Nigeria’s constitution is being revised, and this time the committee charged with the responsibility says getting women into political office is a top priority.
Women hold only a small minority of seats in Nigeria’s National Assembly. Three of the 109 senators and 15 of the 360 members of the House of Representatives are women.
Benjamin Kalu, chairman of the House Constitutional Review Committee, spoke this week in a dialogue with women-centered and pro-democracy groups ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday.
Kalu said the ongoing constitutional review would address the gender imbalance in Nigerian politics. He also said that the 10th National Assembly will revisit the gender bill that failed to make progress during the previous government.
In 2022, Nigerian women advocated for the passage of five bills to promote inclusivity and women’s representation in parliament, including one that would reserve 35% of political seats for women.
None of the bills had enough support to pass in the male-dominated parliament, sparking protests.
Cynthia Mbamalu, program director at YIAGA Africa, one of the groups advocating for the gender bill, said structural challenges, patriarchal norms and biased systems limit women who want to run for office.
“The numbers are still low,” she said. “We still have 11 or so state houses without women legislators, some of which haven’t had women legislators since 1999, when we [transitioned] democracy.as long as we don’t [a] The constitutional mandate opens up space for increased female representation and we will continue to fight against the male-dominated National Assembly. “
Although African women’s political participation has increased in recent years, female representation in Nigerian politics is one of the lowest in the world, at around 4%.
In last year’s general election, fewer women won office, despite an increase in the number of candidates from different parties.
Mbamaru said lawmakers needed to take the new constitutional review seriously to achieve fairness and democratic success.
“One of the indicators of our development and democratic existence is the inclusiveness of your government,” she said. “I want to believe that the 10th Parliament will act differently – and will put its name in history.”
The recommendations of the Constitutional Review Commission will be put to a vote in Parliament.
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