2019: In quest to play active parts, women demand chairmanship positions in political parties

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, women in Nigeria have been asked to take active part in the electoral processes.

The call was made by an international nongovernmental organisation, ActionAid.

Women from the 27 local government areas of Imo State, during a meeting organised by the organisation in Owerri, the state capital on Friday, pleaded with chieftains of the 68 registered political parties in Nigeria to allocate more sensitive positions, like chairmanship, to female politicians in their respective parties.

The women at the event, which was a one day seminar and public presentation of Voters Education and Women in Politics Manual, want women to emerge as political party chairmen in various states of the federation.

Among other things, the programme which was put together to encourage more women to take active part in the 2019 electoral processes, also want women to be given 50 per cent opportunities in all the processes of elections and governance.

Male politicians were also asked to allow their wives the freedom to actively participate and to be part of election processes and governance in the country.

In his speech at the event, a consultant to the NGO, Chibundu Uchegbu, said that the Women in Politics Manual was put together to inspire and help female aspirants and candidates get proper understanding of the difficulties they were likely to encounter in the Nigerian polity.

“The Manual will help female politicians to understand the opportunities available to them and the tools they need at all levels of electoral process to change the narrative if they want to be active players in the Nigerian political space.

“We developed the manual to mobilise our women to participate in the electoral process and governance. To expose women to strategies for breaking structural barriers to women participation in the electoral processes and governance.

READ ALSO: CONFESSION: How I rigged elections for the PDP- Mantu

“We developed the Manual to empower women with legal frameworks and policies to tear down the wall of perceived leadership limitations,” Uchegbu said.

In her speech, ActionAid representative in Nigeria, Halima Oji, said that the NGO will carry out similar programme in five other states of the federation, explaining that the goal was not only to see women take part in electoral processes but also, to see them fully involved in governance.

 

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

 

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now