•Report: Nigeria has lowest women representation in politics globally
Folalumi Alaran in Abuja
The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador James christoff, has strongly condemned what he described as the increasing violence, harassment and intimidation targeting politically-active women in many parts of the country.
The diplomat, who stated this in Abuja during the launch of a new report on “Election Security Assessment: A Gender Perspective”, said there were alarming acts of violence, harassment, and intimidation targeting politically-active women in many parts of the country.
He lamented that, “This is unfortunately becoming a regular occurrence, and Canada condemns these actions in the strongest terms, of course, and with only 25 days to the general election. The safety of women as critical stakeholders in Nigeria, and the democratic process cannot be overemphasised.
“This is why we strongly believe in our partnership with a lecture under the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives Programme. The High Commission of Canada is proud to partner with elector in our efforts to mitigate violence against women in the context of elections and raise public awareness on these issues as well.
“So, today, we look forward to reflecting on how we can collectively take action and put an end to the cycle of violence targeting politically active women, both candidates and electorates.”
On the new report on “Election Security Assessment: A Gender Perspective”, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), ElectHER, which anchored the report, Ibijoke Faborode, revealed that Nigeria has the lowest representation of women in politics compared to the rest of the world.
Faborode, who spoke at the report’s launch ahead of Nigeria’s elections, said despite the progress that had been made in promoting women participation in Nigerian politics over the past decades, there were still substantial gaps to be filled.
She disclosed that the factors that prevent women from participating in the electoral process were complex and required purposeful and realistic collaboration across diverse stakeholders in the country.
The report revealed that failure of decision-making structures to guarantee safety and security of the female gender posed a significant threat for women in the upcoming elections.
“Having women in prominent leadership roles can have a positive impact on their capacity to influence the smooth conduct and outcome of the elections,” Faborode said.
