The Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) has held a media roundtable to boost awareness and advocacy among media professionals and National Assembly clerks about implementing Articles 9 and 26 of the Maputo Protocol.
At the event, WRAPA’s secretary general, Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi, said the aim was to deepen understanding of the African Union’s Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa and drive its domestication in Nigeria.
“Our first expectation is to increase knowledge of the Maputo Protocol and push for its implementation,” she told journalists.
Mahdi stressed the role of clerks and legislative committees in ensuring that legal commitments translate into action. “Laws need financing to be effective,” she noted, adding that it was not enough to pass legislation without budgetary support.
She highlighted Article 9, which focuses on women’s political participation, and Article 26, which addresses state obligations and financing. “Gender-responsive budgeting is crucial to realising the goals of the protocol,” she said.
According to Mahdi, the media, civil society, and legislative staff each have distinct but complementary roles in the process.
Clerks, she emphasised, serve as the “institutional memory” of the National Assembly, ensuring continuity in legislative advocacy and implementation.
Also, Aishatu Yunusa, a clerk from the House Committee on Women Affairs and Development, echoed this view.
“The committee has consistently worked to see the Maputo Declaration become law,” she said, noting ongoing efforts to ensure greater inclusion of women in politics.
She also clarified that the Maputo Protocol remains distinct from the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, and stressed that both legal frameworks must coexist to enhance women’s rights in Nigeria.
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