The Institute for Media and Society, IMS, has decried the low number of women elected into the 9th National Assembly.
In a message marking the International Women’s Day on Thursday, the institute lamented the lack of progress in the political sphere as shown by the number of women who made it into the two chambers of the federal legislature.
March 8 every year is celebrated as International Women’s Day.
This theme for this year is “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change.”
A statement signed by the Executive Director of the institute, Dr Akin Akingbulu, noted that any development agenda without the participation of women was nothing but a charade.
He noted that the theme of this year’s celebration was very apt, “as we seek to deepen the democratic process in Nigeria.”
Akingbulu said the day provided an opportunity to bring to the front burner some of the challenges that women still contend with across the world.
He said: “As young girls, they are subjected to harmful traditional practices, such as female genital cutting, early marriage without their consent, denial of modern formal education and subjection to domestic and street labour. As adults, many suffer perpetually under the yoke of domestic violence, while large numbers are trafficked within and across national borders for hazardous labour and sexual exploitation.”
The Executive Director, IMS, posited that women were expected to be active participants in political processes by contributing as voters, candidates, activists and office- holders, but lamented that “women continue to be denied appropriate space to play their roles in these processes.”
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He said the situation was compounded by the poor and declining visibility provided for them in media coverage of the electoral and broader governance processes.
The IMS boss said further: “We note with strong concern that the recently conducted elections into the National Assembly has produced very few women into the two chambers of the federal legislature. This implies that the trend from 1999 has not changed. This is not good for our democracy.
“We live in a world that has recognised that both men and women have complementary roles to play in national development. This means that without the participation of women, any development agenda remains a charade.
“We call on the government of Nigerian to actualize gender balance in the governance spheres and to domesticate international instruments that enhance the participation of women in governance.
“We urge the National Assembly to enact laws that appropriately position women as active participants in today’s governance arena.”
Akingbulu wished all women contestants today’s, March 9, Governorship and States House of Assembly elections well and urge citizens “to remember that a truly democratic Nigeria can only be erected with the blocks of inclusion.”
