35% appointive positions for women sacrosanct, Falana’s wife insists

Wife of Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mrs. Funmi Falana, has urged the frontline political parties to ensure strict adherence to 35 per cent appointive positions for women across the country.

Falana, who stated that women are not being given much leadership opportunities in the country’s political space, said such trend must be reversed after the 2023 general elections.

She said that discrimination against women in politics had to stop now to allow them use their potentials to develop the society.

The wife of the lawyer said this yesterday after holding her yearly Christmas party with the children of Erelu Angela Adebayo Children’s Home in Iyin-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Mrs. Falana, who attributed low participation of women in politics to non-actualisation of the 35 per cent affirmative action for women representation in positions of authority, said: “This is one of the discrimination against women that we have been advocating against.

“Even when women come out to contest elections, they receive little or no votes because they believe their place is in the kitchen but that era had since passed, women can even do better than men in any position of authority even non political positions.”

The legal practitioner, who also stated that the way politics is played in the country discouraged women, said: “Most of their meetings are held in the night like nocturnal animals and responsible women are supposed to be with their families at such time.

“The inability of women to attend such night political meetings ensures that decisions are taken behind them and it is part of the reasons they are not participating actively in politics and I think politicians should look into this.

“The Constitution specifically says that nobody shall be discriminated against on the basis of sex. So, anything that places women at a disadvantaged position is unconstitutional and it is null and void.”

“The court held that the fact that women are not given proper representation in governance is a violation of their rights under the Constitution of Nigeria.”