The Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) and Women for Women International (WfWI), have listed social and cultural norms as major barriers needed to be surmounted for women’s enhanced participation in democracy in Nigeria.
They said this in Abuja at a roundtable and the public presentation of a 35-page research project titled “Listen to Women: Identifying Barriers to Women’s Freedom of Speech and Participation in Democracy in Nigeria”.
They said that addressing these challenges would not only enhance women’s freedom of speech but also adequate participation in democracy and politics.
The report noted the persistent resistance in the National Assembly towards gender equality initiatives underscores enduring obstacles that must also be addressed.
“Women’s representation in political arenas remains disproportionately low, with only 3.6% of seats in the national parliament held by women in 2022. Despite administrative endeavors, political turmoil frequently exacerbates conflicts, disproportionately affecting women,” the report said.
The Founding Executive Director, WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, noted that the prevalence of sociocultural norms still affected the ability of women to participate in peace processes and politics in their communities and states.
“The peace security architecture in the state is not allowing women and accepting women to be part of it.
“The project is called Listen to Women: Identifying the barriers Against Women’s Freedom of Speech and Participation in Democracy. It’s a project that focuses specifically on Plateau State but however has a national coverage,” Akiyode-Afolabi added.
She pointed out that one of the recommendations of the project was for government to engender its security architecture to ensure that more women participate in the security architecture, especially in Plateau State, where the research was carried out.
“Plateau State has signed the Gender and Equal Opportunity bill into law, which allows for women’s equal participation so we are calling on the government to ensure that the law becomes activated,” she said.
Also, the Advocacy Coordinator, WfWI, Zainab Gbobaniyi, said the event among others was to get better deals for women.
“The research, being an evidence-based and carried out in five communities in Plateau State cutting across three local governments of Jos East, Riyom and Pankshin, tells the stories directly from the women themselves,” Gbobaniyi said.