Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
The Executive Director of the Women Development Initiative (WODI), Veronica Ogbole has said that the negative portrayal of women in politics and leadership threatens democracy and justice in the country.
According to her, the roles assigned to women and their contributions to society are however not valued.
Veronica, raised the alarm, yesterday (Monday), at a two-day media training for political reporters held in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
The training is an initiative of Women Radio 91.7 in partnership with UN Women and support from the Government of Canada.
Ogbole, at the training session themed: “Positive Portrayals of Women in Politics and Leadership,” disclosed women’s political involvement since 2015 was very low, despite decades of struggles for gender equity and women’s empowerment.
She noted that women recorded an all-time low participation with only 14 women in the Federal House of Representatives and eight in the Senate.
“The National Gender policy and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) gender policy draft did not translate to an increase in the number of women elected or appointed into leadership positions,” she said.
Besides, she added that this was despite the fact that women make up the majority of the global population.
She lamented that women remain under-represented in politics and leadership positions of all the sectors in the country.
According to her, political parties are one of the key mechanisms for women to advance their political aspirations for leadership at all levels,
“But the political parties in the country are not helping women achieve their leadership roles,” she said, stating that women are denied effective participation within the existing political parties.
No woman has ever held any key position in any political party in Nigeria
On the decline of women leadership, she said: “In 1999, only 12 females against 978 males were elected into the State Assemblies. Three females out of 109 Senators, 13 females in the House of Representatives as against 347 males. Women constituted only 11.9% of Ambassadorial appointments.
“There was a slight increase by 2003 from 39 females in the State Assembly as against 951 males.
“While female members in the House of Representatives rose to 21 against 339 males.”
She added that only 86 of the 833 persons were appointed into boards and parastatals.
Ogbole noted that the 2007 general elections led to a significant improvement, but its flaws led to continued threats to women holding political positions.
She lamented that female candidates however fared poorly with only 32 women elected to the National Assembly of 469 members.
“The only female, Senator Aisha Jummai Al –Hassan of Taraba State, that contested the Governorship election in Nigeria State had the election ended in controversy,” she noted, stating that 18 women out of 360 in the House of Representatives.
She said that even the Senate was not spared, as only eight female senators of 109 are representing their people in the red halo chamber, representing only 7,34 percent.
Speaking on grassroots representations, she said that 31 females out of 325 Local Government Chairmen represent their people in the 774 Councils.
Currently, she added that there are only 368 females out of 2, 075 councilors with two female deputy Governors out of the 36 Governors in the federation.
End.
