Nigeria is at War With Her Women Pervasiveness of Gender Inequality

By Olawale Fapohunda

Today, March 8 is International Women’s Day. It is a day that is globally set aside for celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action, for accelerating women equality. This year’s theme is ‘Gender Equality today for a Sustainable tomorrow’.  Gender inequality, is one of the oldest and most pervasive forms of inequality in the world. It denies women their voices, devalues their work and makes women’s position unequal to men’s, from the household to the national levels.

International Women’s Day of all talk

In Nigeria, like most countries of the world, there will be a lot of political speeches in government and civil society spaces. My guess is that governments at the Federal and State levels, will deliver a lot of politically correct (mainly incorrect) speeches assuring citizens that care to read or listen that the plight of women is top priority. Most of them will say, there is not one category of citizens that is more treasured than the womenfolk.  There will be lots of talk about all the many varied, verifiable and not verifiable interventions aimed at making Nigeria a more diverse, equitable and inclusive country for women.  Various civil society women groups across the country, will compete not to be left out of the yearly jamboree. There will be meetings, conferences, rallies and the like.

 Is there anything to celebrate?

The question that always comes to mind during the commemorative activities, is whether there is really anything worth celebrating? It would seem that in previous years so much effort goes to the planning and the subsequent ceremonies, that there is often little energy or zeal left for an aggressive stocktaking of the state of women in Nigeria, specifically as it relates to gender equality. We have regrettably had limited attempts at developing widely acceptable yardsticks, to help measure progress against diversity and inclusion.  Sadly, this year’s international women’s day, could not have come at an inappropriate time. The ‘no to women empowerment bills’ unanimously passed by the National Assembly, is the clearest indication yet that Nigeria is at war with her women.  In very vivid terms, it must be obvious that looking at the status of women from the conduct of our elected representatives at the national level, we really have little to celebrate. Whatever gains may have been made in the previous years, have been wiped out by the less than thoughtful deliberation of our national parliamentarians of the women rights bills before them.  To put it bluntly, there is nothing to celebrate today, rather today calls for a deep reflection on why and how we got here.

National Assembly defaulted on its promissory note to Women

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, let it be said that the 9th National Assembly has in word and deed, delivered a major blow to the psyche of women in Nigeria. The question has been put to them thus: ’those is favour of better life for Nigerian women say aye, those opposed say No’. The No’s overwhelmingly had it! In the paraphrased words of Martin Luther King Jr, the National Assembly defaulted on its promissory note to Nigerian women.  Instead of honouring its sacred obligation, the National Assembly gave our women a bad cheque. A cheque that has come back marked ‘we don’t care about you’. There have been several analyses of the constitutional review proceedings in the National Assembly. Questions have been asked, about the insistence of this National Assembly to be on the wrong side of history. Many have wondered why it was impossible for the National Assembly to find within its ranks, sufficient numbers who will stand up for women.

Complicity between the Government and the Governed  

In my considered view, the issue goes very much beyond the indiscretion of members of the National Assembly. Someone said this is a classic case of our ‘National Assembly has gone mad again’. I disagree. It is not that simple. If not anything else, the National Assembly’s vote against women puts into context the frightening level of gender based violence in Nigeria. The National Assembly has provided an answer to the knotty issue of why the relentless wave of violence against women continues unabated, despite several interventions. The reason why we seem to be losing the war against all forms of violence against women, is that there is an unacceptable high level of tolerance of violence against women among government and the governed. This explains why our collective sense of shame and revulsion has been sorely missing, in our response to matters that affect a woman, especially matters of domestic and sexual violence.  Worse still the National Assembly has reached a consensus on our behalf, that our women will neither be seen nor heard either in private or public spaces.

States to the rescue?

So, where do we go from here? I am unable to agree with HE Governor Nyesome Wike, Governor, Rivers State that the fault lies squarely with the ruling party. The argument that members of parliament representing the ruling party should be held solely responsible for the ‘mis-vote’ in the National Assembly, will hold water if all the members representing the opposition party had voted in unison in support of the Gender Bills.  The tragedy in this case, is that members of parliament from both the ruling party and the opposition party were largely united against women. I however, agree with Governor Wike that the anti-women virus which infected the National Assembly, need not be contagious – infecting the States. I agree that this moment challenges the States, to rise up to the occasion.  
In my considered view, there are two ways of achieving this. First, the Constitution amendment process requires two-thirds concurrences from the States. It is now necessary for the States Attorneys-General to clarify the issues, and lead the movement for an unequivocal reversal of the ‘No to women empowerment votes’ in the National Assembly.  I say this bearing in mind that, not all the States are necessarily pro-women rights. The fact that there are at least 15 States in the Federation whose Houses of Assembly are women free is necessarily worrisome,
Secondly, there is nothing in the Constitution that stops any desiring State from enacting laws and adopting policies, aimed at promoting the status of women in public and private life. Kwara State showed best practice recently, by enacting the Political Office (Gender Composition) Law, 2022. This law makes provision for gender representation in appointments to certain political offices. My State, Ekiti State has adopted this law, and it will be deliberated upon tomorrow at our State Executive Council meeting. In my capacity as Chairperson South West Attorneys- General Forum, I have also commended it to my colleagues in the South West States.  

Ekiti State as a case in point

In addition to strengthening the role of women in public life, States also have an important role to play in reversing the scourge of gender-based violence. The Nigerian Governors Forum has declared a State of Emergency on Gender Based Violence. The declaration by the Governors, enjoins all States to take necessary measures to reverse the scourge. In Ekiti State, we have reviewed our Gender Based Violence Law in response to emerging concerns, including ensuring a seamless prosecution process. We have revisited our criminal law. The newly enacted Criminal Law of Ekiti State 2021, contains copious provisions that protect women’s dignity. Our name and shame policy, has now been given legislative support within the new criminal law. Also, our sex offender’s register has been given a prominent place in the law.  We have prioritised the prosecution of sex offences within the Ministry of Justice, including working collaboratively with the Judiciary to achieve speedy disposition of sex offences. To ensure professionalism in the handling of cases relating to the protection and promotion of the rights of women, Ekiti State like many States, has established specialised agencies or gender units with the sole mandate of providing legal advice and representation to women in distress. This is in addition to the establishment of sexual assault referral centres. In Ekiti State, the Moremi Clinic was established to provide medical and psychological support, to survivors of gender based violence. It is a one stop medical facility, that provides confidential free treatment and consultation.  

Women and Poverty

It would seem to me that the number one role for the States in achieving gender equality, is poverty eradication among women. Despite some important progress in recent years, no State has achieved economic equality between women and men. Women are still more likely than men, to live in poverty. It is trite that when women are poor, their rights are not protected. They face obstacles, that may be extraordinarily difficult to overcome. This results in deprivation in their own lives and losses for the broader society and economy, as women’s productivity is well known as one of the greatest generators of economic dynamism. Ekiti State, like several other States, has adopted economic policies to provide more opportunities for women, improved laws to uphold economic rights, and enabled access to credit. There has also been a demonstrated commitment to collecting better information to track how poverty affects women differently, as knowing any problem is essential for solving it.
And so, on this day, my solemn prayer is may the future of women in Nigeria be better than the past and present.