WANTED: MORE WOMEN IN POLITICS

Gender equality (n): a social order in which men and women share the same opportunities and the same constraints in the economic, social and political realms of life.


One week after the world celebrated the International Women’s Day 2016 tagged, ‘Pledge For Parity’, a Bill for an Act To Incorporate And Enhance Certain Provisions Of The United Nations Convention On The Elimination of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women, The Protocol To The African Charter On Human And People’s Rights On The Rights Of Women in Africa And Other Matters (popularly known as the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill), sponsored by Senator Abiodun Olujimi, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District was presented on the floor of the Nigerian senate for its second reading.

The bill seeks equal rights for women in marriage, education and job. It also seeks to open up discussion on issues around women’s right with regards to girl child education, economic activity, equal rights in marriage, divorce, land ownership and inheritance. In addition, the bill seeks appropriate measures against gender discrimination in political and public life, and prohibitions of violence against women.

The Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill was, however, turned down with a majority vote against without further considerations for a review of parts of the bill. This is happening in 21st century Nigeria where gender inequality and systemic marginalization of women remain prevalent in all spheres with different reports on violence, against women and discrimination.

The British Council Gender In Nigeria Report of 2012 ranked Nigeria 118 out of 134 countries in the Gender Equity Index. The report also revealed that nearly half of unmarried women in parts of Southern Nigeria have experienced physical violence. It went on to say that at every educational level, women earn less than their male educated counterparts and in some situations, men with less education earn more than better educated female peers. According to the report, only 7.2% of women own the land they farm, which limits their access to credit and constrains entrepreneurship and business activity. It further stated that over half of all women in the North are married off by the age of 16 and are expected to bear a child within the first year of marriage.

The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index 2015 also showcased existing gender gaps in Nigeria. The report revealed that within the sub-Saharan Africa Region, Nigeria was only able to occupy the 125th spot. It also ranked Nigeria 61st on economic participation and opportunity, 137th on educational attainment, 133rd on health and survival and 111th on political empowerment.

Nigeria has only 22 female members (representing 4.7%) in both houses in a 469-member National Assembly. In fact, the Inter-parliamentary Union Women in National Parliaments 2016 report places Nigeria on the175th spot. These numbers are depressing and their significance huge.

The significance of this is that when critical issues that affect women such as the #GEOBill are brought to the house, women will not have the numbers to have such bills passed. Such bills will be dead on arrival. Clearly, this needs to change. Politics is a game of interest and numbers. To successfully push an agenda in the parliament, you need to have the numbers for it. The ability of women to make a reasonable impact in male-dominated institutions will be limited unless they are represented in numbers large enough to have a collective voice.

This is why Nigeria urgently needs more women actively involved in key democratic processes. We cannot empower women effectively unless they have a voice and the influence to effect change in the society. For instance, more women in parliament will increase the opportunity for issues of equality, education, protection of the girl-child, women’s poor economic position; gender-based violence, as well as the integration of gender into critical socio-economic issue can easily scale through National and State Houses of Assembly. It is said that only those who wear the shoes know where they hurt. A male dominated senate in a patriarchal society is threatened by any mention of gender equality because it is perceived as women seeking superiority over men. But nothing could be further from the truth. How does a country hope to develop if it fails more than half of its population?

The entire society benefits when women are economically and politically empowered. According to the Hunger Project, gender inequality results in women’s lack of access to economic power, minimal access to basic health care, increased HIV/AIDS prevalence and higher maternal mortality rates. From both human rights and economic development perspectives, gender parity is very important. This is because women’s rights are human rights too.

It may take quite a while to get society to understand that gender equality doesn’t benefit only women. However, in the words of Edmund Burke, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. Right now, we need more gender equality champions and women to push for more women inclusion in democratic governance.





To get more women in politics, factors that sideline them in the first place must be identified and dealt with. Some of these issues that hinder women from participating in politics include: long-held religious and cultural beliefs that limit the woman’s role to the home, patriarchy which confines women to male dominance, high cost of vying for elective positions, lack of internal party politics which prevents women from vying for key leadership positions in political parties, illiteracy, among others.

As it is, quota system remains an effective policy tool to increase women’s representation in politics. The National Assembly should as a matter of importance domesticate the provisions of CEDAW. The Rwandan Parliament is proof that affirmative action works. Under Rwanda’s constitution, women have to occupy 30% of parliamentary seats. Over time, this has encouraged many women to vie for political positions. 56% of the Rwandan parliament is women. This is a world record. No other country comes close. The impact of this is undeniable. The City of Kigali was voted the cleanest city in Africa in 2015. Rwanda has been frequently rated the best country in the region for doing business. I visited Rwanda in December 2015 and learned that the low crime rate in the country is tied to the government’s unwavering determination to shed long-held traditional beliefs and hierarchies and actively battle gender discrimination. More African countries are toeing the line of Rwanda and domesticating the provisions of CEDAW.

Implementing the 35% affirmative action for women means more women will be involved in governance processes in Nigeria. It is not enough to have 35% affirmative action in our National Gender Policy. The National Assembly must provide legislation that mandates political parties to reserve 35% of positions for women. When quota laws are vague, they leave political parties to apply them as they deem fit, often failing to achieve intended purpose. For instance, according to the YIAGA Youth Candidacy Report in the 2015 elections, female candidacy was very low and below 20% in all elections in 2015 and female youth candidacy was even lower. There is the need for a legislation that mandates political parties, especially the leading ones, to review their gender policies to allow more female candidacy.

The Nigerian Senate, under the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki promised that the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill will be re-introduced to the floor of the Senate. There is therefore need for the bill to be properly tailored and all possible loopholes tightened to avoid being thrown out. For instance, the bill could be renamed ‘Gender Equity Bill, to take care of the cultural and religious bias the word ‘gender equality’ often generates.

A report on Adopting Women’s Human Rights Legislation in Nigeria showed that the 2007 CEDAW Bill failed because little effort was made to address, engage with or respond to the fears and insecurities of vocal stakeholders opposed to the Bill. There is also need for effective education on the actual provisions of both CEDAW and the AU Women’s Protocol. Sponsors of the #GEOBill should engage in massive sensitization of citizens on the provisions of CEDAW to avoid misconceptions, and why its values are not anti-God or anti-family.





It is also important that all female legislators, at both National and State levels, work together in pushing for the bill. In doing so, they should also seek for more men to join the advocacy both in the legislature and outside of it. Civil society organizations, the media and all other relevant stakeholders must be engaged in the advocacy and representation process of the bill.

An African proverb says, ‘if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together’. If we can come together to guarantee gender equality, we will all go far.

*This article first appeared on www.yiaga.org



XoXo
NAWTIprof