Will NigeriaDecides2023 pave the way for women’s political participation?
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy heads into elections on Saturday 25th of February 2023, with up to 94 million voters heading out to cast their ballots for lawmakers and the president.
With growing concerns around security, a struggling economy and deep political corruption, this election will be keenly watched across the continent and beyond as a potential turning point for the country.
New electronic voting technology, along with a larger (and younger) voting base — up 10 million voters from the 2019 election — promote hope of a fair and free election that will uphold the values and energy of its young population, setting Nigeria on a new path.
Hope for a gender-equal election?
The election, unfortunately, will not mark a (much-needed) turning point for women in politics though. According to data from the 2022 SDG Gender Index produced by Equal Measures 2030 (EM2030), Nigeria had the lowest share of women in parliament of any country in Africa in 2021 and representation of women in parliament actually fell from 13% women in 2015 to 7% in 2021.
This parliamentary representation of 7% represents the worst performance for gender equality of any parliament in the entire world except for Kuwait (3% women). Similar trends are seen in women’s share of senior government posts as representation in Nigeria fell from 24% in 2015 to 10% in 2021, the lowest share of any country in Africa.
Despite vocal feminist movements in the country and inspiring initiatives such as ELECTHer, the 2023 elections do not show signs of improving Nigeria’s track record on representation.
Women make up just 9.2% of those running for the House of Representatives, 8.4% running for Senate and just 6% running for governor’s posts. When it comes to the presidential election, just one woman, Princess Chichi Ojei, is among the 36 presidential candidates and running mates. That means women represent just 2.8% of presidential and vice-presidential candidates, compared to 19% in 2019.
These numbers also only represent candidacy, not election and therefore it is clear that Nigeria is set to follow the disappointing trend seen since the country’s independence in 1999, of women’s political representation stagnating below 10%.
10% is far below the requirement of 35% of political posts being reserved for and occupied by women, as outlined in the 1995 United Nations’ Beijing Declaration, to which Nigeria is a signatory. Nigeria’s 2006 National Gender Policy promotes this 35% target through Affirmative Action but has never seen the structure or processes needed for it be put into practice.
Just last year, 5 gender bills were thrown out by the National Assembly, one of which included legislation mandating that women fill 35% of both elective position and appointed positions in government and a stipulation for 35% of political party leadership to be women.
The two leading parties in Nigeria do have voluntary quotas. The PDP states that 35% of party offices shall be allocated to women in its party constitution but it neglects to state at which levels this would apply and has never been fulfilled by the party. The APC party lacks a constitutional quota but highlights that it will make efforts towards women representing up to 30% of positions in party structures and government.
Can gender quotas secure gender parity in politics?
After unanimous voting led to the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill instating a 30% quota for women’s participation in both appointed and elected positions in Sierra Leone earlier this month, Nigeria is one of just three countries in West Africa to not have a legislated gender quota, alongside Ghana and The Gambia.
Although gender quotas are not a panacea to women’s representation, and require the social and cultural will to implement them, they have made a significant difference in women’s political participation in Africa and beyond.
According to data from the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development’s Data Hub for Women’s Leadership in Public Governance, Cabo Verde has seen the percentage of women in local assemblies almost double from 22% to 41.5% and the number of women elected to National Assembly rise from 26.7% to 37.4% since the introduction of a Parity Law in 2019.
The EM2030 2022 SDG Gender Index further reveals that countries such as Rwanda, South Africa, Mozambique and Ethiopia now have far greater representation of women in senior Government and Ministerial-level positions than countries such as Denmark and Norway which are often highlighted as beacons of gender equality.
Rwanda was the first country in which women constituted more than half of political leadership, and is a global leaderwith more than 60% of women in parliament and clear mechanisms constitutionally promoting the inclusion and representation of women.
Rwanda began with a 30% legislated gender quota in 2003, taking an Equality of Result approach which means that not only must women make up at least 30% of candidates but that there are a minimum number of seats reserved solely for women — seats which only women are eligible to vote for.
A women-only ballot along with other initiatives such as a gender-progressive constitution, a gender ministry and the grassroot election of women’s councils which are then represented nationally have been key to ensuring these quotas are effective and implemented.
Barriers exist before election…
Along with a constitutional commitment to represent women, more must be done to make politics a safe and accessible area for women as myriad barriers remain. Campaigning in Nigeria is an expensive operation and too many women lack the financial resources needed to enter politics. Not only do men, on average, earn more than women in Nigeria, male candidates often receive support from ‘political godfathers’, to which there are few wealthy, influential ‘godmother’ counterparts available to support young female politicians.
Cultural prejudices and responsibilities also hold women back with a strong taboo against women having authority over men. Moreover, women still hold many care responsibilities which means they cannot participate in the political culture of working long and late hours. This culture results in women having little education or support in getting involved in politics.
One of the biggest barriers though remains to be the violence and harassment female candidates witness — a trend rife around the world. Research by Stand to End Rape (STER), based in Lagos, found that around a fifth of active and direct participants in the political space have to regularly trade sexual favours for an appointment. An alarming 32% of political activists in the country reported that they always or often experience rape or sexual harassment due to their political involvement.
Since the 2019 elections, there have been 9 cases of violence against politically exposed women or women affiliated with politicians with a female political leader in Kaduna being killed by assailants in November 2022.
The importance of engaging Nigerian women with politics
While quotas represent a significant willingness and acknowledgement of the need for more women in politics, they are not enough to uphold democratic representation if mechanisms and structures are not in place to support women financially, culturally and in terms of security. These are the barriers we must cross to increase women’s participation in politics.
Fortunately, the benefits of doing so are more than worth it. The three key issues influencing the elections this week are economic instability, insecurity and violence, and corruption. All three have been seen to reduce when women are more involved in politics. Not only do we gain a fuller, more complete vision of the needs and priorities of citizens when more women are involved in politics, but democracy, peace-building, and the economy all thrive.
It is evident that the elections in Nigeria this week won’t be transformative in terms of women’s representation, but they can be transformative in terms of feminist leadership and policies. The individuals voted in across the various political levels all hold the power and ability to create an environment that not only encourages women to enter politics but one in which it is safe to do so. They can support gender bills and progressive legislation and they can listen to, engage with and amplify the boundless advocates across Nigeria championing women’s rights.
