We’re Protesting Brazen Legalisation Of Gender Inequality –Ikoku

Founder, Emerge Women and Chair, Womanifesto Media & Communications, Mary Ikoku, spoke with TOYIN ADEBAYO, on the ongoing protest by women over the outcome of the recent Constitution Review exercise at the National Assembly. Excerpts:

 “We are protesting because the gender bills were rejected by the National Assembly. Don’t get me wrong. Generally speaking, I’ll say that the fact that out of the 68 bills treated, majority of them passed was a good thing and commendable but out of the 19 that failed, it was very disappointing to learn that 5 of the bills that focused on women or gender-related all roundly failed. And that’s why we think there is a deliberate act by the men of the 9th Assembly not to pass those bills, especially when you look at how they moved bill number 68 which was originally part of bill number 45. Bill number 68 was removed from bill number 45 and made 68 to ensure that when one is passed, the other doesn’t get passed alongside, and we are talking about bills on affirmative actions in the appointment of Ministers and Commissioners which the House of Reps Approved by increasing the mere 10% to 20% but it failed woefully at the Senate, anyway. So, at the end of the day, not a single gender-related bill scaled through. 

“We are talking about Special Seats for Women, Expansion of the scope of citizenship by registration so that it can accommodate Nigerian women who are married to foreign spouses, we are talking about 35% affirmative action in party leadership, we are talking about Indigeneity rights, we are talking about affirmative actions in the appointments of ministers and commissioners. 

“When you look at those bills, it bothers on the 50% of the Nigerian population. Women make up more than 50% of this population. Truth is, if these legislators had consulted widely with their constituencies, they would have known that these are very popular bills not to mess with. They would have known that those bills were what Nigerian women want and, in making laws, it has to be inclusive, it must include the male and female gender, and you cannot just make a law that totally excludes the gender that make up more than 50% of your population.

“How do we intend to develop? How do we intend to deepen our democracy, how do we intend to ensure a sustainable development when gender is one of the clear indices for measuring that. It is therefore not surprising why this country is lagging behind in Africa and the committee of nations. We lag behind other countries in Africa. We don’t even need to step beyond the African Continent to see Progressive Constitutions. Look at Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal and other African countries doing great in terms of inclusiveness and proportional representation. Nigeria is still lagging behind yet we are the giant of Africa. What kind of giant is this, a sleeping giant or what?

“These are gender related bills which women in Nigeria have worked hard to create space for women in political participation, give citizenship rights for foreign spouses of Nigerian Women, Indigeneity right for women who married outside their original place of birth et al

“We have 109 senators and 360 house of representatives members making a total 469 out of this numbers only 29 are women. Because we have low women representation in the national assembly leadership, the male dominated legislator rejected our bills to close up the gender gap.

“The bills were rejected with so much impunity like the women of this country does not matter. That is why women comprised of your mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters have converged in our numbers, hurt, and indeed alarmed over the refusal of the National Assembly to vote in support of alterations to accommodate gender bills within the ongoing Constitutional amendment process.

“We are protesting because National Assembly members declined their vested responsibility to recalibrate the brazen imbalance in the governance of our country. This in turn will reinforced the major barriers in the path to addressing age-long discrimination against women’s representation and participation in governance. It also affirmed the reasons for the stunted development of our country, while assenting to a continuation of the cycle of discrimination, abuse, and cultural bias against your very own, your female relatives gathered here. about:blank about:blank

“History is replete with the excellent examples of women imperative as vanguards of homes, and nation building, all of which cannot be eliminated or understated. Gender inclusion has witnessed unprecedented results in international development especially in the political, economic and social spheres, with women as the drivers of innovative change, hence Nigerian women cannot continue to be left behind in the scheme of global political reawakening. We state unequivocally that the denial of the five Gender related Bills amounts to a declaration of war on Nigerian women by the National Assembly”, she added. 

“We recognize the reconsideration of the following bills by the House of Representatives: Bill to expand the scope of citizenship by registration; Bill to provide affirmative action for women in political party administration; Bill to provide criteria for qualification to become an indigene of a State in Nigeria but it is not enough, we request urgent re-convening, reconsideration, and immediate passage of the all women/gender-related bills by the National Assembly. 

“Nigerian Women urge the National Assembly and State Assemblies to take heed, respond with courage and stand with women, uphold truth, justice, equity and democracy. As a mark of transparency, we call to question the voting pattern of the National Assembly members on this important matter for accountability. It is our right to hold our representatives accountable. Anything less is unacceptable and we will continue to protest until our demands are met.

“They will be no nation without women.”