The marginalisation of women in economic development and socio-political spaces is a worldwide phenomenon. However, it seems worse in underdeveloped countries.
In Nigeria, despite the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1985 and similar local policies, such as the National Gender Policy of 2006, inequality still exists due to a myriad of cultural and structural challenges.
This has limited women’s participation in all spheres of life with serious implications for human resource development and, in that capacity, the economic development of the country and the general state of gender equality.
They also have an increased risk of poverty and limited negotiating power and access to resources. They also endure the greatest hardships resulting from the proliferation of under-resourced and often spatially segregated urban areas
Nigerian women face multiple forms of discrimination in their everyday lives. They also have an increased risk of poverty and limited negotiating power and access to resources. They also endure the greatest hardships resulting from the proliferation of under-resourced and often spatially segregated urban areas.
Just recently, the Nigerian National Assembly considered different bills in the ongoing constitutional amendment process. Five of the gender-related bills were rejected.
The bills rejected include a bill to provide special seats for women at the National Assembly, affirmative action for women in political party administration, a bill that seeks to reserve quota for women, and the indigeneship bill — which seeks to allow women to take up the indigene of their husbands’ state after five years of marriage, and the citizenship bill that seeks to provide for citizenship by registration for foreign spouses of Nigerian women.
In contemporary society, gender equality has been an issue of global advocacy. Development experts say gender equality is a desired objective in the quest for an inclusive society.
This point is emphasised in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5. The goal advocates for the empowerment of girls and women and the eradication of all forms of discrimination against the female gender. At the centre of the advocacy of gender equality is the issue of women’s participation in politics.
It is without a doubt that women are expressively discriminated against and marginalised, a contention that cites comprehensive empirical data on electoral results in Nigeria’s democratic journey.
Nigerian women have been consistently under-represented to a significant degree. While there has been some progress in women’s inclusion in governance, there are still cultural constraints dating back to colonial times, which ensure that men have unfettered freedom to pursue matters of religion, economics, social, and political activities, to the detriment of women.
The country has not been a good illustration in the comity of nations in terms of gender equality and inclusive governance. Although the country made significant strides during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, the little progress achieved then seems to have undergone regression.
Nigeria was ranked 139 out of 153 in the 2021 Global Gender Gap Index, trailing behind many African countries like Niger, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, and many others. This obviously is not the best report for a country like ours.
It is a sad reality that out of 36 states of the federation, there is no female elected governor while there are just about three female deputy governors across the country.
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As of January 18, 2022, there are 121 women in the US House of Representatives (not counting four female non-voting delegates), making women 27.9 percent of the total, while in Nigeria, in the current House of Representative, there are 347 men and only 13 women, which accounts for 3.61 percent inclusion.
Evidently, we need mass mobilisation campaigns to break traditional attitudes that hold women back from participating in politics.
Given the momentous implications of political and economic marginalisation of women in Nigeria, it is vital to develop women’s abilities and capabilities. Indeed, sustainable human development cannot be achieved without completely integrating women into all aspects of international development.
We need to put the relevant machinery in place that will help the country eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.
There is also the need to ensure that all customary and religious institutions in Nigeria reform their norms and protocols so as to avoid discrimination against women’s involvement politically and economically, and to eliminate patriarchal structures.
We also strongly believe that the Electoral Bill should be tailored to explicitly promote affirmative actions that will enhance women’s empowerment, including the reservation of at least 30 percent of all elective positions for women, in all political parties.
Above all, the federal, state and local governments must as a matter of urgency encourage and establish environments that are friendly and supportive women’s participation in politics. We need to do all of these and more in our quest for development. This is because women constitute the other half of humanity. Any attempt to marginalise them, as we have persistently done, amounts to selling ourselves short in our quest for development.
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