Stakeholders urge women to support greater female political participation

Stakeholders in politics and business have called on Nigerian women to actively support and promote female participation in politics.

They also emphasized the need for enhanced economic empowerment programs for women as a vital strategy to strengthen democracy.

Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Abuja, the Deputy Country Director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Mr. Francis Madugu, stressed the importance of collective efforts to improve women’s participation in Nigeria’s democratic processes.

The meeting, themed “Linking Business Women to Action to Consolidate Democracy,” was organized as part of the NDI’s project led by the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA).

The meeting brought together networks of women from various sectors, including politics, business associations, and civil society organizations (CSOs), to collaborate on strategies for democratic consolidation.

Madugu said: “One thing for sure is that our democratic and electoral process needs to be improved upon. Over the years, we have collectively left our women behind. This initiative is to ensure increased participation of women in our democratic process by leveraging their success in business to support women in politics.

“As it compares to the other parts of this world and to other countries of this world, I think the data speaks to itself. Our women are not doing well where the electoral and democratic process is concerned.

“And by extension you can make different inferences to it as to why this isn’t so. I would argue that one is that as a country we all need to deliberately now work together, put our hands together to ensure an increase in women’s participation.”

In her remarks, WRAPA’s Programmes Director, Yemisi Nathaniel, noted that the meeting aimed to foster collaboration between businesswomen and politicians.

She emphasized the significance of involving top women’s executives and senior representatives from different sectors to ensure meaningful discussions and actionable outcomes.

Nathaniel said: “The essence of this meeting is to link businesswomen to action to consolidate democracy. WRAPA aims to create a coalition of businesswomen and politicians to leverage each others skills and experiences for inclusive policymaking.”

Also speaking, President of the Women In Politics Forum, Ebere Ifendu, highlighted the lack of support from women entrepreneurs for political participation.

She said: “Big entrepreneurs in Nigeria often fund the political participation of men, but not women. It is crucial to get women in business to understand that supporting women in politics is to their benefit.”

In her address, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Maryam Keshinro, emphasized the significant contributions of women to Nigeria’s GDP.

She said: “The contributions of women to Nigerian GDP is huge. Women are the ones at the communities, farming, bringing in both subsistence, both at subsistence and at the commercial level, women are the ones you see in the market, doing business, women do so much.

“Women dominate agriculture, markets, and subsistence and commercial trade. Their contributions to Nigeria’s GDP often surpass those of men. Women are central to community development and the national economy.”

She called for women who have succeeded in business to serve as role models and support others in entering politics, fostering a more inclusive democratic process.