By Lukman Olabiyi
A civil society organisation (CSO), Nigerian Feminist Forum has lamented the low participation of women in governance, saying that women have continued to be marginalised in all spheres of public life.
It also said that the national average of women’s political participation has remained at 6.7% in elective and appointive positions, which is far below the global average of 22.5%, Africa’s regional average of 23.4%, and West African sub-regional average of 15%.
Speaking at a press conference held in Lagos, the vocal person of the forum, Chinonso Okechukwu said that Nigeria would not achieve meaningful development and progress towards gender equality if women’s agency and voice continue to be excluded.
She said that as a matter of urgency, the government must take action toward building a responsive and equitable society for all to thrive.
Okechukwu also said that women in Nigeria have paid a heavy price in the conflicts that have been ravaging the country in the past two decades.
While speaking on the theme: “Promoting the feminist agenda towards a more responsive, accountable and equitable society’, she said that women have endured unprecedented levels of sexual violence, increased food insecurity, and internal displacement, and undoubtedly women and girls have been particularly affected by the conflict, because of its devastating impact on economic activities.
She stated that despite Nigeria being signatories to various legal frameworks that seek to advance women’s rights, there is still a lack of political will and interest and an inadequate accountability mechanism on the side of the Nigerian Government to enforce the implementation of the provisions in the laws and treaties, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women (The Maputo Protocol).