35 PER CENT QUOTA FOR WOMEN

35 PER CENT QUOTA FOR WOMEN

AFTER the 2011 elections, women in Nigeria seem to be more committed  to the full implementation of the 35 per cent Affirmative Action of the Beijing Conference in China as various women groups in the country are reportedly lobbying President Goodluck Jonathan to concede 15 ministerial posts and 35 per cent of other federal appointments to women.


ACCORDING to media reports, the women, acting under the aegis of Gender Affirmative Action and the 100 Group Platforms, said that their demand was based on the president’s pre-election campaign promises in which he had unequivocally declared that he would give women 35 per cent of all
appointments if re-elected, following the massive support he enjoyed during the campaign. According to the lobbyists, Nigerian women, who form the bulk of voters, translated their large turnouts into massive votes for President Jonathan during the elections and they feel it is now time for him to honour his promise of 35 per cent appointments to women as a man of his word. The women are understandably heightening their intensity of the lobby against the backdrop of the recent retreat by President Jonathan with PDP leadership at the Obudu cattle ranch over zoning of offices and the new federal cabinet.

THE women are requesting that a minimum of 15 ministerial appointments should be given to them and that the list of advisory personnel should reflect at least 35 per cent for women. The women had also urged the president and the National Executive Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to direct that all nominations from states and sectors for every position have one women among every three nominees as a clear strategy for achieving the affirmative action.

THERE is doubt that the position and request of the women is legitimate, and are predicated on logical premises especially about the numerical strength of women in politics and the campaign promises of the president-elect. As a matter of fact, if the aphorism that politics is a number of game is relied on, then meeting these demands from women would not have done much in the direction of adequate representation for women even if it meets the standards of Affirmative Action a la Beijing Conference.

THE problems confronting women in Nigerian politics are sadly, however, beyond the standards of Affirmative Action. It begins with the prejudices and stereotypes with which women who play active roles in politics face and the dilemma of choosing between political prominence and stable homes. In the ensuing struggle for supremacy, many women limit their roles to the level of being voters, whereas for adequate representation and constructive engagement, women should actually be more than voters. Very few of them can actually cope with the demands of unscheduled nocturnal political meetings as a means of achieving political visibility.

AT a recent forum organised for women in politics, a participant who had only recently been elected into the Lagos State House of Assembly observed that she faced great challenges with women during her campaign, as many women in her constituency bluntly refused to be charmed by the idea of being represented by a woman. Even organised women bodies demurred from encouraging women politicians, as they seek political posts during the election.
HER experience seems to tally with that of Mrs Sarah Jibril whose performance during the presidential primary in the PDP was dismal. It would, therefore, seem that women need to build a stronger organic solidarity among themselves to be able to play the joker of their formidable number to the hilt in Nigeria’s political terrain.

WHILE we endorse the position of the women to be given prominence in the next political dispensation, we wish to sound a note of warning that the attainment of the 35 per cent quota for women, and the appointment of 15 women ministers may not necessarily guarantee the interest of women. What will guarantee the interest of women is for them to articulate what their interests are, and use their formidable number to pursue these interests with a single mind like they do in their careers where many have excelled. They should also build solidarity amongst themselves so that in the near future, Nigeria may parade women president like Sierra Leone, Germany, Chile and other countries where  a woman occupies the highest office.

NIGERIAN women, we believe, have what it takes to achieve this and we think that it is an option that is a lot better than lobbying the men desperately to be given what ought to be theirs naturally.

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