Tinubu praises women on IWD, but gender barriers persist in politics

• President Tinubu praised Nigerian women connected International Women’s Day, but systemic barriers proceed to hinder their governmental practice and participation
• The 35% affirmative enactment argumentation for women remains unfulfilled, with Nigeria ranking among the lowest globally successful pistillate parliamentary representation
• The suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has sparked protests, highlighting the challenges women look successful politics

On March 8, 2025, arsenic the satellite commemorated International Women's Day (IWD), President Bola Tinubu lauded Nigerian women for their resilience and indispensable contributions.

He referred to them arsenic the "bedrock of our nation" and pledged to dismantle obstacles hindering their progress.

Nigeria has faced planetary scrutiny aft Senator Natasha's spat with Senate President Godswil Akpabio. Image: FB/Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Getty Image
Source: Getty Images

However, beyond these commendations lies a stark reality: Nigerian women proceed to grapple with systemic challenges successful governmental practice and participation.

Unfulfilled committedness of 35% affirmative action

In 2006, Nigeria adopted the National Gender Policy (NGP), which advocated for 35% affirmative enactment to guarantee women's equitable practice successful elective and appointive positions.

Despite this policy, women's information successful governance remains dismally low. As of caller statistics, Nigeria ranks 178 retired of 182 countries concerning pistillate practice successful nationalist parliaments.

This glaring disparity underscores the nation's nonaccomplishment to instrumentality its sex argumentation effectively.

The judiciary has made attempts to rectify this imbalance. In April 2022, a Federal High Court successful Abuja ordered the Nigerian authorities to enforce the NGP by allocating 35% of nationalist work appointments to women.

Yet, 3 years post-judgment, determination has been minimal progress, prompting women's groups to telephone connected President Tinubu's medication to honour this mandate.

Ordeal of Women successful Government

The caller suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan further highlights the systemic challenges women look successful Nigerian politics.

Senator Natasha has granted a bid of combative interviews to planetary media connected her alleged intersexual harassment by the Senate President. Image: FB/Natasha Akpoti
Source: Facebook

After accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of intersexual harassment—a assertion helium denies—Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months connected grounds unrelated to her allegations.

The Senate's morals committee cited her for "unruly behaviour," including not sitting successful her assigned spot and making unauthorised comments.

This incidental has sparked outrage among women's rights groups, who presumption the suspension arsenic a punitive effect to her allegations and a broader effort to soundlessness women's voices successful governance.

Protests nether the banner "We are each Natasha" person erupted, emphasising solidarity against the perceived victimisation of women who situation to situation the presumption quo.

"If request be, arsenic a effect of reacting to the Senate orders, the maximum fig of times should person been 14 days if that was the situation. We already cognize that it's not successful each situations that you needfully request to person wielded that limb of that instrumentality with respect to her not wanting to alteration seats and however she spoke. "You see, the surrounding circumstances of Senator Natasha was a wide grounds for women to person decided that our dependable needs to beryllium heard," this was the presumption of Barr. Juliet Isi Ikhayere, a House of Representatives campaigner successful the 2023 elections.

Similarly, women successful authorities often look immense challenges, including governmental instability and abrupt suspensions, arsenic seen successful the lawsuit of Rivers State Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu.

Despite her position, she was caught successful the crossfire of a broader crisis, highlighting however pistillate leaders can go collateral harm successful powerfulness struggles beyond their control.

Empty Rhetoric vs. Tangible Action

While President Tinubu's IWD connection celebrated women's contributions and promised to "dismantle obstacles" and "ensure equitable opportunities," the deficiency of factual actions tells a antithetic story.

The persistent underrepresentation of women successful governmental offices and the government's inertia successful implementing affirmative enactment policies suggest a spread betwixt rhetoric and reality.

Moreover, the administration's committedness to sex equality is further questioned erstwhile incidents similar Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan's suspension hap without important organization enactment for the aggrieved.

Such actions not lone deter women from participating successful authorities but besides perpetuate a civilization wherever their grievances are trivialised.

Barr. Ikhayere blamed the enactment of Nigeria arsenic a basal origin of women's dwindling numbers successful governance, stating that "what we person is that we person leaders who are not coming retired to place the values of society, which successful itself changes the caput and the clime and the ambiance of radical to statesman to respect women and commencement to enactment feet connected the crushed that determination should beryllium an adjacent sex equilibrium erstwhile it comes to recruitment; erstwhile it comes to addressing issues; erstwhile it comes to processes; determination should beryllium a balance.

"And this is not conscionable successful favour of women but successful favour of some gender, but they should beryllium equal; successful pari passu, they should enactment together.”

The Way Forward

For Nigeria to genuinely harness the imaginable of its women, the authorities indispensable determination beyond symbolic gestures and instrumentality actionable policies:

1. Enforce Affirmative Action: The 35% affirmative enactment argumentation should beryllium rigorously implemented crossed each levels of government. This includes elective and appointive positions, ensuring women person a important dependable successful decision-making processes.
2. Protect Whistleblowers: Establish robust mechanisms to support individuals, particularly women, who travel guardant with misconduct allegations. This volition foster a safer situation for addressing grievances without fearfulness of retaliation.
3. Promote Political Inclusivity: Political parties should beryllium mandated to follow interior policies that promote and enactment pistillate candidates, addressing systemic barriers that hinder women's governmental participation.
4. Public Awareness Campaigns: Initiate nationwide campaigns to situation and alteration societal norms that perpetuate sex discrimination, emphasising the value of women's information successful governance for nationalist development.

International Women's Day serves arsenic a reminder of the advancement made and the remaining challenges. While commendations are essential, they indispensable beryllium accompanied by decisive actions that construe into measurable improvements successful women's lives.

President Tinubu's medication has the accidental to modulation from laudatory messages to implementing policies that guarantee Nigerian women are not conscionable celebrated annually but are empowered daily.

The nation's advancement hinges connected recognising and actualising the imaginable of each its citizens, irrespective of gender.

NGO launches task to empower women

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a non-profit enactment successful Abuja, the Ark and Rainbow Development Foundation (ARDF), had introduced the SHAPPE Project, an inaugural aimed astatine empowering women and younker successful peacebuilding and biology protection.

The project, titled Strengthening Her Aspirations for Peace-building and Protecting the Environment, is supported by the Rotary Club of Ithaca, New York, done the Rotary Peace International Service Grant.

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Source: Legit.ng