Politics
UN, EU, Others Decry Violence Against Women In Politics
The United Nations and the European Union (EU) on Monday condemned gender-based violence against women during elections.
Beatrice Eyong, the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said violence against women in elections had been recognised as one of the key obstacles to advancing women’s participation in public life.
“Violent acts committed towards women are gender-based, and they tend to discourage women from being politically active. It is often used to intimidate women from practising their political rights in the first place”, she said.
Ms Eyong spoke during a post-elections conference in Abuja titled: “Where Do We Stand Regarding Electoral Gender-Based Violence?”
The Spotlight Initiative, UN Women and the EU, in partnership with the Canadian government, organised the event.
According to Ms Eyong, some women quit their positions after receiving death threats.
“Some women have also often withdrawn from public life, citing abuse, including online abuse and cyberbullying.
“Women candidates have faced various forms of targeted, gender-based violence,” she said.
Ms Eyong said the lack of data on violence against women in politics (VAWP) had negatively affected evidence-based advocacy for influencing changes in laws and policies and establishing comprehensive protection systems for women in politics.
Samuela Isopi, the Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said it was a well-known fact that women are underrepresented in Nigeria’s political environment.
“Unfortunately, the 2023 elections show a trend in the wrong direction,” she said.
Ms Isopi, represented by Esme Stuart, project manager, Human Rights and Gender Section, said concerted efforts must be made to break the barriers to meaningful participation of women in leadership positions.
According to her, the full and equitable participation of women in public life is essential to building and sustaining solid and vibrant democracies.
Djifa Ahado, Head of Cooperation, Government of Canada, corroborated that the 2023 elections saw another decrease in the overall number of women candidates, while the overall number of women elected to office at the national and state levels remained unchanged.
Ms Ahado, who said the country now ranks as one of the lowest in women’s representation in African Parliaments, said, “Together, we need to sustain the efforts and the advocacy to see a real change happening.”
Aishatu Abubakar, the AIG, Gender Advisor, Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, said during the 2023 general elections, the Nigerian police ensured that vulnerable groups like pregnant women, nursing mothers, people living with disabilities, and the ageing population were given priority to cast their votes.
“We are gender sensitive and gender-responsive. The Nigerian police are mindful of issues of gender-based violence in Nigeria,” she said.
Also speaking, the national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yabagi Sani, admitted that violence and stigmatisation contributed to low women participation in politics.
He said women are the biggest players in growing a stable society, hence, the need to encourage them.
Mr Ojukwu, who recently returned to the interim National Working Committee led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, noted that the party had 34 elected members in the House of Representatives, eight Senators, and 80 members at the state Houses of Assembly after the 2023 general elections.
“Now we lost all of them,” he said. “I don’t think we have as many as five members in the National Assembly.”
The former national officer of the LP talked to journalists in Abuja and said he chose to join the caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi-Usman because they are now the officially recognized leaders of the Party.
“I chose to work with the caretaker committee to help save the Labour Party, for the benefit of the party. I also want to use this chance to ask my colleagues at the national, state, and local government levels to come together and help rebuild our party.
“Another election is around the corner. We lost everything we have. They have left to other political parties. So I’ll reach out to all my friends in the other group to get together and work on making this party stronger again.
“The caretaker committee has formed a reconciliation committee. Let’s come together and talk so that we can restore the first opposition political party in Nigeria.”
Mr Ojukwu, who was part of the Julius Abure’s group, said there are no more factions in the LP.
He added, “There is a court ruling, and since it is valid, the right people are in the correct positions.”
He urged Barr Abure and others to drop the legal cases they have filed because they are not helping the party.
“Litigations are killing political parties”, he said. “They’ve seen many political parties disappear because of legal battles, and the Labor Party is losing support every day, which makes me feel sad.”
Mr Ojukwu said he did not think joining the Senator Nenadi-Usman’s NWC was a betrayal of the Abure group, describing himself as “the oxygen” of that faction.
“I’m with this group because of the verdict. But I never betrayed anybody. Rather, I was betrayed,” he added.
