Group Prepares Young Women For Political Participation

As part of its preparations for the 2023 general elections, a group, Young Ladies in Politics (YLP), has kicked off the education of young Nigerian women on political issues to enable them play active roles in the coming polls.

The director-general of YLP, Loveth Izekor, told journalists in Abuja yesterday that the group was a platform for encouraging young ladies to actively participate in the political process for the overall development of Nigeria. Izekor said part of the mandate of YLP was to ensure that the leadership of public institutions and parliaments reflects the populations they serve – including their gender composition.

She stressed that such inclusiveness would contribute to the fairness and responsiveness of these institutions.

Izekor said, “Achieving gender equality in politics requires more than women and men having an equal share of parliamentary seats and ministerial positions amongst other positions in government which people feel are meant for only the male. It requires that women and men of all backgrounds have equal access to such positions and can subsequently participate in decision-making on an equal basis.”

She explained that, “Young Ladies In Politics is a committed and well-structured organisation established with the sole aim of contributing to the growth of democracy in Nigeria. The group also seeks to maintain, preserve the integrity, unity and promote the equality and rights of the female gender in the society. “Achieving this entails putting in place inclusive work environments, facilitating equal access to leadership roles, for example chairs of parliaments and parliamentary committees, and removing socio-economic barriers to political participation through gender-mainstreaming and targeted public policies.

These and many more are what we seek to achieve” she said. According to Izekor, YLP has been widely embraced by women across the country, having spread to the 36 states of the federation in the last six years. “The organisation is well structured and we already have followers in large numbers from the 36 states of the federation, including the federal capital territory, Abuja