EU seeks increased women participation ahead of 2027 elections
Source: Punch Nigeria
The European Union has intensified efforts to advance women’s political participation through a high-level strategy meeting held in Abuja, ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election.
Nigeria has long struggled with low female representation in politics despite being a signatory to several international and regional frameworks promoting gender equality, including the Beijing Declaration and the African Union’s Protocol on Women’s Rights.
Although women constitute nearly half of the country’s population and play significant roles as voters and grassroots mobilisers, their presence in elective and appointive positions has remained consistently low since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
According to a statement by the EU on Tuesday, the meeting was organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, both cohort members of the European Union’s flagship democratic governance programme, the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria, in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law.
The meeting, themed Advancing Women’s Political Leadership: Strengthening Pathways to Inclusive Representation in 2027, brought together lawmakers, civil society actors, development partners, and political stakeholders to assess progress on women’s inclusion and the proposed Special Seats Bill, while mapping strategies ahead of the next electoral cycle.
The European Union has intensified efforts to advance women’s political participation through a high-level strategy meeting held in Abuja, ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election.
Nigeria has long struggled with low female representation in politics despite being a signatory to several international and regional frameworks promoting gender equality, including the Beijing Declaration and the African Union’s Protocol on Women’s Rights.
Although women constitute nearly half of the country’s population and play significant roles as voters and grassroots mobilisers, their presence in elective and appointive positions has remained consistently low since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
According to a statement by the EU on Tuesday, the meeting was organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, both cohort members of the European Union’s flagship democratic governance programme, the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria, in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law.
The meeting, themed Advancing Women’s Political Leadership: Strengthening Pathways to Inclusive Representation in 2027, brought together lawmakers, civil society actors, development partners, and political stakeholders to assess progress on women’s inclusion and the proposed Special Seats Bill, while mapping strategies ahead of the next electoral cycle.