By Peter Amine
A women activists group, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, has called on Nigerians to protect the present and future generations of women by giving them rightful places in the scheme of things.
The Executive Director of the group, Mrs Bunmi Dipo-Salami, made the plea in a statement she issued in Jos.Dipo-Salami said that improved representation of women had been shown to have benefits such as improved policy changes, economic growth, and enhanced peace building.“We demand that the National Assembly puts the advancement of women on the agenda by approving the relevant bills.“We also call on the government to end practices that undermine the dignity of women”, she said in reaction to the National Assembly’s vote against bills seeking gender equality in the country.
She insisted that the act by men who were elected by both women and men to represent them in the service of the nation “is a display of lack of respect for the dignity and rights of women”.She also said that the rejection of the bills came at the beginning of the global women’s history month on the first day in March.She said: “The gender bills proposed in the amendment of the Nigerian constitution sought to enhance the lives of women and provide opportunities for them to participate fully in the political governance space and inclusive citizenship rights.
“The bills include special seats for women in the national and state houses of assembly, expansion of the scope of citizenship by registration (citizenship to the foreign-born husband of a Nigerian woman).“Also, affirmative action for women in political party administration (grant women 35 per cent affirmative action in party administration and leadership) and reserved quota for women (grant 35 per cent appointed positions to women)”
.She observed that in the 9th National Assembly, only eight out of 109 senators were women, only 22 representatives out of 360 House of Representatives members wer women.She further said that there is no female governor, and 44 members out of 990 state houses of assembly are women.(NAN)
