Capacity Building

In a significant step towards gender inclusivity in peace processes, southern Africa continues to acknowledge the crucial role women play in conflict prevention and resolution.

The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) has approved guidelines to promote the participation of women in regional efforts to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts in the 16 member states.

The National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Mary Idele Alile, has said that only 6 per cent of women in Nigeria hold political office.

Dr Mary made the statement during her speech at the launch of “Project 774 Explode: Enhancing Gender Space in Politics” in Sokoto over the weekend.

Despite progress in codifying women’s rights into law, advances in gender equality around the world have been halting, at best. This, despite the additional attention that the #MeToo movement brought to incidents of sexual assault and harassment in parts of the Global North—and increasingly in the Global South.

The National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) has commended the House of Representatives for passing for second reading, a bill seeking to amend the Constitution to create extra legislative seats for women in the National and State Assemblies.

It also urged the Senate to concur so that Nigeria can join the ranks of countries that have made significant strides in promoting gender equality in governance.

In a landmark move, the Nigerian House of Representatives has taken a significant step towards empowering women in politics.

Spearheaded by one of the female lawmakers, Blessing Amadi, the House adopted a motion to establish a dedicated department within the Ministry of Women Affairs, complete with adequate funding to support and train women in politics.

The department will also work to integrate the importance of women’s political leadership into the secondary school curriculum.

Galloway, N.J. – Did you know that New Jersey has never sent a woman to the U.S. Senate? Or that New Jersey ranks 23rd among the 50 states in the proportion of women serving in its legislature?