Health
Advocacy group demands more political inclusion for women
The Basileia Vulnerable Persons Rights Initiative has called for greater political inclusion of women, insisting that women’s participation in governance is a fundamental right and not a privilege.
The Executive Director of BVPRI, Barr. Jennifer Agbaji, made the call while speaking at a capacity-building workshop on political inclusion for women and persons with disabilities in Kaduna on Saturday.
The workshop has ‘Capacity building on Civic engagement and advocacy for inclusion of women in politics’ as its theme.
Agbaji said increasing women’s participation in politics was essential to achieving an inclusive and representative democracy.
She said, “Advancing women’s political inclusion is not a favour we are asking for; it is the right of women. Women’s involvement in politics is a human right.
“We’re not asking for favours, and it doesn’t mean that men are excluded. We are only saying that democracy needs to be complete, so that both men and women are involved.”
The executive director noted that discussions at the workshop showed that women across different communities faced similar barriers to political participation.
According to her, the training was designed to equip participants with advocacy skills and strengthen their capacity to engage policymakers on issues affecting women’s political participation.
Agbaji said, “The right people were in the room, and we have diverse voices. From the discussions, we realised that the barriers women face when they go into politics are almost the same everywhere, and we are seeing how we can navigate such challenges.
“So, in assessing the meeting, we have had quality conversations, and from the skills they are learning, we can already see an interest in developing action plans that will advance women’s political inclusion.”
She added that participants were expected to initiate advocacy efforts within their various spheres of influence after the training.
She said, “After this, we are hoping that participants with interest will develop action plans towards advancing women’s participation, which means that we are expecting them to take initiatives, especially in the areas of their interest and influence, so that they will be able to carry out one or two activities that will advocate for the advancement of women, especially to shrink the gender governance gap.”
Also speaking, the President of the Students Representative Council, Kaduna State University, Muhammad-Sani Sumayyah, said women had the capacity to contribute meaningfully to governance and policymaking.
She said, “I believe we have a significant impact we can make on society. There are a lot of changes that women can bring about. I’m not advocating for equality. I’m advocating for equity.
“Let us be allowed to bring our own quota to the table. Let us be allowed to participate. Let us be able to participate in making policies that have to do with women. It’s not fair that when issues concerning women are being discussed, it is men who are making those decisions.”
Sumayyah questioned the practice of appointing men to positions meant to champion women’s interests, saying it undermined women’s representation.
She added, “For instance, it doesn’t make much sense to see that a woman’s leader is actually a man, or that the Minister of Women’s Affairs is a man. You’re a man. How do you know women’s affairs? It’s disheartening, and we also hope that they will include us in these processes.
“I think women can occupy vice offices. And by vice offices, I mean let us have women as vice chairmen at the local government level. Let’s have women leaders. Let’s have women as Ministers of Women’s Affairs. Let us have more opportunities at every level.”
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