to participate more actively in politics and governance in Nigeria is gathering momentum once again, particularly as the country’s political discourse shifts increasingly towards the 2027 general elections. Indeed, the matter of increased female representation in politics was one of the dominant themes, as it should be in the recently concluded nationwide public consultations on constitutional review. At each zonal hearing, women and other concerned stakeholders made passionate appeals for more inclusive democratic governance in the country.
However, given the failure of previous attempts at addressing and resolving the problem of gender imbalance in Nigeria’s electoral politics, one is not surprised to hear cynics say, “Here we go again.” Although successive governments have tried to implement policies that were aimed at boosting women’s representation in public decision-making, these attempts- albeit well-intentioned- failed abysmally. It is no secret that previous attempts to pass a gender equality bill at the National Assembly, which would have included the much-touted 35 percent quota for women, have been unsuccessful.
In the meantime, women remain at the periphery of Nigeria’s political ecosystem. Consequently, they are grossly underrepresented in political leadership and governance at both the national and sub-national levels. Currently, Nigeria has no substantive, legally binding affirmative action policy vis à vis fair and equitable gender representation in politics. Rather, a cursory review of the information on demographic representation in electoral politics and public decision-making in the country paints a picture of women’s political exclusion and marginalisation, even though Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) underscores the right of every citizen, including women, to full participation in the life of the country. In particular, Section 40 states that:
Some stakeholders in the North-east have identified mentorship and quota systems as critical factors that will increase women’s participation in politics.
The stakeholders made this known in a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa on Monday.
However, quota system is a regulatory framework in which a certain number of electoral seats are reserved for women to increase their representation and participation in politics.
The stakeholders said that women had contributed immensely to Nigeria’s democracy in terms of legislation, advocacy, economic reforms and grassroots mobilisation for votes.
They insisted that despite their contributions, women remained under represented in both appointed and elective positions at the local, state and federal government levels.
Golfa Francis, a gender advocate in Adamawa, said deliberate policies of reserving seats and structured political training for women politicians by more experienced women, would increase women’s participation in politics.
“Our society must understand that women are not weak vessels; they are capable, strong, and skilled in managing responsibilities.
“When women are part of decision-making, the outcomes are more sustainable and balanced. Hence, the initiative should receive the support of all Nigerians,” she said.
Mrs Jamila Babuba, Chairperson, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Adamawa Chapter, sought for accelerated passage of the Reserved Seats for Women Bill before the National Assembly, saying it would enhance gender parity.
Full article here.
The book on Malian women in politics, entitled Comment briser le plafond de verre?: Une recherche engagée sur la participation politique des femmes maliennes, has just been published by researchers of the LACET research lab. The book is the result of the Citizen Perspectives on Societal Challegenges in Mali-project led by Uppsala University's Forum for Africa Studies.
This comparative political ethnography is based on field research carried out by 13 researchers in 20 research sites. By listening to the stories of female politicians themselves, the study analyzes the opportunities and constraints related to women's "breakthrough" in politics. The interviews with female politicians are interwoven with ethnographic case studies, including the process of developing the Law No. 2015-052 of December 18, 2015, for the promotion of gender in access to nominative and elective offices.
DHAKA, Sept 23, 2025 (BSS)- Narir Rajnoitik Odhikar Forum (NROF) today demanded that political parties must nominate 33 percent women candidates mandatorily outside the reserved seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections.
The forum made this demand during a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at the Agargaon Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital.
Four other election commissioners and the EC's senior secretary were present at the time.
After the meeting, Women's Affairs Reform Commission member Maheen Sultan told reporters, "We have raised our demands and expectations to ensure equal status of women voters, women candidates and women citizens.”
The Election Commission (EC) has also announced to take several steps, she said.
Full article here.
Despite the progress made during decades of work by women’s rights organizations and democratic institutions, gender equality is still a long way off. There is a growing understanding that gender equality will only be achieved when men and women work together towards full gender equality and equal respect for the rights of all individuals and groups.
This paper presents nine policy and good practice recommendations to support diverse audiences in their work to include men in building a more gender-equal, peaceful, prosperous and democratic world.
Ulaanbaatar, September 18, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The Asian Women Parliamentarian Caucus (AWPC) Meeting 2025 was commenced on September 15, 2025, under the theme of “Achieving Gender Equality through Economic Empowerment: Policies for a Sustainable Future.
On the second day of the AWPC Meeting on September 16, 2025, the conference continued with the “Women in the Workforce: Closing the Pay Gap” session, followed by a discussion on the discrepancy in the “Equal Work, Equal Pay” policy in certain countries. Specifically, low wages, sometimes even non-payments, in fields where women work most, are one of the reasons that lead to poverty. Depending on the geographical location, economic, and cultural conditions of Mongolia, men often work in fields that pay high wages, which can stifle financial freedom and prevent women from securing leadership positions. Member of Parliament Jargalan Batbayar noted that relatively well-paying jobs in Mongolia, such as those in the construction and mining sectors, are predominantly held by men, which contributes to the disparity, and that this issue requires careful attention.
The rise of social media in the past decade has changed the political landscape - not only the way friends connect with one another, but also how people and public officials communicate. Elected officials and governments across the globe are able to engage directly with the people they represent on a scale previously inconceivable. This report, a joint effort between the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, Facebook, and the Women in Parliaments Global Forum, is designed to show how women legislators from around the world use social media to engage with citizens as well as how social media can play an even more effective role in facilitating a dialogue between governments and their citizens.
