Women In Politics: Nigeria Ranks 181 Out of 193 Countries

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom has said that Nigeria currently ranked 181 out of 193 countries polled in terms women’s participation in politics.
Country Director, WILPF Nigeria, Dr Joy Onyesoh, said this yesterday in Abuja.
Onnyesoh was speaking during the National Conference on Women’s Participation in Nigeria: Post 2019 General Elections, in a presentation on “Incidences of Violence against Women during the 2019 Elections.
She said Nigeria’s low ranking in women’s political participation was as a result of a myriad of challenges such as violence, intimidation, sexual assault and lack of internal party democracy.
“Discrimination against women linked to social, legal, cultural and economic factors, violent nature of politics in Nigeria among others, are hindrances to women’s participation in politics.
“There are trails of violence against women in the 2019 elections right from the party primaries to campaigns; it is so bad that some women were raped during the elections.
“We need a sector-wide electoral violence prevention strategy to curb this menace,” she said.
Onyesoh said that women, in particular, should play key roles in EVP activities, including the development of early warning and response systems, given their particular vulnerability to gender-based violence.
This, she said would go a long way in curbing violence against them, especially during elections.
Ms Comfort Lamptey, UN Women representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, said 23 years after the establishment of 30 per cent quota for women’s political representation, the average was still low.