Constitution review: JDPC, others intensify advocacy for law protecting women, vulnerable

Following the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly, the Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC), Ondo State Diocese, has appealed for the law that protects women and the vulnerable.

Austin Ogunleye, the JDPC programme officer, Catholic Diocese, Akure, alongside other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), gave the disclosure on Sunday while addressing a press conference to press home their demands.

Ogunleye, who lamented that female representation in the 2019 elections was negligible relative to approximately half of the population they constitute, however, demanded that more seats should be reserved for women in the Ondo State House of Assembly and Federal level.

According to Ogunleye, there was a need for gender-neutral and sensitive language in the constitution.

“Of the 2,970 female candidates (11.36%), only 70 hit elected, a meagre 4.71% of elected officials. This figure represents a decline from the 2015-19 periods, where women formed 5.65% of elected officials,” he said.

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He also lamented, “Masculine languages are gender-biased and undermine women and girls’ political participation, which further hinders inclusive governance in Nigeria.”

Canvassing gender as a benchmark for Federal Character, Ogunleye noted that the constitution had already created Federal Character as an affirmative action mechanism to cater for marginalized groups in the country.

On her own part, Bola Inyang, the spokesperson of the Speaking Voice, demanded the alteration of Sections 48, 49, 71, 72 of the constitution to give women and the vulnerable more concessions.

“In the Senate, one seat for a woman from the 36 states and the Federal Capital. In the House of Representatives, two seats for women from the 36 states and the Federal Capital. In the state Houses of Assembly, one seat from each of the three senatorial districts in the state.

“We call for more legislative seats for women in Ondo State House of Assembly. We suggest that in any local government area where we have two legislative seats, one should be reserved for women,” she said.