Some gender equality stakeholders have called for the implementation of gender-responsive policies to address the challenges affecting women in the country.
They made the call in Abuja on Thursday at a book presentation, ‘Politics, X and Power’, authored by Adaora Sydney-Jack, executive director of Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI).
Ms While noting the challenges affecting women, Ms Sydney-Jack urged governments at all levels to show political will by involving more women in policymaking and its implementation.
“Political parties need to reinvent the wheel by having women in leadership positions outside women leaders,” she said.
In the same vein, Amina Arong, the national women’s leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said that after 25 years in politics, nothing had changed regarding women’s participation.
“I got into politics when I was 25 years old. Twenty-five years later, I realised that nothing has changed in terms of women’s participation in politics.
“Our political space is shrinking for women. So, we’re asking for gender sensitive men to give us a chance on the table so that we can begin to talk about our own issues,” she said.
Monalisa Chinda, founder of the Arise Monalisa Foundation, said it was about time for people to begin to look at the way women in terms of inclusion.
Abubakar Sulaiman, the director-general of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), recommended the book Politics, X and Power, saying it would be useful for academics, researchers, students, and policymakers.
Chima Amadi, the guest speaker, stressed the need for Nigeria to build solid democratic institutions, including the judiciary, electoral commission and legislature, to uphold the rule of law and prevent abuse of power.
(NAN)
