Women Trust Fund Canvasses Closing Gender Gap In Politics

The new chief executive officer (CEO) of Women Trust Fund (WTF) Brenda Anugwom has said Nigeria must close the gender gaps in politics through 35 percent Affirmative Action. 

Brenda said the widening gap between men and women in politics will make the coming years more challenging for women if not addressed.

Speaking to Journalists in Abuja, she  noted a burning commitment to ensure women’s voices are heard and are accorded the opportunity to contribute their very best towards the development of Nigerian society.  

“My goal remains to have a society where in decision making both genders are well represented and their perspectives are considered in policy making, project implantation and other decisions that affect the lives of every man, woman, children and persons with disability. Generally, we must push to promote better policies that affect women and for policymakers to make gender-inclusive policies,” Brenda said. 

The advocate for women inclusion in politics said having closely followed the trajectory of women participation in various sectors in Nigeria, the political terrain has been inconsistent with the effort to ensure women participation in mainstream politics. 

“From my last check, the current administration has appointed eight women to various ministerial positions. While this is a slight increase from the seven, we had during the last administration, it’s still not up to 35% of the total of 47 ministers we currently have in the country. 

“So, my impression so far with the role of women under this administration is that there is a lot of work to be done in a bid to fulfill Nigeria’s gender policy which was in fact backed by a Federal High Court judgment last year. The administration is about 7 months old, so there is a huge opportunity to retrace its steps towards deliberately incorporating Nigerian women with competence and capacity into the cabinet.

“While we understand the importance of stakeholder advocacy with critical government offices in a cause, we are trying to achieve this as we maintain a non-partisan stand in the process. The idea is to build a relationship that will be beneficial to not just Nigerian women but the youth, and Persons With Disability. 

“This campaign is not just for the Nigerian Women Trust Fund but for all Nigerian women across the globe. The advocacy to support gender equality in different parts of the world especially in Nigeria is as old as Nigeria’s political history itself. We have consistently deployed strategies, document lessons learnt and further review our plans especially in line with the political climate of the time.

“We will continue to empower Nigerian women with relevant political, economic and social capacities that prepares them for leadership positions. The idea is to consistently increase productivity and capabilities to support their leadership aspirations. Countries with higher percentages of women in parliament tend to drive better policies. It is also imperative to invest in gender education, social behavioral change towards women and girls. All this will have to be part of a long-term comprehensive and sustained effort with measurable results over time,” Brenda said adding that during the litigation process, a lot of women groups and Civil Society Organisations have not just shown interest but have joined the advocacy to ensure Nigerian women get their rightful place in the decision-making process. 

“Of course, the landmark victory at the Federal High Court last year also brought the issue to the front burner of national discourse. Thus, women groups, CSOs, and even associations of women journalists have joined the campaign to ensure implementation of the gender policy as backed by law and a court judgment. There is also need to reiterate that, this cause is not just for women and girls but for all Nigerians including young people and People with Disability. This is about human rights and absolute supremacy of rule of law and is the time to follow up and ensure the court judgment is implemented to the latter,” she added.