Nigeria, Others Urged to Make Laws to Ensure Gender Parity

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Nigeria and other countries in the West African sub-region have been urged to make laws that would ensure gender parity in their domain.

The call was made at the weeked during the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) Town Hall Meeting held in Abuja.

Speaking while declaring open the meeting, the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Mohammed Tunis, said it was pertinent to create an atmosphere of gender equality in the countries of the sub-region for growth and harmony.

Tunis, who appreciated the demonstration of commitment and political will exhibited by President Julius Maada Bio of the Republic of Sierra Leone, who recently signed into law the landmark Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill 2022, guaranteeing the principles of inclusion, representation, participation, and a more responsive posture on gender, said: “We are hopeful that similar action will be replicated in all our member states.”

The Speaker also acknowledged and commended the important steps taken by ECOWAS Member States to address gender issues.

On the town hall meeting, he said: “My sincere anticipation is that the days that have been allocated to this event would no doubt open a vista of hope for democracy in our region.

 “I am optimistic that the lessons learned at the end of this town hall meeting would transcend our region. With our ambitious and vibrant young population, we have good reasons to look up to the future.”

He noted that the substance of the meeting, which is adequately captured in the theme: ‘Rejuvenate Democracy by giving voice to the young people’, is particularly timely, stressing that: “It is coming at a time when the gains we have made towards strengthening democracy in the sub-region is being eroded by the sudden and unfortunate resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in some member states.”

Tunis disclosed that the meeting was strategically aligned with the current ECOWAS Vision 2050, which places more emphasis on women and youth development in the sub-region, and is aimed at addressing some of the issues that have contributed to gender inequalities in the region, despite the progress made by most countries regarding women’s participation in theeconomic and social sectors.

According to him, “I am happy to note that the ECOWAS Parliament, through the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA), has been a strong promoter of scaling up the number of female representations in politics and decision-making bodies in the sub-region by emphasising the importance of shared values and common policies as a basis for peace and sustainable development.”

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Ann Iyonu, urged the West Africa region to prioritise women and youth representation in governance as a way of improving the sub-region.

Iyonu empathised that democracy cannot thrive and function well if it is not inclusive, stating that women and youth are major components of the society who should play critical roles in leadership and governance.

She said the town hall meeting aimed at giving voice to women and youth is timely, but expressed disappointment over the low percentage of women elected into the next National Assembly of Nigeria.

 Iyonu also pointed out that women and youth representatives, especially in the Parliaments of the West Africa region, is very low compared to other regions in Africa where the gap has increasingly and progressively narrowed.

She narrated that in West Africa, only 15.7 percent of the average proportion of seats held by women in the national parliaments, which means the region is laging behind other parliaments in Africa like the East Africa with 30.8 percent, Central Africa 21.7 percent, North Africa with 20.3 percent.

In her goodwill message, the Country Representative of UN Women, Beatrice Eyong, thanked the Speaker for giving a budget for the activities of ECOFEPA. She emphasised the point of low representation of women in politics, stating that the domination of the political space by one gender cannot continue to be encouraged, especially with the increased number of women and youths in the region.