Parliaments & Representatives
The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has emphasized the importance of inclusive political participation, calling for increased women’s representation in nation-building efforts.
Sen. Tinubu made the call during the 774 Explode Programme; an empowerment initiative organized by the Office of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Women Leader, themed, “Enhancing Gender Space in Politics”, which took place at the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub in Benin City.
Represented by the Minister of Women Affairs, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, Sen. Tinubu celebrated women’s invaluable contributions in nation building and growth. She noted Nigeria’s low representation of women in elected positions and called for change. She further emphasized women’s success in various sectors and advocated for economic empowerment, political participation and reserved seats for women with the goal of creating more opportunities for them to address social challenges and build a stronger society.
The APC National Women Leader, Dr. Mary Alile highlighted the stigma and cultural barriers that have discouraged women from participating in politics in Nigeria to include the notion that politics is a “Dirty game” and that women should focus on domestic roles. She noted that the current generation of women is more determined and educated, and deserves a chance to contribute to decision-making.
The clamour for increased representation of women in Nigeria’s political space has once again come to the fore, as stakeholders await the outcome of the Reserved Seats Bill currently before the National Assembly.
The bill, also referred to as “Additional or Reserved Seats Bill’’ seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide reservation for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly to address the low number of women in the legislature.
If passed into law, the bill will address the long-standing concerns of women underrepresentation in governance and decision-making by ensuring that these special seats are to be contested and filled by women only as a temporary measure to boost their representation.
The bill proposes the creation of one Special Seat for women per Senatorial District and one per Federal Constituency to be contested by women in general elections of which they will have the same privileges and responsibilities as existing members.
This political solution is expected to exist alongside the current constituency seats and will be in place for a limited number of election cycles, after which they will be reviewed to strengthen women’s political inclusion.
Nigeria ranks among the lowest in Africa for women’s political representation, while countries like Rwanda, Namibia, and South Africa lead with robust gender-inclusive policies and high female participation in governance.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, remains near the bottom of the continental rankings, with only 4.1% of seats in its National Assembly held by women as of 2025. This figure pales in comparison to countries like Rwanda (61.3%), Namibia (44.2%), and South Africa (42.7%), which have institutionalised gender parity through legal reforms and party-level quotas.
Rwanda stands as the global leader in women’s parliamentary representation. Following the 1994 genocide, the country rebuilt its political system with gender equity at its core. The Rwandan constitution mandates a minimum 30 per cent representation for women in decision-making bodies, and political parties actively promote female candidates. As a result, women occupy over 60 per cent of seats in the lower house, and hold key ministerial positions in health, education, and gender affairs.
Full article here.
Global and regional commitments over the last thirty years provide solid support for promoting gender equality in politics. In recent years, the growth of women’s representation has stagnated, and the OSCE region is now witnessing escalating narratives against gender equality, which are having a detrimental effect on women’s political participation. Temporary special measures are being abolished, and no new ones are being introduced. Political polarization is steadily increasing, while sexism and violence against women in politics is pervasive, impacting female politicians’ decisions on whether to run for office, advocate certain policy solutions or leave their elected posts.
In this publication, ODIHR presents a seven-step roadmap for OSCE participating States — their parliaments, governments, political parties and other state agencies — to work towards achieving gender parity. It complements the results of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s 2025 Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians with its visionary approach to parity as parity in numbers, influence and culture. These steps aim to inspire participating States to draft their own, national roadmaps to gender parity, tailored to their specific circumstances and needs.
Researchers at the King Center on Global Development are addressing challenges such as gender-based violence and low labor participation, with the aim to inform supportive policy interventions.
When it comes to managing the administrative tasks that are required to run a home and raise a family, women bear the brunt of the responsibility. According to one study of women in the United States, mothers take on 7 out of 10 so-called mental load tasks, which range from planning meals to scheduling activities for children.
All that extra work takes a toll, including on society: Women who carry more mental load are less interested in national politics (men who carry more mental load also report less political interest, but fewer men are in that position).
Women in Nigeria have called for more opportunities to encourage their active participation in policymaking and to support female candidates during elections.
In a survey conducted in Oyo, Ogun, and Kwara, the women also unanimously supported the call for a Bill for Special Legislative Seats for Women in Parliament.
Folasade Aladeniyi, a former chairwoman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ibadan branch, said women’s participation in politics was not only a matter of equality but a necessity for balanced and effective governance.
Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick are delighted to launch their new report Addressing Sexism in Politics: Creating Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Political Spaces for Everyday Women, this report is a collaboration between Women’s Collective Ireland – Limerick and TUS research group EDGE.
Since 2019, WCI Limerick has been working specifically to strengthen and increase women’s participation and representation in local politics. In that time, they have worked with over 150 women and were instrumental in the establishment of the Limerick Women’s Caucus, the first of its kind a local level in the country. This work and the feedback they have been receiving from women led them to draft this report.
Click here to read the full report published by the Women's Collective Ireland – Limerick on 17 October 2023.
Independent states in the Pacific region have the lowest levels of women’s political representation in the world. Fewer than seven percent of Pacific politicians are women, compared to 27 percent globally. The absence of women’s voices in political decision-making has been an issue consistently raised in regional forums, although progress has been slow. Yet in November 2022, a milestone was reached: for the first time, there was at least one elected woman in every Pacific parliament.
Click here to read the full article published by the Australian Institute of International Affairs on 17 October 2023.
The publication represents the findings of a national survey on the violence against women in politics in Georgia, gathering women’s experiences in politics in Georgia. Namely, it examines the factors that facilitate and obstruct women’s engagement in politics, including the forms of violence against women in politics, women’s experiences with seeking support, and the impact of violence on women’s concentration in politics and leadership.
Click here to read the full article published by the EU Neighbours on 4 October 2023.
As women’s representation in U.S. politics has grown, 53% of Americans say there are still too few women in high political office in the United States, and many see significant obstacles for women candidates. Our 2023 report on women leaders in politics explores Americans’ views about gender and political leadership, as well as views about the barriers women face.
Click here to read the full article published by the Pew Research Center on 27 September 2023.
Women and girls constitute more than half of Moldova’s population, yet they are under-represented in the bodies that make key decisions affecting their lives. Although Moldova committed to supporting the increase of women’s political participation by adopting in 2016 the 40% gender quota and by the nationalization of SDGs on gender equality, women remain under-represented in political and public leadership. Specifically, 2019 local elections contributed less to 22% women as mayors, 28.73% women district councilors and 36.5% women local councilors.
Click here to read the full report published by UN Women Moldova on 8 September 2023.
In August 2013, RepresentWomen launched the Gender Parity Index (GPI) to help researchers and advocates track progress toward gender-balanced governance and identify opportunities for increasing women’s political representation in the U.S. Each year, we assign all 50 states a Gender Parity Score, letter grade, and ranking according to their proximity to parity. One of the key takeaways from this exercise is that progress toward gender balance is slower and less stable than it first appears.
Click here to read the full report published by RepresentWomen on 7 August 2023.