This report is based on the results of a survey that examined the use of social media by female Parliamentarians from 107 countries. The survey sought to discover factors affecting their level of social media use and to identify areas where greater knowledge could strengthen that use.
Click here to access the report.
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UN Women launched www.cidade5050.org.br where candidates will be able to make public commitments to gender equality. The project was developed in a partnership between UN Women Brazil, the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), the Patrícia Galvão Institute and the Research Group on Democracy and Inequality at the University of Brasilia (Demodê/UNB). It has institutional support of Congress in Focus, and #MeRepresenta and In Press Group.
The digital platform "City 50-50: All for Equality", available at www.cidade5050.org.br aims to encourage debate on equal rights between women and men in local elections this year. The platform is a place where candidates can make commitments to gender equality and voters can get information to help them define their vote. It arises from the understanding that a society can only be called democratic when there is equal participation between women and men.
Candidates of the 5,568 Brazilian municipalities, which already have registered their candidatures with the TSE can register and make public commitments to promote women's rights during the election campaign. Voters, in turn, will be able to identify their candidates’ proposals for this topic, and afterwards make the elected accountable.
The Minister of the Superior Electoral Court, Luciana Lossio, highlighted some measures already taken to ensure women's political empowerment: "We had a major trial at the Superior Electoral Court that buoyed the condemnation to all political parties that do not comply with the 10 per cent allocation of radio and TV space to encourage women´s participation. Now we are joining in a partnership with UN Women, to seek a solution to this problem of the Brazilian Electoral Politics."
Among the more than 144 million Brazilian voters who will vote in October, 52% are women. However, only 31% of the candidates running for office (Mayors, Vice Mayor and City Council) are women - the percentage is within the law, which requires a minimum of 30% women candidates.
For this elections, 52 municipalities have only women as candidates for city council, according to a survey conducted in mid-August this year by the TSE. Only men compete for Mayor in 3,815 of the 5,568 municipalities, equivalent to 68% of the total. Currently, women occupy 10% of the municipalities and represent 12% of councilors in municipalities.
To read the full story, visit the UN Women regional website for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report’s chapters were built in response to the Concluding Observation No. 60 by the CEDAW Committee, where the Committee request from the Iraqi government’s side to submit, within two years, a written report on steps and measures taken to respond to the recommendations included in the Concluding Observations (12 and 18). The Concluding Observations, of the CEDAW Committee, were issued after its 57th session on February 2014, in which the last government’s report, submitted to the Committee at the end of 2013, was discussed, concerning Iraq's obligations to implement the CEDAW Convention, also in that session Iraqi CSOs presented the first CEDAW shadow report for Iraq since signing the convention back in 1986.
This report includes a review of the situation of Iraqi women after an increase in the phenomenon of migration and displacement, in addition to the procedures and measures and legislation adopted to implement recommendations 12 and 18, and the civil society’s observations on the government’s report plus a number of activities run by the Iraqi Women Network and some of its members during this period of time.
Click here to read the Summary of the humanitarian situation and the situation of women in Iraq and the role of CSOs.
In this report, the Working Group examines discrimination against women and girls in cultural and family life. The cultural construction of gender determines the role of women and girls within the family, including in marriage. After analysing the impact of culture and religion on the enjoyment of equal rights by women and girls in society and the family, the Working Group redefines family by incorporating a gender perspective. In reaffirming equality between the sexes and family diversity, it is necessary to apply the principle of women’s right to equality in all forms of family law, in secular family law systems, State-enforced religious family law systems and plural systems. After recalling the obligation of States to combat discrimination against women in cultural and family life, the Working Group makes several recommendations, drawing on good practices, for the establishment of true equality between the sexes in cultural and family life.
This year, for the first time ever, two of the largest neuroscience societies are led by a female scientist: the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), with nearly 42,000 members, and the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), which represents more than 22,000 neuroscientists in 42 member societies across Europe. While the SfN has a history of female presidents, 9 out of 45, FENS welcomed its first female president only recently. Why do women move so slowly through the ranks of the system and why is it important that they do so? More urgently, what can be done to change this and by whom? Here we address current challenges and recommend concrete actions.
· Young people are not at the center of political decision making even though almost half the world’s population is under 30 years old. [UNDP, 2013, http://bit.ly/1dd2a2L]
· Globally, less than 6% of the parliamentarians are under 35 years old [UNDP, Fast Facts: Civic Engagement and Participation of Youth in Politics and Public Institutions, 2014, p.1, http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/results/fast_facts/Fast-Facts-youth-civic-engagement-and-participation/]
· Globally, less than 2 per cent of parliamentarians are under 30 years old. [SDG indicator 16.7.1; Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2016: Youth participation in national parliaments, 2016, http://goo.gl/A83XGf]
· The average age in parliament in 53 years old. [UNDP, 2013, http://bit.ly/1dd2a2L]
· Only 1.65% of parliamentarians around the world are in their 20’s and for a third of countries, eligibility for national parliament starts at 25 years old. [UNDP, 2013, http://bit.ly/1dd2a2L]
· Voter turnout among 18-25 year olds continues to be lower than other age groups [UNDP, Fast Facts: Civic Engagement and Participation of Youth in Politics and Public Institutions, 2014, p.1, http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/results/fast_facts/Fast-Facts-youth-civic-engagement-and-participation/]
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· 2 out of 3 countries DO NOT consult young people as a part of the process of preparing poverty reduction strategies or national development plans. [The Global Youth Call “Prioritizing Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda,” http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The_Global_Youth_Call.pdf]
Source:
http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/YouthStatsPublicandCivicParticipation1.pdf