By Soliudeen Balikis
Gender discrimination is still a big problem in Nigeria. This is an issue that continues to hinder the growth and development of women in all spheres of life. In Nigeria, 98 percent of women lack equal access to finance and economic opportunities. Girls make up 60 percent of the 20 million out-of-school children and 30 percent of girls aged between nine and 12 years have never been to school.
According to a 2016 World Health Organization report, Nigeria is the fourth worst country to be a mother. Out of the first 10 countries, the worst country to be a mother according to the report is South Sudan, the next is Chad, followed by Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Somalia and Mauritania. Despite a number of inclusive policies, Nigeria is long way from achieving gender equality and inclusivity with records of death, poverty and political disenfranchisement prevalent amongst women and girls.
On the economic front, several reports show Nigerian women are still far behind the men. Nigerian women are said to only earn 77 percent for every dollar that men get for the same work. Women account for most of Nigeria’s unemployment and underemployment. While women account for most of Nigeria’s agricultural workforce, they represent only 13 percent of agricultural landowners. Political exclusion and education parity are some other gender issues experienced by Nigerian women.
There are indications that Nigerian women still experience discriminatory practices while seeking employment. Rise in labour force participation is yet to translate into significant improvement concerning increased decision-making power for women. In fact, according to the International Labour Organization, most Nigerian women are still discriminated against. Common discriminatory employment practices in Nigeria include wage parity, inadequate maternity leave, sexual harassment, and slow promotion to top managerial positions. Besides, the recently published Labour Force statistics showed that although women represent 51.6 percent of Nigeria’s working-age population, only 48.4 percent were in the labour force. Also, only 40.6 percent of the total of 35.6 million fully employed Nigerians were women. Women also had a higher percentage in underemployment (52 percent) and unemployment (56 percent). As much as seven in 10 Nigerian women do not own bank accounts and more than half of them are financially excluded.
On the political space, Nigerian women hold less than 20 percent stake. In 2018, only 24 percent of national parliamentarians were women. In fact, the Nigerian political space lacks gender-focused inclusion. Globally, Nigeria ranks 181 out of 193 countries for female representation in parliament. For the 2019 general elections, only five of the 73 candidates who contested for the presidency were women. Also, women made up only four percent of the elected officials after the elections. Besides, only about 16 percent of Buhari’s ministers were women. This outcome was despite advocacy around 35 percent affirmative action in the country. In the current National Assembly, out of 109 Senators, only five are women. Out of the 360 House of Representative seats, only 14 are women.
Women don’t have equitable access to education in Nigeria. Statistics from Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) showed that males had higher enrolment numbers for basic education as of 2018. Also, in the 2019 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria, only 48.30 percent of the total number of candidates were female. However, Nigerian girls have shown incredible excellence in potential. According to UBEC, females had the most basic education promotion and completion rates. Also, 50.23 percent of the candidates who got five credits, inclusive of English and Mathematics in 2019 WASSCE, were female. Despite their obvious academic prowess, there are still a lot of factors around the access of the Nigerian girl child to education. The Northern part of the country is worst affected. Religious and cultural inclinations in many cases don’t support the need to educate the girl child.
The time to advocate for more inclusive policies and start to fight all forms of discrimination against women and the girl child is now. We cannot overstate the need for the Nigerian government to deliver more inclusion and real protection for Nigerian women. Ending all discriminations against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it is also crucial for a sustainable future. This is because empowering women and girls helps economic growth and development. As McKinsey Global Institute stated in a report, Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by 23 percent or $229 billion by 2025 if women took part in the economy to the same extent as men. Similarly, the International Monetary Fund noted that gender inclusivity could grow Nigeria’s economy on average by as much as 1.25 percent points annually. The Federal Government’s target of a US$1 trillion economy cannot be achieved by 2030 if women don’t get included in the economy and political of the country.
Nearly 30 years ago at the 1995 World Conference on Women’s Rights in Beijing China, the world made a promise: equal rights for all women and girls. More than 30,000 activists from around 189 countries, created the Beijing Declaration to advocate for Gender Equality and Protection of the Rights of Women in the World. Nigeria is still far behind in upholding the Beijing declaration. We need to do more to protect our women and the time is now.
• Soliudeen, a woman and girl-child rights activist, writes from Lagos.