Politics: Still hard for women at the top

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Johnbosco Agbakwuru
The lot of Nigerian women in the workplace has not always been
pleasant. It is even more brutish in the political arena. Gender
activists and other stakeholders gathered in Abuja recently to ponder
their lot.
MRs. Rifkatu Samson Dannahn the only female member of the Bauchi State
House of Assembly, suspended for about one year from the House by her
male colleagues, was the cynosure of many eyes at the Women in
Parliament summit in Abuja penultimate week.
Her circumstances were reflective of what many at the summit bewailed
as the discrimination that has been the lot of many women in the
political arena.
Dannahn was suspended from the Bauchi State House of Assembly after
she protested that her male colleagues reached an agreement to
transfer the headquarters of the Tafawa Balewa Local council from the
constitutionally stipulated location to another part of the local
government at a secret meeting.
Even more vexatious is that Mrs. Dannahn is the one representing
Tafawa Balewa and her protest that her head was shaved in her absence
earned her suspension. A court ruling voiding the suspension has been
waived away by the male-dominated Bauchi House. Mrs. Dannahn's woes
areonly a tip of the iceberg in the narratives of women in politics.
Arguably, the most brutal assault on the female gender is the case of
Mrs. Patricia Etteh who was chased out as speaker of the House of
Representatives by a male dominated coalition garbed in the shape of
an anti-corruption group in the House in 2007.
Integrity group
Etteh spent just about six months before the coalition with the name
Integrity Group led by Hon. Farouk Lawan forged unity with
conservative groups in the House to force her out onthe allegation of
initiating a contract which the Integrity Group led the public to
believe had been awarded at a scandalous amount. Remarkably onlymonths
after Etteh resigned, the contract was awarded at a higher figure!
After Etteh, a plan pushed by her party to have another woman occupy
the office of speaker was spurned, albeit ina less controversial
manner after majority of the House members mobilized in favour of the
obviously more likeable candidate, Aminu Tambuwal.
Besides gender inequality, domestic violence was another matter that
engaged the attention of many of the participants at the two-day
summit.
Female assault: The seeming assault against the female gender is also
reflected at the entry rate of women inthe legislature.
According to a 2012 World Bank report on the percentage of women in
parliament, the proportion of Nigerian women in parliament stands at 7
per cent; well below many other African countries such as Angola 34per
cent, Malawi 22per cent, Eritrea 22per cent, Cape Verde 21per cent.
All of Nigeria's neighbours even fare better. Benin is 8per cent, Chad
15per cent, Cameroun 14per cent and Niger 13per cent.
The meeting which was the 3rd National Women in Parliament Summit,
organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Women in
Parliament in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs
and Social Development and Women Advocates Research and Documentation
Centre, WARD-C.
The summit was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme's
UNDP's Democratic Governance for Development, DGD, Project, which has
been actively involved in building capacity of the country's
democratic institutions.
The summit was attended by stakeholders including Hon. Binta Maigari
Bello, Chair, Women in Parliament Committee, Hon Nkiruka Onyejeocha,
former Chair, WIP and now chair Aviation Committee in the House of
Representatives, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director, WARDC
and Senator Helen Esuene, Chair, Senate Committee on Women
Affairs.Women affairs
Others were, Hon Mulikat Adeola Majority Leader, House of Rep, Hon
Christiana Alaaga, Chair, Women Affairs Committee, Hajia Zainab Maina,
Minister for Women Affairs, Senator Joy Emodi, Special Adviser to the
Presidenton National Assembly Matters and Prof.Olabisi Aina, Dean
Faculty of Social Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile Ife.
Also present were Senator Nkechi Nwogu, Chair, Senate Committee on
Gas, Hon Saudatu Sanni, Special Asst to the President n National
Assembly Matters, Hauwa Shekarau, National President FIDA, Prof.
Patricia Donli, HonNkoyo Toyo, Dr. Lydia Umar, Hon Peace Nnaji, Hajia
Hafsat Mohammed, Chief Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi, Ayisa Osori, Amy
Oyekunle, Hon Uche Ekwunife, Hon Abike Dabiri Erewa, Hon Ayo Omidiran,
Oby Nwankwo and Hon Mohammed Alli.
The Deputy Speaker, House of Reps Hon Emeka Ihedioha, Chairman House
Committee on Education Hon Aminu Suleiman, Women in Parliament in some
African countries and women in States House of Assembly also attended
the summit.
Declaring the occasion open, Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said it was thoughtful of the organizers in
making sure gender issues remain on the frontburner of national
discourse.
Tambuwal noted that gender equality is guaranteed by the Nigerian
Constitution, which clearly states that no one must be discriminated
against on the basis of sex, ethnicity, religious or political
affiliation, adding that the unequal treatment of people on the basis
of their gender is therefore illegal.
Gender inequality
He said that there is growing evidence that gender inequality and
discrimination contribute to the increase in poverty and does not only
deny a large part of our citizens their rights to achieve their
potentials, but it also denies the nation the benefits of the
contribution of these people.He said, "The legislature, which
represents the interest of every Nigerian has a duty to defend anyone
against discrimination. We are determined to make sure that there are
no second class citizens in this country and we shall do everything
possible to protect the rights of women.
"It is a good thing that we many a committed women in the National
Assembly who have shown great concern not only to the plight of women
but to the plight of every Nigerian. Working with them has shown me
how much we need to have more women in politics and in the parliament
where they can help promote issues of gender.
The Project Director of United Nations Development Programme,
UNDP/DGD, Dr. Mourtada Deme in a paper on "Agenda Setting: Gender and
Nation Building" noted that in some parts of the country, women are
denied certainrights in the community and are subjected to all forms
of ill-treatment and in some cases excluded from holding certain
political positions.
Dr. Deme expressed optimism that thesummit would make contribution to
identifying some of the obstacles that block women from realizing
their considerable potential as key agents of economic development,
democratization and nation building inNigeria, and considering some of
the strategies that can help overcome those obstacles.
In the communiqué issued after the summit, they called for increased
mentoring of emerging female politicians by women within the political
space and the strengthening of law and policy regime for
increasingwomen's access to the political space through the passage of
relevant bills into laws.