The rate of women’s political participation in Nigeria has remained poor over the years due to violence against women.
Despite making up almost 50 percent of the country’s population, women remain largely underrepresented in the country’s governance, with only 6.42 percent in the country’s current National Assembly.
In a 2015 report on Nigeria Elections and Violence Against Women in Politics, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security noted that there were many cases of women being harassed and assaulted as they head to the polls and of female election workers being targeted.
A study conducted by Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWiP) showed that the most common forms of violence reported were intimidation, physical harm, murder and death threats either to particular women candidates, their family members or ordinary women who are party supporters.
Worrying cases in Nigeria
Findings from a recent report by Yiaga Africa, titled Road to 2023-Disruptions-Distortions and Discordance, revealed that women experience different forms of violence, intimidation and harassment for engaging in electoral politics.
The worrying report also revealed that online and offline attacks targeted at women are increasing with little or no action from relevant authorities to abate these cases.
The report cited various instances of pre-election violence against women ahead of the 2023 elections.
It cited the murder of the Labour Party’s women leader, Victoria Chimtex, in Kaura
local government area (LGA) of Kaduna State, and the attack on the party’s women leader in Kebbi State in which her shop was burnt down by hoodlums suspected to be from the opposition party.
In December 2022, Yiaga Africa also reported an attack on the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti, during which stones were hurled at her convoy in Okene. Recall that a PDP women leader at Ochadamu ward in Ofu LGA also in Kogi State, Salomey Abuh, was burnt to death by some political party thugs during the 2019 governorship election in the state.
These are a few of many women who ventured into politics but their ambition was greeted with violence and death.
SDGs and gender equality
The United Nations (UN) identified gender equality as a centrepiece of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with goal five seeking to ‘achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’.
This shows the level of importance the UN attributes to the issue of women participation in politics.
Research has shown that violence against women is a tool that has been used to discourage women from participating as election administrators, voters, and candidates.
This is also a concern because research findings show that the poor representation of women in politics and governance threatens democracy in Nigeria. In fact, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) believes that violence against women in elections (VAWE) is a threat to the integrity of the electoral process.
Action calls
There is a need for more decisive measures to be taken by critical actors to address this problem of violence targeted at women candidates, party supporters and voters.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other stakeholders involved should step up their game in making sure cases of election violence against women are investigated and the culprits prosecuted.
There should be special protection provided for female candidates, politicians and voters alike to guarantee the sanctity of the election.
Photo source: Ranjit Bhaska
