From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Nigerian women have vowed to occupy the National Assembly beginning 8am on Wednesday, until all Gender bills in the constitution amendment exercise is reconsidered.
In a virtual press conference held Tuesday night attended by civil over 200 civil society organizations and the media, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, a Nigerian lawyer, civil rights activist, said the women will demand an urgent meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly for them to reconsider the the gender bills.
She said the women will also use the following hashtags to push the demands on social media: #NigerianWomenOccupyNASS
#BreakPoliticalBias
#BreakConstitutionBias.
Akiyode-Afolabi, who described what happened at the National Assembly on Tuesday as sad, stressed that the women will no longer take the discrimination against them lying low.
She said the protest will also take place across the various states of the federation but the meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on Wednesday will determine the shape of what will happen at the state levels.
Akiyode-Afolabi, urged the media to support the women, saying the mobilization has started already with several women and organizations within and outside Abuja overwhelming throwing their support behind the protest.
“We believe the constitution is a ground norm and the issue will be cleared with the constitution”, she said.
Lawmakers on Tuesday voted against a bill seeking to provide special seats for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly.
The bill was defeated in the Senate with 58 votes out of 91.
In the House of Representatives 208 out of 290 lawmakers voted against it.
Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (APC, Abia), a member of the House of Representatives, sponsored the bill, seeking to alter sections 48, 49, 71,77,91, and 117 of the 1999 Constitution by creating one additional senatorial seat and two federal constituencies in each state and FCT for women.
This would have come down to creating 111 extra seats for women at the National Assembly.
Other bills that suffered seminar fate were bill to provide for 15% affirmative action for women in political party administration, 224 reps voted yes while 77 voted no. (failed to get 2/3)
In the SENATE, 33 voted yes while 53 voted no.
To allow women take up indigenship of their husbands state after 5 years of being together, failed at the House of Representatives while 90
Senators voted Yes, five voted No. Because it failed in the House of reps it remains failed.
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