Women constitute about half of the population of Nigeria and are known to play vital roles as mothers, producers and managers of home and resources. Their pivotal roles in the socio-economic development of the society cannot be over-emphasized. However, they have been relegated in the political landscape as their participation level is greatly low compared to the men. Despite the United Nations and other key international bodies’ affirmation of gender equality, the gap in the participation level between men and women still remains very broad. Nigeria is a signatory to some of these international declarations, such as the Beijing Platform of Action and the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discriminations against Women. Nigerian women still seem highly marginalized and poorly represented in the political scene. This paper therefore seeks to x-ray the issue of discrimination against women and the possible ways out from this malaise.
Discrimination means the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people especially on the grounds of ethnicity, age, gender, etc. In Nigeria, women are being discriminated against in so many areas. In any communal gathering where vital decisions are taken, women are not allowed to air their views. Even in the Bible, they are not to publicly make any contribution but to remain silent. It should be noted that Nigeria is a purely patriarchal society. There are certain positions or vocations that women are basically not allowed to participate in. There are some traditional religious practices in which women are excluded. In some parts of the country, the girl-child is excluded from inheriting her father’s or husband’s possessions. It is mainly for the first son or the male children.
Women before now were not allowed to go up the education ladder. In some communities they were relegated to the kitchen, to cook for the family. This gives credence to the sarcastic saying that women are kept at home while the men are trained and prepared for leadership. Discrimination against women by societies have resulted in many women losing self-esteem or having low self-esteem.
The political landscape in Nigeria has become the exclusive reserve of the men. For instance, the present Senate has just four women out of 109 senators. The same is applicable in the House of Representatives. Is it that the women don’t want to participate actively in Nigerian politics? No, but the strings attached are just too tight and make the political landscape too volatile and unattractive to the womenfolk. The highest level that any female has attained in Nigerian politics is the Speaker of House of Representatives and it was very short-lived due to so many variables.
The way out is that there should be a constitutional review to give room for more female participation in the socio-political scene. We should have a change of our mindset and a re-orientation about our conception regarding women, their rights and responsibilities. Culture is dynamic, and so many aspects of our culture that breed discrimination of any form against women should be set aside or fine-tuned to conform to modern and global best practices. Women in some advanced and civilized climes have been found to excel in so many fields including politics, administration, industry, health, etc. Chances are high that if Nigerian women are given the necessary moral booster and opportunities, they will perform excellently well. Women have ruled as heads of government in India and Britain. Our women here can do even better given the enabling environment. The time to end all forms of discrimination against women has come and now is the right time. They should be spared of the trauma of forced marriage, marital domestic violence, prostitution, street hawking, trafficking, etc. which paint them negatively.
Furthermore, women should be allowed to have more access to education, especially as education is the vehicle that helps to break the shackles of poverty. (Women suffer so much in terms of poverty). If the United Nations Human Development Report about Nigeria being a low developing country with respect to equality in educational accessibility of 59.4 per cent female as against 74.4 per cent male is anything to go by, concerted effort should be put in place to bridge this gap.
