On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, Nigerian lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly voted on 68 bills for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution. Of the 68 bills, five gender-related bills were rejected.
This led to the ongoing protest being held by women at the gate of the National Assembly calling for a revisit of the rejected gender bills.
However, upon the protest, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker, House of Representatives, called for cancellation of the votes on three of the rejected bills. He said the House would revisit Bill 36 “expand the scope of citizenship by registration;” Bill 37 to “provide for affirmative action for women in political party administration,” and Bill 38 to “provide criteria for qualification to become an indigene of a state in Nigeria” during the second batch of the amendment bills in a month’s time.
Bill 35, which seeks to “provide for a special seat for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly,” and Bill 68 “to give women a quota in the federal and state executive councils or ministerial and commissionership seats” remain discarded.
Therefore, for Nigeria to move toward sustainable development, a significant proportion of women, who constitute about half of the population, must be included in governance
However, statistics show that Nigeria only has 29 women in the National Assembly, amounting to about 6 percent in both Senate and House of Representatives, while men are 440. This is still very low compared with some other African and developed countries’ representations in their respective parliaments.
In Denmark, more than one-third of the total seats in parliament are for women. A report shows that in 2019, out of the total 179 parliamentary seats, 70 seats are for women. Sweden had 46.1 percent of women representatives in parliament in 2018. More than 45 percent of parliamentary seats in the September 2021 election belong to Norwegian women.
Cuba had 53.4 percent women in parliament, Mexico 50 percent, South Africa 46.4 percent, Senegal 43 percent, France 40 percent. Rwanda in Africa even had the most significant women representative in parliament with 61.3 percent. This made Rwanda ranked number one worldwide with the highest percentage of women in parliament.
According to the United Nations, while there has been progress in women’s participation in politics worldwide, their representation in national parliament is still meagre at a mere 23.7 percent. Also, women only have more than 30 percent of seats in the national parliaments in at least one chamber in 46 countries.
Furthermore, in the 2022 World Bank report, only 12 countries (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden) have full equal rights legally for men and women as regards work, pay, marriage, childbearing, asset management, business ownership, and pension.
The United States had 91.3 percent equal legal rights due to a lack of laws ensuring equal pay and pensions, as well as unscrupulous laws around parental leave. Due to bad laws concerning equal pay, family, and entrepreneurship, Japan and South Korea were ranked 79 percent and 85 percent, respectively. Yemen, Sudan, and Qatar have the lowest rank of 26.9 percent, 29.4 percent, and 29.4 percent, respectively. However, Nigeria had 63.1 percent equal legal rights in work, pay, marriage, childbearing, asset management, business ownership, and pension.
In Nigeria, the Gender Equality Index ranked 128 out of 153 countries in 2021.
This shows that inequality, which is the root cause of poverty, still abounds, and statistics show that gender inequality exists in access to education, income, representation, health and legal rights.
Read also: Women at war: Gender equality bills to the rescue
Gender equality is one of the most critical sustainable development goals, and it has got a lot of attention from all around the world.
Despite the progress, women and girls worldwide still do not have full access to equal rights and opportunities. Their potential as agents of economic, social, and sustainable development change is yet to be realised.
Women do not have equal representation in power and decision-making roles, and they continue to be targets of physical/sexual abuse.
Gender inequality exists in any society due to sex, cultural beliefs, religious doctrine, etc. According to the UN, women and girls must have equal rights and live without fear of violence and discrimination.
Goal 17 of Agenda 2063, like Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, also focus on gender equality. Goal 17 is ‘Full Gender Equality in All Aspects of Life,’ consisting of 14 national and four continental initiatives. It includes targets that must be met by 2063, just like the SDG 5. If the strategies are followed, all efforts to establish gender equality in all sectors of life in Nigeria will not be in vain.
Although progress has been made toward attaining this objective, more girls are enrolled in school, and more women are currently serving in parliament and leadership posts. It is essential to remember that women have been excluded from top positions and functions in society even though gender equality is bending in favour of women.
It is worth noting that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf rebuilt her country with other women political leaders in Liberia. At the same time, inspirational (but unsung) women leaders are also changing their communities at the grass-root level every day. So, it is high time to recognise women as leaders – as agents of change in families, communities, and countries.
Evidence shows that companies that focus on empowering women have tremendous business success. It also demonstrates that investing in women and girls can increase productivity, organisational effectiveness, return on investment, and consumer happiness.
Suppose there can be more gender equality in Nigeria. In that case, the country will be more prosperous in all spheres, whether in politics, health sector, education, corporate world, business, or any other structure.
Therefore, for Nigeria to move toward sustainable development, a significant proportion of women, who constitute about half of the population, must be included in governance. And this is precisely why in the light of the above depositions the National Assembly must rouse out itself from its slumber.
Without further delay it must do the needful by passing the outstanding gender bills.This is in order to ensure that our quest for it is consummated in an inclusive manner that takes on board our mothers, wives, daughters and sisters.
Anything less is to consign Nigeria to a state of underdevelopment.
