Can the Special Seats Bill deliver the gender parity Nigeria needs?
Source: Global Voices
Hundreds of women rallied in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, on June 11, urging lawmakers to pass the Special Seats Bill (also known as the Reserved Seats Bill), a constitutional amendment designed to tackle the severe underrepresentation of women in parliament.
Despite comprising 50 percent of Nigeria’s population, women hold just 4.5 percent of seats in the National Assembly. Nigeria consistently ranks near the bottom globally and in Africa in terms of women’s parliamentary representation.
The proposed law seeks to create 37 additional seats reserved exclusively for female candidates in both the Senate and House of Representatives (one per state plus the Federal Capital Territory), as well as three dedicated seats per state assembly. These new positions, to be contested only by women in general elections, are framed as temporary affirmative action to advance gender parity and inclusive governance.
Hundreds of women rallied in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, on June 11, urging lawmakers to pass the Special Seats Bill (also known as the Reserved Seats Bill), a constitutional amendment designed to tackle the severe underrepresentation of women in parliament.
Despite comprising 50 percent of Nigeria’s population, women hold just 4.5 percent of seats in the National Assembly. Nigeria consistently ranks near the bottom globally and in Africa in terms of women’s parliamentary representation.
The proposed law seeks to create 37 additional seats reserved exclusively for female candidates in both the Senate and House of Representatives (one per state plus the Federal Capital Territory), as well as three dedicated seats per state assembly. These new positions, to be contested only by women in general elections, are framed as temporary affirmative action to advance gender parity and inclusive governance.