A women’s rights group has called on the Nigerian government to appoint more women to government positions, saying that this would strengthen the democratic process.
The Women’s Voice and Leadership Project (WVLP) of Action Aid Nigeria said that women are underrepresented in government and that this is a barrier to their full participation in society.
The Project Coordinator of WVLP, a project implemented by Gender and Development Action (GADA – is funded by Global Affairs Canada with support from ActionAid Nigeria), Mrs Francisca Effiom made the call while reacting to the recent ministerial and commissioner appointments made at the national and state levels.
Mrs Effiom, who was speaking with some journalists in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State in southern Nigeria, explained that the participation of women in politics was generally concerning and low.
She said: “Since the return of Nigeria to democratic rule, there is still growing concern over low representation of women in both elective and appointive positions. In Nigeria, the extant National Gender Policy (NGP) recommended 35 per cent affirmative action and sought for a more inclusive representation of women in elective and appointive public service positions respectively.
“The European Union through its programme, the Support to Democratic Governance (EU-SDGN) continues to reiterate that there cannot be strong, effective and legitimate democratic institutions without the inclusion and participation of women.
“GADA will continue to advocate for the provision of an equitable playing field for women either as electorate or candidate. We will continue to push for more women to be appointed in Cross River State and Nigeria as a whole,” Effiom stressed.
Empowerment
According to the Project Coordinator, GADA has in the past two years intensified efforts to economically empower women through implementing several initiatives with record success.
“Through the WVLP project, we have constantly addressed systemic barriers that have prevented women and girls from fully participating in Nigerian society, particularly leadership roles. We financially empowered 120 women through our skills acquisition programme.
“Two-thirds of those women trained were able to return and train others in their communities. But of particular mention is the training conducted for the women in the refugee community on soap and hand sanitiser production. We are getting feedback on their success stories since most of them are now entrepreneurs,” stated Effiom.
The Project Officer of WVLP, Nnenna Ugbor said that GADA was already engaging with young women and girls interested in politics, especially across three of the existing tertiary institutions in Calabar.
“To address apathy towards leadership, GADA trained 21 enumerators to collect data from three tertiary institutions in Calabar. We were able to select and train 30 girls, through that data collection process, for political activities. So far, 11 were motivated to aspire for leadership positions, they took part in the recent Student Union Government election in their various institutions.
“GADA has held several advocacies, consultative and interactive meetings with different state actors on encouraging women’s participation in politics. These achievements show GADA’s tireless commitment to gender equity, women’s empowerment and the eradication of GBV. With each of these initiatives, GADA continued to pave the way for a more inclusive and progressive society,” she added.
