This unveiling of the special seats initiative is coming at a time when women’s rights groups are also looking at the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action
An Outstanding Unveiling for women’s political representation and leadership in Nigeria gained traction as The League of Women Voters of Nigeria (NILOWV) led the launch of the Ward2Ward Her Seat in Parliament and Governance campaign in Abuja in partnership with the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ).
This important project is a collaborative summon for the passage of the 74 Special Seat Bill and the full implementation of the 35% Affirmative Action across all levels of government. With Nigerian women still underrepresented in Politics, the campaign aims to break barriers and secure more political seats for Nigerian women across all stratagems of political representation which includes the Senate, House of Representatives, State Assembly and appointive positions.
The event was supported by the Institute of peace and conflict Resolution and brought together key stakeholders, The Media, political leaders, and gender advocates who pledged their support for increased female representation. In the Backgrounding and remarks during the opening, The President of the League of women’s voters Nigeria, Hon. Irene Awunah Ikegh emphasized the importance of the special seats and the emergent need for more women’s representation in elective offices, participation in politics and policy making.
She earlier also made a call on an exclusive interview on Radio Nigeria to all Nigerian women to come on board, support the special seats and see it as a chance to bring social justice in the call towards mainstreaming women in politics and accelerate women’s political participation.
The National Chairperson of Nigerian Association of women journalist Comrade Aisha Ibrahim, emphasized the critical role of the media in amplifying the campaign’s message.
This unveiling of the special seats initiative is coming at a time when women’s rights groups are also looking at the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, a central set of international norms on women’s rights and gender equality.
The Beijing Declaration was a resolution adopted by the UN at the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995. The resolution adopted to promulgate a set of principles concerning the equality of men and women.