Democracy And The Struggle For Political Empowerment Of Women In Nigeria
Keywords:
Democracy, Elections, Political Participation, Women, NigeriaAbstract
This paper discusses women's participation in politics and governance in Nigeria, in order to unravel the dynamics and factors that limit their visibility in the political system. Women's participation in politics in Nigeria has remained a contentious issue, despite many decades of struggle to improve their lot politically. Following an analysis of the ways in which gender relations shapes the lives of Nigerian women, and an extensive review of the trajectories of women's political participation in Nigeria, it is contended in this paper that a conundrum of factors, including contestable notions of citizenship, monetization of politics and poor socio-economic conditions of women, prevailing cultural attitudes towards women in politics,militate against women’s advancement. Other factors like corrupt, violent and prebendal electoral officialdom and a state-centered policy of quotas, collude to limit women's political advancement. Noting the role of unfavourable gender relations and state-centered structures and institutions in the political exclusion of women, it is suggested that a core group of women political activists mobilize around a vision of radical transformation and pursue incremental access to political power beginning at the local government level.
References
Adejumobi, S. (2000). Elections in Africa: A Fading Shadow of Democracy. In O. Nnoli (ed). Government and Politics in Africa: A Reader. Harare: AAPS Books, 242-261
Afonja, (1981). Changing Modes of Production and the Sexual Division of Labour among the Yoruba, Signs. Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 7(2), 299-313
Agorsah, K. (1990). Women in African Traditional Politics. Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 30, 77-86
Agbaye, A. and Adejumobi, S. (2006). Do Votes Count? The Travails of Electoral Politics in Nigeria. Africa Development, 3, 25-44
Aina, O. I. (1994). A General Overview of the Status of Women in Nigeria. A paper presented at a Training Programme organized by Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Kano.
Ake, C. (1993). Is Africa Democratizing? Guardian Newspaper, Sunday, December 12
Alarape, N. (1992). The Nigerian Woman: Dawn of a New Era: The Better Life Programme of Maryam Babangida. Ibadan: Jeeson International
Bratton, M. (1999). Second Elections in Africa. In Diamond, L. and M. Plattner (eds). Democratization in Africa. Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press.
Desai, M. (2007). The Messy Relationship between Feminisms and Globalizations. Gender and Society, 21(6), 797-803
Diamond, L. (1996). Is the Third Wave Over? Journal of Democracy, 7, 20-37
Fawole, W. (2005). Voting without Choosing: interrogating the Crisis of 'Electoral Democracy' in Nigeria. In L. Tukumbi (ed). Liberal Democracy and its Critics in Africa: Political Dysfunction and the Struggle for Social Progress. Dakar: CODESRIA Books, 149-171
Ferraro, G. (2001). Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Gieger, S. (1990). Women and African Nationalism. Journal of Women's History, 2(1), 227-244
Golder, M. (2004). Africa: Dictatorial and Democratic Electoral Systems since 1946. In J. Colomer (ed). Handbook of Electoral System Design. London: Palgrave
Hunitington, S. P. (1991). The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman OK: University of Oklahoma Press
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD, 2004). Enabling the Rural Poor to Overcome Poverty in Nigeria. Accessed online www.ifad.org (Assessed October 12, 2007)
Illika, A. L. (2005). Women's Perception of Partner Violence in a Rural Igbo Community. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 9 (3), 77-88
Izugbara, C. O. and Onuoha, C. B. (2003). Gendered Governance and the Agenda of Gender Justice: Framing the Discourse with Lessons from Nigeria. South-South Journal of Culture and Development, 5(1), 1-20
Karl, T. L. (1990). Dilemmas of Democratization in Latin America. Comparative Politics, 23, 1- 21
Lorber, J. (1994). Paradoxes of Gender. New Haven: Yale University Press
Mba, N. E. (1982). Nigerian Women Mobilized: Women's Political Activity in Southern Nigeria, 1900-1965. Berkeley: Institute of International Studies
Newman, D. (1999). Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. New York: Pine Forge Press
Nelson, E. E. (2006). Gender and Politics in Nigeria The Constitution. Journal of Constitutional Development, 6(4), 23-33
Nelson, E. E. (2008). Local Government Administration, Healthcare Delivery System and Community Development in Nigeria. Journal of Constitutional Development, 8(3), 103- 115
Nelson, E. E. and Nelson, I. E. (2010). Violence against Women in Nigeria: The Factors and Dynamics. Journal of Constitutional Development, 10(2), 77-96
Nelson, E. E. and Nelson, I. E. (2010). Micro-Credit Programmes and Poverty Alleviation in Rural Nigeria: The Case of Akwa Ibom State. International Journal of Economic Development Research & Investment, 1(2/3), 168-180
Nelson, E. E. and Ukommi, A. S. (2010). HIV Risk Perception and Prevention among Sex Workers in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Journal of Sociology, Anthropology & Psychology, 2(1-3), 60-69
Odujirin, O. (1993). Wife-Battering in Nigeria. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 41, 159-164
Okeke, P. (1999). First Lady Syndrome: The (En) Gendering of Bureaucratic Corruption in Nigeria. Newsletter of the Social Science Academy of Nigeria, 2(2), 35-38
Okonjo, K. (1976). The Dual Sex Political System in Operation: Igbo Women and Community Politics in Midwestern Nigeria. In Hafkin, M. & Bay, E. (eds.) Women in Africa: Studies in Social and Economic Change. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press
Oyediran, O. (1988). Essays on Local Government and Administration in Nigeria. Lagos: Project Publications Limited.
Pittin, R. (1991). Women, Work and Ideology in Nigeria. Review of African Political Economy, 52, 38-52
Riley, N. (1999). Gender, Power and Population Change. Population Bulletin, 51, 1
Schlegel, A. (1990). Gender Meanings: General and Specific. In Sanday, P. R. & Goodenough, R. G. (eds.) Beyond the Second Sex: New Directions in the Anthropology of Gender. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 21-41
Schimdt, E. (1991). Patriachy, Capitalism and the Colonial State in Zimbabwe Signs. Journal of Women in Culture and Society 16(4): 732-756
Shively, P. (2008). Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science. New York: McGraw Hill
Staudt, K. (1981). Women's Politics in Africa. Studies in Third World Societies, 16, 1-28
Staudt, K. (1989). The State and Gender in Colonial Africa. In Charlton, S., Everett, J. and Staudt, K. (eds.) Women, the State and Development. Albany: State University of New York Press
Sweetman, C. (2000). Editiorial. Gender and Development 8(3), 2-7
Tamale, S. (2000). Point of Order Mr. Speaker': African Women Claiming their Space in Parliament. Gender & Development, 8(3), 8-13
Toyo, N. (2002). Issues and Contentions in the Debate around Affirmative Action in Nigeria's Constitutional Reforms. In: Igbuzor, O. & Bamidele, O. (eds.) Contentious Issues in the Review of the 1991 Constitution. Ikeja: Citizens Forum for Constitutional Reform, 111- 143
Udoh, A. J. (1995). Personal, Socio-Economic and Infrastructural Indices for Poverty Alleviation in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. South-South Journal of Culture and Development, 1(2), 110-117
Udegbe, I. B. (1998). The Constitutional Conference, Political Restructuring and Women's Access to Political Power. In Amuwo, K., Suberu, R., Agbaye, A. & Herault, G. (eds.) Federalism and Political Restructuring in Nigeria. Abuja: Spectrum Books, 147-163
