Women in Nigerian politics
Barriers to participation are not always visible -- especially to outsiders. (Are men outsiders by definition?)Politics - the Many Barricades Against Nigerian Women
There has been a long standing cry for Nigerian women in politics to assume more active and participatory roles…
The Beijing conference of 1995 recommended 35% allocation for women in political positions, power and decision making but that has not been the case in Nigeria where women can barely boast of 5 percent. It is not as if the women are not trying or that they are not capable, but it is just that they are not able to fit into the political system practiced in Nigeria where violence, rigging and party politics do not encourage women to participate…
The patriarchal nature of Nigerian politics where men are always leading and women following has relegated the participation and success of the women to the background, preferring to acknowledge the woman as the backbone behind the success of the man rather than ascribe the success to a woman's' ability…
Women in the north where disenfranchised in 1957 by the Northern opposition on religious grounds, their franchise was re-imposed in 1976, but this setback shouldn't have retarded the progress of the women as it has done, as women have never been legally disenfranchised from holding high political offices, yet, women have made very limited political influence since the nation's independence and democratic rule…
In a paper delivered by… Joy Ngozi Ezeilo at the International Republican Institute (IRI), Women's Conference in Abuja, she said "women in the main are disillusioned with politics and are indifferent to the current trend of events going on around them. There is evidence that even educated women continue to have less interest in political matters and where the interest is shown, women mainly pursue different political goals"…
Community organizations such as, political parties, trade unions, military etcetera are all entities that have been created as sacrosanct for men…
Religious restraints have also been among the many retardations of women political participation in Nigeria…
Political godfatherism has also militated against the participation of women in politics…
Political gangsterism (thuggery, Kidnappings) has not much helped the female politicians, referring to the do or die method of Nigerian politics…
Ezeilo… advocated for political party quotas and other forms of affirmative action to mainstream women in the party structure and leadership, to eliminate violence and engage with traditional and religious institutions opposed to women leadership, enhance women's capacity and mentoring for female political aspirants.
She also recommended constitutional and legal reforms, launching of a women political support fund…
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Labels: gender, Nigeria, participation, political culture, women
posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:42 AM
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A video and a commentary on the theme of women in Nigeria.
Nigeria: The Women
"We thought this short doc on Nigerian women pioneers and their brand of feminism by the photographer Joel Benson should meet with this Sokari Eskine essay posted over at Nigerians Talk - both short doc and essay were in commemoration of Nigeria's 50th anniversary last October. Excerpt:..."
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