Skip to content

More Women Needed in Nigerian Politics

  • by
Image via Blacklooks.org

By Lakhvir Kaur 

I recently read an article about how it has been twelve years, since Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria has become democratic. However, women are still considered secondary in male dominated politics.  The country has made some progress in increasing the number of women in politics, but change is relatively gradual. The National Center for Women Development showed that there were 9 female senators out of 109, compared to 4 in 2003. Also, there were 26 female members in the House of Representatives out of 360, compared to 23 in 2003. Between 2006 and 2009, 2 women were appointed to the Supreme Court bench, while female Deputy Governors increased from 2 in 2003 to 6 in 2007.This data shows that while change is possible it is slow and not enough to make a significant difference.

According to a writer, who was questioning why a woman would bother running, “Nigeria is a male-dominated, chauvinistic country stifled by culture, tradition and social rankings that make the Indian caste system look feeble.” Coming from Indian background, I totally understand the seriousness of this statement. I have witnessed the poor condition of lower caste where they are not paid according to their labor and are compelled to work under high caste. This not only deprives them from good education but also leads to poor finances. Not to mention they don’t have much of a voice in what goes on in their own country, much like the women of Nigeria.

Just as in many other countries, including the U.S., gender inequality still exists in Nigeria. There are things that need to change to improve the lives of women and having a say in their politics is a good place to start.

Despite the fact that women make the majority of the population and the majority of voters, women’s roles in politics are still really small. The important thing to notice here is if women can’t participate in politics then who will bring change in the lives of women?