Nigeria: Women - How Ready Are They for Governance?

14 December 2006
opinion

Lagos — A crucial issue at play in the forthcoming election is the need to consciously revisit gender equality to see how far women in politics have fared and to take a look at barriers facing credible female political contestants in the next elections.

Since the inception of the democratic governance in Nigeria, the political landscape has consistently favoured a particular gender. Worried by this ugly cycle, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in close partnership with the United Nations Development Fund For Women (UNIFEM) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) organized a 3-day stakeholders conference, which drew participants from a cross section of society. The aim of the conference was to identify the way forward for women in politics. Participants at the conference carefully beamed the search light on the patriarchal system of governance in the country since independence and in the end came up with some concrete resolutions targeted at creating a positive change in favour of women. At the end of the seminar, questions such as how prepared are the men folk to field women candidates for key elective posts in 2007? And where they do allow, at least in exercise of their fundamental rights, to what extent are the men folk prepared to entrust women with power? At the local government, state or presidency level?

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