Thank you for your interesting question about challenges and barriers encountered by Nigerian women in politics. The exclusion of women from political processes in Nigeria can be traced back to the colonial time, when women were forced to give up many of their political rights. As a result of colonization, the resurgence of women’s movements demanding greater political participation in Nigeria took place later than in other countries. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), women living in Northern Nigeria received suffrage as late as 1978. It should also be mentioned that Nigeria has not created a comprehensive legislative framework securing quotas for women in political parties and national elections. The International IDEA lists Nigeria as one of the countries that in 2003 was still debating on the use and implementation of quotas. [ The Implementation of Quotas: African Experiences. page 74.]

In addition to the above-mentioned factors, our expert, Afia Zakia, Senior Program Manager at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), lists the following barriers impeding women’s political participation in Nigeria:

• Impact of money politics – the cost of engaging in electoral politics remains too high and leads to the exclusion of most women from the election processes. It is important to note that many women do not have access to their own funds, and they depend on their partners or relatives for raising money to participate in elections.
• Marginalization of women in political parties. For example, women are marginalized while being promoted to leadership positions within their parties, being nominated by a party, etc. According to a study conducted by the International IDEA, political party leaders refuse to take female aspirants seriously and labeled them as cultural deviants. [ Nigeria: Country Reports Based on Research and Dialogue with Political Parties. page. 9]
• Patriarchal attitudes – although not directly in immediate families all the time, but certainly among men in political parties.
• Lack of a substantive women’s movement and cohesiveness among women’s groups that claim supporting women’s political participation.
• Failure to enforce existing legal norms and international agreements. For instance, the domestication of CEDAW has failed in Nigeria and constitutional mandates have been ignored.
• Lack of strong mandate and real power of the Ministry of Women Affairs.
• Lack of meaningful support from donors.

Below are some resources from the iKNOW Politics library and other external sources that we would like to suggest for further reference. We hope this response is useful to you.

Sincerely,

iKNOW Politics Staff

From the iKNOW Politics Library

Sharia Implementation in Nigeria: The Journey So Far. Publisher: BAOBAB. 2003. http://www.iknowpolitics.org/en/node/3251

Nigeria: Country Reports Based on Research and Dialogue with Political Parties. Publisher: International IDEA and Centre for Democracy, Development and Global Rights. 2006. http://www.iknowpolitics.org/en/node/164

The Implementation of Quotas: African Experiences. Publisher: International IDEA. 2005. http://iknowpolitics.org/en/node/141

External Resources:

Nigeria: Combined 4th and 5th CEDAW reports, 30th session. 2004. http://www.awlproject.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Resource_Documents/CEDAW_Nigeria_report_2003.pdf

Nigeria Report on the Implementation of Beijing Plan of Action and Commonwealth Plan of Action. Publisher: The Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs. 2004. http://www.thecommonwealth.org/shared_asp_files/uploadedfiles/911B9951-F8D0-41C5-8B26-0E717C6CD34B_Nigeria.pdf

Democracy in Nigeria: Continuing Dialogue(s) for Nation-building. Publisher: International IDEA. 2003. http://idea.int/publications/democracy_in_nigeria/index.cfm

Why Nigerian Women Fail in Elections. 2007. Publisher: AWL Project. www.awlproject.org/fileadmin/user_upload/News_Articles/30Spet07_WhyNigerianWomenFailinElections_ThisDay.doc

Cultural Barriers to Women’s Leadership: A Worldwide Comparison. Authors: Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart. Publisher: IPSA. 2000. http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/beijing12/ipsa2000culture.pdf

Issues in Women’s Political Participation in Nigeria. Publisher: Women Advocates Research & Documentation Center. 2003. www.boellnigeria.org/documents/Gender%20Audit%202003%20Elections.pdf

Women's Suffrage. Publisher: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/suffrage.htm

Women in Nigeria by Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili. Pubsliher: Nigeria Times. November, 2005. http://nigeriantimes.blogspot.com/2005/11/dr-dora-nkem-akunyili-and-women-in.html