Communique for 2020 WIMBIZ Women in Politics (WIMPol) Webinar

Tuesday, July 21, 2020 / 09:40 AM/WIMBIZ /Header Image Credit: WIMBIZ

Communique Issued by Women in ManagementBusiness and Public Service (WIMBIZ) Advocating for the Increased Representationof Women in Elective and Appointive Positions in the Political Sphere at theEnd of the Annual Women in Politics (WIMPOL) Webinar Held on Thursday, July 9,2020.

Womenin Management, Business, and Public Service (WIMBIZ) held its Annual Women inPolitics (WIMPol) Webinar, on Thursday, July 9, 2020 themed "TheNigerian Constitution and Elections: A Right to Win", with over 300participants in attendance.

TheWomen in Politics (WIMPol) aims at increasing the representation of women inpublic office through Influence and Advocacy, with the objective of growingfemale representation from 4% to 30%, in line with the 1995 Beijing Declarationand Platform for Action.

Thesession, which was hosted virtually, explored conversations around mitigatingthe paucity of women in the Nigerian political sphere, the current provisionsof the Nigerian Constitution on gender diversity in politics, the electoral actand the urgent need for increased representation of women in elective & appointivepositions of power.

Theconstitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has entrenched laws andguidelines on female participation in politics. However, implementing theselaws & guidelines have been met with persistent resistance over the years.

Outlined Beloware Critical Observations Stifling the Participation of Women in the Nigerian PoliticalSphere.

There is a perceptioncreated by an unspoken bias against women, that politics is better suited tomen.
Certain culturalpractices and norms unintentionally create prejudices against female leadershipand this creates the reality of the electoral value chain being inclinedtowards men.
Electoralviolence, funding & unfavorable institutional structures stifle the participationand chances of women winning elections in Nigeria.
Specificconstitutional amendments need to be implemented to ensure political equalitybetween men and women. Similarly, specific constitutional laws on femaleparticipation within political parties which already exist, have not beenenforced.
Creatingrewards & penalties for compliance or non-compliance with the documentedinclusion targets by political parties is critical to achieving the objectiveof getting more women into the political sphere.
Intentionallyintroducing gender inclusion targets across all tiers of Government will be asignificant step in progressing the goal of increased female participation inpolitics.
Education,exposure and a firm understanding of fundamental human rights are tools ofadvocacy that can dismantle the stereotypes that promotes gender inequality.

Affirmative Actionsto Increase Female Participation in the Political Sphere.

The Nigerian constitution currently has no referenceto quota or mention on gender parity unlike constitutions like Kenya where itspecifically states in Article 27 (8) "that no more than two-thirds of themembers of elective or appointive bodies are of the same gender".

Additionally, Article 81 of the Kenyan Constitution furtherreiterates that the same rule should be applied to public institutions. Thisshows a deliberate attempt by the law of the country to close the gender gapand historical exclusion of women from leadership in politics. The followingproposed recommendations reflects intentionality and will go a long way inmitigating the paucity of women in politics in Nigeria.

A law that mandatesgender inclusion targets across all tiers of Government and all spheres ofpolitical representation should be developed and passed.
Seats should bereserved for women in the Senate and House of Representatives.
The current presidentialsystem of government should be reviewed and a parliamentary system ofgovernance considered for adoption.
Education and abasic understanding of fundamental human rights should be prioritized for womenin underserved communities.
An electoraloffence(s) commission should be created and empowered to bring perpetrators ofelectoral violence specifically against women, people who misappropriate fundsand use the institution of state to manipulate processes to fuel their personalinterests.

WIMBIZis a non-profit organization that has, over the last 18 years, implementedprograms that inspire, empower, and advocate for more excellent representationof women in leadership positions in the public and private sector. WIMBIZ has acontributory associate pool of over 750 accomplished women in management,business, and public service and over 9,700 women in its database. Since itsinception, we collaborate with credible domestic and internationalorganizations to deliver programs that have influenced more than 107,465 women.

TheWomen in Politics (WIMPol) Webinar was chaired by Kemi Ogunyemi, CEO, AlfoHealthcare Initiative and moderated by Hon. Nnena Ukeje, Member, House ofRepresentatives (2007-2019); with panelists - Sen. Binta M. Garba, Senator, AdamawaNorth Senatorial District (2015-2019); Ahmed Raji SAN, Founder/Principal, AhmedRaji & Co.; Prof. Ayo Atsenuwa, Dean and Professor of Law, University ofLagos and Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director, Policy and Legal AdvocacyCentre.