The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon.Tajudeen Abbas, has said the 10th House would do everything within its powers to ensure women get proper representation in politics and governance.
Abbas noted that achieving improvement in women’s participation in governance should be seen as an important aspect of sustainable national development.
He spoke in Abuja yesterday while addressing participants at the International Conference on Women in Governance, organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).
Abbas, while lamenting the slow pace of gender mainstreaming in politics and governance, cautioned that not speeding things up to catch up with the rest of the world would mean that Nigeria stands the risk of missing out on the all-important aspect of development.
On the Gender Bills that failed during the 9th Assembly, the Speaker said they would be reintroduced in the current 10th House.
He said: “Let me assure Nigerians, and particularly women, that the 10th House of Representatives will do everything possible within the legislative powers of the House to ensure women’s proper representation.
“I understand the frustration of women following the rejection of the Gender Bill in the 9th House of Representatives. That bill failed to pass because of the challenges of finding modalities for its success. But the 10th House will be revisiting the Bill as part of our Legislative Agenda, and we believe that working together with the women and stakeholders, we should be able to have a law that will benefit the women and all Nigerians and improve governance in Nigeria.
“With barely six years and just one more general election cycle before 2030 (when the SDGs should have been attained), Nigeria stands the risk of missing out on this all-important aspect of development.
“Nigeria’s lagging progress in political inclusion for women is not comforting. While many countries around the world have made significant strides in this area, Nigeria seems to be falling behind. It is even more embarrassing considering that other African societies, facing similar challenges and traditional practices, have managed to move ahead.
“Gender equality, especially the political inclusion of women, is a critical issue worldwide, and Nigeria is no exception. Despite progress made in recent years, very significant gender disparities persist in various aspects of our society. Women and girls still face challenges in accessing education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and political representation.
“Discriminatory cultural norms and practices, limited access to resources and decision-making processes, as well as violence against women, contribute to these inequalities.”
He said the United Nations recognised the need to address these problems when it introduced the Millennium Development Goals, which was later changed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls as fundamental aspects of sustainable development.
“While we have made commitments towards achieving the SDGs through various national policies and programmes, women and girls in Nigeria continue to face significant barriers to participating in decision-making processes across various sectors, including politics and the economy. This is in spite of their substantial numerical strength in the general population and as voters,” he said.
Abbas also lamented the low level of support given to women by the electorate during elections, pointing out that having 3.91 percent of 469 seats in the National Assembly occupied by women was nothing short of abysmal.
The Speaker called on the male gender to do more within their spheres of influence to enhance women’s participation in politics and governance, saying that since it is men who usually shut the doors, they should make efforts at opening them.
