Activist highlights Women’s Political Setbacks

A Woman activist in Port Harcourt has said that despite the colossal efforts being made by women to pull themselves out of the shadows, the gender imbalance in politics still persists.

Dr  Finomo Julia Awajiusuk made this assertion in a paper she delivered during a gathering of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists in Port Harcourt recently.

Dr Julia who disclosed that women, unlike their male counterparts, face difficulties in the political domain said for an effective solution to be proffered to what she described as an age –long gender imbalance in politics, the need for diagnosis of its root causes was pertinent, as only an  appropriate diagnosis could lead to appropriate prescription which she said would ultimately result in the desire effect “cure”.

She highlights most of the factors bedevilling the political  growth of women to include cultural and religious inhibition, which tend to portray women as inferior to men or as best suited for domestic engagements.

Another factor of much concern is their biological roles /experiences, such as child bearing, menstruating and the challenge of running the home which take tolls on the careers and political aspirations of women.

Dr. Julia said the psychological effect of playing menial roles has culminated into subservient spirit which has possessed the women, thus when venturing into politics, she said, “the woman does so not with the aspiration of vying for elective positions, but with the hope of being used in the logistics such as cooking.

The issue of dual nativity, the activist pointed out, has in no small measure reduced the woman to the status of a “bat” as a woman marries out of her ethnic group, she is deprived of political position both in her natal and matrimonial homes.

She further stated that the demands of politics such as late night meetings, extensive and regular travelling and back-stabbing all work against the woman who want to venture into politics, worsened by the perceived and received interpretation that women are not master of themselves but  owned by men. Apart from the lack of fund and support from the family members, growing violence in politics poses a serious concern as women candidates  are not only brutalised by people perceived as political thugs but are also frustrated out of the primaries by the perceived powerful clique holding the Nigerian political space hostage, she said.

While she views the stigmatisation of  women in politics (the way wards) as a major deterrent , especially the married, Dr. Julia also blames women for being liable for their own subjugation. According to her, the women folk hardly support themselves in their bid for political office. She cites the unfortunate and embarrassing case of Mama Sarah Jubril as a case in point.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi