Nigeria

There is renewed agitation for more inclusion of women in politics and governance in Nigeria. Analysts and watchers of political events in the country believe this is justifiable, considering the number of women in elected political positions since the inception of the present democracy in 1999.

To ensure that more women are included in politics and governance, some legislators recently called for reserved seats for women in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has called for more concerted actions toward better recognition of the contributions that women make in national development. 

According to a statement by her spokesman, Aliyu Abdullahi, Aisha said power-sharing arrangements must reflect women’s contributions both within political parties and in government.

Women groups and Gender Focused Civil society organisation has called for more women participation in the forthcoming FCT area council election. According to the CSOs, women constitute half of the population in the country and form massive support during elections.

The Director Gender and Inclusivity Department INEC, Mrs. Blessing Obidegwu, gave the charge on Wednesday during a town hall meeting with the women groups and gender focused civil society organizations in Abuja.

Women politicians in the country, on Monday in Abuja, unveiled an online resource portal for women seeking elective positions in the 2023 general elections.

During the unveiling of the project tagged: ‘Nigerian Women Aspirants Website’, financed by an international human rights organization, the women politicians under the aegis of Women In Politics Forum, also said that the mode of party primaries was not enough to bring the needed change expected to be seen in the country’s political process.

A gender-based group, Njikoka Women Association, NWA, in Ezimo, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, yesterday, identified media sexism as bane of women participation in politics.

The Association which bemoaned the derogatory stereotyping of women in political participation in Nigeria, called for a review of media messages on women in politics in order to correct the stigma against female politicians in the country.

Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has signed into law a bill that makes it mandatory to have at least 35  per cent women appointees in the State Executive Council and other classes of political appointments. The law is cited as Kwara State Political Offices (Gender Composition) Bill 2021.

Justifying the law, the state governor on Tuesday said it was only fair that women be given a fair space in the decision-making process. He spoke in Ilorin, the state capital, during a conference tagged ‘Cracking the glass ceiling: The story of Kwara women.’

It is important for citizens to be given enabling structures to enable civil organisation and participation. This will, in turn, aid the creation of progressive institutional structures. But then the enactment and promotion of harsh policies and the stifling of participation, amongst many other factors, have hindered this development, thereby repressing the civic space. Participation is key, especially for impact and policymakers, but the shrinking civic space has affected the involvement of key players, especially women.