Through the Gender Lens by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic

At the level of micro-politics, women in post-colonial Nigeria have engaged in collective action and coalition building for social change more than at any other period in the country’s recorded history. The post-UN Decade for Women witnessed a plethora of women-led organizations, networks and coalitions to promote the cause of more effective female engagement with social, economic, and political aspects of public life. However, Chukukere (1982, p. 307) explains that it was the “ideologically radical feminist group” formed in 1982, Women in Nigeria (WIN), which first adopted an overtly political agenda for female equality in governance and other areas.

LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY FRAMEWORKS FOR GENDER-INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY

With the widespread acceptance of universal suffrage, there are now several international and domestic legislative enactments intended to end gender inequality and discrimination in the exercise of women’s rights to political participation and representation. Indeed, it has been rightly observed that, “women’s political rights are an integral and inseparable part of their human rights; and human rights, in turn, are a fundamental aspect of any democratic framework” (Karam, 1998, p. 8). Nigeria has signed and ratified all major international and regional instruments in this regard. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees all individuals the right to participate fully in the political processes and governance of their countries without prejudice to sex, religion, or social status. The principle of non-discrimination is also entrenched in the Nigerian Constitution. As noted earlier, the 2006 National Gender Policy stipulates 35 percent female representation in all elective and appointive posts, but women fall far short of this at all levels and across all tiers of governance. The Jonathan administration (2011–2015) came closest to the figure with 31.9 percent of executive appointments at the federal level (Study Group Four, SEC 35, 2013).1

According to the most recent census in 2006, women comprise 49.6 percent of the population. However, the World Bank gender profile of Nigeria for 2000 estimated the female population at 50.7 percent (World Bank GenderStats, 2000). In either case, female politics or decision-making during both military and civilian governance has been disproportionate to their numeric strength. It has also fallen far below the 30 percent stipulated under the UN Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) ratified by Nigeria on 13th June 1985. In addition, the 1999 Constitution espouses the principle of Federal Character in order to prevent the predominance of persons or groups in politics and public structures. Female numeric strength presents a basis for the entrenchment of proportional gender representation in the Constitution for a true portrayal of Federal Character. However, the principle only epitomizes Nigeria’s multiethnic, multireligious composition, and is restricted to ensuring proportional ethnic representation. Federal Character does nothing to prevent the predominance of men as a sectional group (Okome, 2000). Consequently, the Nigerian state “lacks ‘Gender Character’” (Mark-Odu, 2000, p. 2).

As has been observed earlier, despite the myriad of international legislative enactments ratified by governments, adapted into domestic and constitutional law, women are still heavily under-represented in government. Furthermore, their

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