Atop of the list long running problems with humanity is the systemic discrimination against women. For long periods in history, and up to contemporary times, many societies have systematically discriminated against women resulting in a plethora of unequal outcomes compared to men. Despite the gains made in some parts, women remain disadvantaged in terms of basic human rights, access to economic opportunities, access to resources, justice on gender-based violence, and importantly, in the wielding of political power. Nigeria is one of the packs. Across most measures of gender equality, we score poorly even compared to a world that is also unequal. This systematic discrimination has gone on for so long that biases that we don’t even realise that we have are part of everyday life. A couple of weeks ago I took one of those quizzes to see if had a gender bias against women.
I consider myself a feminist but I still failed the quiz. The biases that discriminate against and disenfranchise women run deeper than many of us want to accept. These biases are not just in our heads. We have cultural, legal, and political institutions that continue to reinforce these biases both directly and indirectly. This means that attempts to push for gender equality have to be deliberate. It is not enough to raise up our hands and say “Oh I don’t discriminate against women”. We have to be a lot more deliberate than that.
But there is more. Pushing for gender equality is an objective in its own right, but as economists are learning, it is also very good economics. Research continues to show time and time again that investing in women is one of the better investments any society can make. Investing in girls tends to have higher impacts on future income, as well as better health outcomes such as fewer maternal deaths. Women tend to re-invest a lot more of their income into the health and well-being of their families, and so investing in women tends to have higher effects on the education of both male and female children. Women tend to default less on loans.
Including women in conflict resolution tends to result in lower incidence of violence and more peace. I could go on. This is not just random data from far flung reaches of the world. Research on Nigeria tells the same story. From the latest poverty report published by the NBS, households headed by women tended to be a lot less poor than those headed by men. This was true across almost all levels of education, occupations, and in both rural and urban areas. In fact, one of the most interesting research papers I read recently shows that women who benefited, either directly or indirectly, from the education reforms in the 1970s, one of Africa’s largest school construction projects by the way, increased the educational attainment of their children especially their girls.
If investment in women is so great then how come it doesn’t just happen? The short answer is politics. The decisions on policy are made by those seated at the table and the women on that table in Nigeria are few and far between. We have never had a female president or vice president in Nigeria’s history. In the current political regime, there are no female governors and only two deputy governors out of 36. In the national assembly only about 5 percent of the senators or representatives are women. A situation which is mimicked in most of the state assemblies. Whichever way you cut it; women are currently excluded from the political decision-making process. As research has shown, when women are excluded gender inequality worsens and women suffer as policies on their issues get downgraded.
There are some who would argue that you don’t need women to make pro-women decisions and the men are just as capable. But that is nonsense. If you examine Nigeria’s history the most significant events that have promoted women’s participation and rights and made a difference have been championed by women. Whether it be the riots against unfair taxes in Aba or the struggle for women’s rights in Abeokuta. Essentially, if the best investments we can make as a country are in women and women are not currently part of the decision-making process, then we need to change that. We need a political revolution championed by women that puts women on the decision-making table.
A political revolution supported by women and men who are inspired to put their time and money to supporting participation in governance. The support of men is important because this is not a burden to be borne by women alone. In fact, I dare say, there is no bright future for Nigeria if the question of women’s participation in politics is not answered. The old ways forcing women into dedicated “women’s wings” with little authority, or waiving registration fees in contests that are designed to prevent them for winning need to be called what they are: complete wastes of time.
Of course, the question of honesty, competency, and credibility are important and you don’t just want any women in governance. But we should also be applying the same standards to men many of whom are dishonest, incompetent and have little credibility but somehow still manage to find themselves in leadership positions. And yes, the long-term goal is to get to the point where there is true equal opportunity without the systematic bias, but until then deliberate action is needed. As for me I have a new philosophy with regards to my interaction with politics from now on: No women? No vote.
Thank you to Belinda Archibong, Fakhrriyyah Hashim, Nwakaego Onike, and one other who wants to remain anonymous for helping me shape my thoughts on this topic.
Dr. Obikili is chief economist at BusinessDay
