The chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, has advocated a Special Trust Fund to finance female politicians vying for elective positions at all levels.

Iwu said at the INEC /Political Parties Roundtable with the theme “Setting Gender on Nigeria’s Political Agenda” in Abuja that “a male dominated democracy is inconsistent with the concept and ideals of a representative democracy which is based on social justice.”

Represented by Abdullah Kaugama, INEC Secretary, said that more women participation in decision making positions within political parties would impact favourably on the quality of party in manifestoes, programmes and performance in governance.

Another option that can boost women participation in active politics, Iwu said is for political parties to adopt gender-twinning in the nomination of their flag bearers. According to him “this means that every male flag bear must be matched with a female running mate and vice versa.”

This, he explained would “leapfrog women’s political representation and help to place our demorcracy on a healthier pedestal.

Iwu was emphatic that “gender asymmetry in politics” existed as a fundamental anormaly in the context of a modern democracy, arguing that solution, to a large extent, was with the women being encouraged for active participation in politics and governance.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Josephine Anineh, in her speech called on political parties to create more avenues for increased participation of women in politics.

Anineh demanded that gender should be mainstreamed into the political party structure as that would lead to greater participation of women in decision making process.

“Visible strategic party positions should be zoned to women by creating a women constituency within all the political parties,” she said.

She said that political empowerment of women could better be achieved through the actualisation of gender equity, equality and balance in all aspects of national life.