The struggle for gender balance in Nigeria has been a herculean task for women especially with the retrogression in achievements. In this report ENE OSHABA examines implication of the election of Nigerian gender expert and activist, Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, to the UN Committee on Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW).
The term gender is always wrongly attributed to mean woman in many societies especially in Nigeria. It is also often associated with being weak or a weaker person.
Gender experts continue to work hard towards breaking existing norms and stereotype about the female gender. Unfortunately, they have only made slow progress particularly with the recent rejection of Gender Bills by the National Assembly (NASS).
The poor implementation of gender equality in Nigeria has earned her poor rating amongst other nations signatory to the Beijing Convention even when it is regarded as the giant of Africa.
This has left many asking: Can gender equality ever be achieved in Nigeria going by the actions of the government?
Snail-like progress
Nigeria is signatory to the Beijing Declaration of 35 per cent Affirmative Action for women.
Nigeria also supports the Convention Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW), amongst many other gender related conventions but implementation has remained a challenge.
Just recently, political parties concluded their primary election to choose candidates as flag bearers in the 2023 general elections, however, women representation was abysmally low.
According to the Founder and Executive Director, Centre for Organisational Development (COD Nigeria) Lady Nkiru Okoro, the rejection of the Gender Bills three months ago by the 9th National Assembly showed a failure in over two decades of uninterrupted democratic governance to scale through constitution review.
Similarly, Nigerian Psychologist Aisha Abdullahi Bubah in a paper titled: Patriarchy And Female Leadership: A Privilege Not Given, maintained that Nigeria was a patriarchal society making even the most educated of them oblivious to the struggles of women and resulting in women low representation in leadership.
Bubah further noted the gap in access to funding for women in political spaces, saying this has made it impossible for women to match their male counterparts in the lavish campaigning system Nigeria is popular for.
“It is often mentioned that women do not participate in politics but the playing ground is not equal for both men and women and so the level of participation cannot reflect the same energies.
“…And when women have a million and one avoidable battles to fight like sexual and gender based violence, poverty, child marriage, and poor healthcare systems that heighten maternal mortality rate, their leadership turnout will be affected,” she said.
Resilience despite odds
Stakeholders in the women struggle have shown resilience. Against all odds as they continue to remain dogged and hopeful for a brighter future for women and girls to bring to an end or at least reduce to the barest minimum all forms of discrimination in CEDAW.
The Convention, which was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an International Bill of Rights for Women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
The Convention defines discrimination against women as “…any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”
By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms.
According to Okoro Nigeria is a state party to UN CEDAW Convention, having ratified same in 1985 without reservation, signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention in 2000, and ratified it in 2004.
She, however, expressed disappointment that, being a member has not translated to equal and equitable rights for Nigerian Women.
“The lives of Nigerian women are yet to attain a commensurate level of improvement. Women rank lower than men in all indices of development in the country.
“In March 2022, the Nigerian gender bill, that articulated a five-point agenda for Nigerian women was thrown out of the 9th NASS Constitution Amendment,” she stated.
“The reason why the gender bill failed to scale through the review process ranged from the patriarchal mindset, disdain for affirmative action, and ignorance of the impact of the Gender Bill on the overall development of the country.
“With less than 5 per cent female representation in the National Assembly, male legislators who constitute over 90 per cent of the National Assembly were not convinced of the importance and relevance of women’s bill of rights to the development of the country,” she said.
She quoted Senator Abiodun Olujimi representing Ekiti South Senatorial District stating that, “Nigerian male legislators were set on what they wanted to do and they simply had their way. The failure of the Bills is a sad commentary, and it is disheartening that no single Bill for the women sailed through.”
Eghobamien-Mshelia’s election
Top Nigerian gender expert and activist Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, was on June 22, 2022, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York elected to the UN Committee on CEDAW in a keenly contested election.
She scored 137 votes out of 187 votes but needed only 94 votes to be elected to the 23-member CEDAW expert committee from 2023 to 2026.
Speaking of the development, Okoro explained that the UN CEDAW expert committee was the body of independent experts that monitor the implementation of the CEDAW in all the 194 UN member nations.
Glimpse of light
Nigerian Women’s Gender Agenda 2022 that translated to the 2022 Gender Bills included the need for 35 per cent affirmative action on all appointive and elective positions in the country’s governance structure; the concept of twinning that mandates alternate positions based on gender considerations such that if a chairman of a local government is a woman, the vice automatically should be a man and vice versa.
Others include the recognition of indigeneship for women who are married outside their communities and states to have the same and equal rights and recognition in the communities of their marriage equivalent to them their rights of indigeneship and the right of Nigerian women to transfer their nationality to their husbands in the same way Nigerian men transfer their rights of nationality to their foreign/non-Nigerian wives.
“With a foremost gender activist in the person of Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia in the UN CEDAW expert committee, we hope she would pull her full weight and expertise to mount global pressure on Nigeria to indeed accent Nigeria Women’s gender agenda as their rights,” Okoro said.
