Empowering women for greater political participation
Source: Punch
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:
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: