By Michael Onwuka
An Enugu-based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Divine Era Development and Social Rights Initiative (DEDASRI) wants the National Assembly (NASS) to initiate reforms that will improve the participation of women in politics.
The Executive Director of DEDASRI, Ms Ogechukwu Enwelum disclosed this on Monday in a statement to mark the 2021 International Women’s Day in Enugu.
Enwelum said that such reforms would deconstruct the biases that impede the political growth of women as well as aim at increasing their number in elective and appointive positions.
She therefore, called on the NASS to reconsider its opposition to the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill as well as other reforms that would accelerate the participation of Nigerian women in decision making.
She said that the worsening economic situation in the country had made it imperative to establish deliberate policies that would ensure economic diversification and gender justice.
On the theme of the event: ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 world’, Enwelum described it as apt considering the devastative effects of the pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic has exposed and widened the gaps in access and financial inequalities between men and women around the world.
“It has also exacerbated the intersecting violations and deepening crises inherent to a patriarchal, racist and capitalist system that has relegated the well-being of women,” she said.
According to her, statistics released by the International Parliamentary Union ranks Nigeria as 180 out of the 193 member countries on the issue of women’s participation in politics.
Enwelum, who is also the Enugu State coordinator of Pan African Young Women Development Initiative (PAYWODI), said that Nigeria rated among the countries with the lowest rates of female representation in government across Africa.
She said that DEDASRI had been in the forefront of promoting women’s rights irrespective of ethnic, cultural and religious differences.
“In DEDASRI, we amplify the voices of women and campaign for elimination of all forms of gender based violence,” she said.
She said that the 2021 celebration would serve as a catalyst for government to reform public policies that would lead to the acceleration of women participation in governance and economic stability.
“DEDASRI has been advocating for gender equality and promotion of the rights of women in public and private places.
“We believe that the attainment of the affirmative action goal and female political participation is a prerequisite for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and national development,” Enwelum said.
