ROLE OF WOMEN IN ISANLU POLITICS FROM 1999 TO 2015
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ROLE OF WOMEN IN ISANLU POLITICS FROM 1999 TO 2015
Abstract
This study looked at the role of women in ISANLU politics from 1999 to 2015, as well as the sustainability of democracy in Nigeria, as well as the opportunities and restrictions. It elicited their difficulties, insights, and contributions to the democratic process. Strategies for assisting women in realising their political leadership potential were proposed.
Questionnaires were distributed to 700 randomly selected female politicians, activists, and professionals in Kogi state’s administration and prominent parties. Interviews were also scheduled with ten of the randomly selected responders.
Women are marginalised and have a little role in governance because Nigeria lacks a legislative framework that ensures quotas for women in political parties.
Women’s participation in politics and governance has been found to be hampered by patriarchal attitudes, weak informal networks/mentoring, finance, religion, and educational level.
To address these issues, the research suggested, among other things, the establishment of electoral reforms that encourage fair representation of women and due process.
Women’s empowerment was promoted by providing their access to credit. The study indicated that enhancing women’s participation in governance requires the institutionalisation of a variety of particular methods.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION IN GENERAL
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In most societies, women have not had the freedom to attend the same schools as men, own property, or be paid equally for equal work. Women are seen as second-class citizens, and women are frequently denied the right to participate in decision-making, even in problems affecting them.
Women are expected to participate in politics by serving in decision-making organisations such as the Executive and Legislative branches. This study is not intended to prove that women are superior to males,
nor is it intended to portray women as desiring to replace men. Women are human beings in and of themselves, and as such, they have made significant and meaningful contributions to society.
In recognition of women’s rights, the United Nations declared 1975-1985 as a decade for women, devoted to the subject of equality in political participation and decision making, which was adopted by the 40th session of the UN General Assembly Resolution 40/108 on December 13th, 1982.
1 Prior to that, on December 10th, 1974, the United Nations called for an international action programme for short and long term measures aimed at achieving women’s integration as citizens. To bolster this, the 8th of March, 1992 was named International Women’s Day, and the United Nations commemorated it for the first time.
The United Nations General Assembly reserves the 8th of March each year for member states to reflect on the achievements made by women in various spheres of national development.
This lengthy prelude has become required in order to grasp how far women in Nigeria, particularly in Kogi State, have progressed in assuming their proper places in politics. For a better understanding of the roles of women in politics,
this work is structured into five intriguing chapters: General Introduction, Women and politics 1999-2015, some important women in politics, and a variety of subjects that will be covered as subtopics.
STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM 1.2
Women compose more than half of the entire population of Kogi State and play an important role in increasing the state’s political system’s democratisation. However, data available indicates that they are underrepresented in political roles. This predicament could be explained by the fact that gender issues in electoral politics have not received adequate attention and redress.
This gives their male counterpart an advantage. Women are always pushed to the margins of political leadership, burdened with guilt. Women are marginalised twice: once because they are women and again because they are politicians.
Women are frequently denied political information; for example, in the 2003 General Elections, many female candidates were barred from running at the nomination stage. Women must strive in both their public and private lives to express their wants and have their voices heard.
For a long time, women have been marginalised and viewed as persons who cannot stand on their own politically and must be supported by men. Though a few scholars have recently begun to document women’s political participation, such documentation has not focused on the factors that influence women’s political participation in electoral politics.
The goal of this research is to look into the roles of women in politics, with a focus on Isanlu Kogi State, in order to come up with potential solutions for increasing their engagement.
1.3 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of women in ISANLU politics from 1999 to 2015, as well as the prospects and restrictions of their political engagement. The exact goals of this research are as follows:
In Nigeria, evaluate gender participation in politics and the democratic process.
Acknowledging the problems, experiences, and contributions of women to the democratic process,
investigate how women are breaking down the barriers that limit and marginalise them in Nigerian politics;
propose measures to help women realise their political leadership potential.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE AND JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
It has been noted that women have been entirely abandoned and trail behind in the business of government at all levels from before the formation of what is now known as Nigeria and with the attainment of independence. Most gender studies tend to focus on males and their contributions, relegating women to the margins.
Women’s roles are suppressed while men’s duties are recognised. This study is essential because it will bring to light previously unknown information regarding women and politics in Kaduna State. It will also demonstrate how women efficiently fulfilled their responsibilities in assisting the state and the nation as a whole.
1.5SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This is a study of women’s political participation in Isanlu between 1999 to May of 2015. One of the reasons for dating this work from 1999 to May 2015 is that it coincided with the Fourth Republic, a watershed moment in women’s political engagement. Women’s participation in active politics increased throughout this time period.
The restrictions could be related to time, resources (money), and the fact that the research was conducted while I was attending my courses. There are also limited materials (books) on the subject under examination. Furthermore, there were difficulty conducting interviews since some informants were not ready or willing to offer an interview.
1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research makes use of both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are firsthand accounts of the event under investigation; they could be a document containing information gathered via experience or observation but not from other books, documents, or diaries where the writers have drawn from other sources.
Biographies, government and administrative records, journals, textbooks, and memos were among the other written materials studied. Oral interviews are also available. To establish their authority/authenticity and usefulness in the study, all of these sources were subjected to thorough investigation, scrutiny, and evaluation.
1.7 THEORY OF THE FRAMEWORK
Feminism as a concept provides an adequate framework for this study on women’s political participation in Nigeria, particularly in Kogi State. Women have the same political, social, intellectual, and economic rights as males, according to feminists.
It is a concept that originated in Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.3 While feminist aspirations have been expressed in societies dating back to ancient China,
they were not supported by a developed political theory until the publication of Mary Wollostone Craft’s (the mother of Feminism) titled “A Vindication of the Rights of Women 1972.
“4 Indeed, it was not until the emergence of the Women’s Suffrage movement in the 1840s and 1850s that feminist ideas However, second wave feminism began in the 1960s. This expressed the more radical and sometimes revolutionary demands of the Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM).
6 Feminist scholars contend that the definition of what is relevant to the study of international relations as presented in textbooks and other scholarship written by men is a product of the male point of view and ignores or misrepresents the role of women, their concern, and their perspective.7
In a word, feminism is an ideology dedicated to strengthening women’s societal roles and, in most circumstances, the objective of gender equality. Feminism’s core concepts are thus, first, that society is characterised by sexual or gender inequality,
and second, that this framework of male authority can and should be discovered. There are different types of feminists, such as liberal feminists, social feminists, and radical feminists.
1.8 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This requires doing a review of publications linked to the topic and subject matter of this research. It reviews existing works linked to the research, highlighting their merits and weaknesses: where such works have aided the research and where the research will be valuable in addressing gaps in such works.
Joy N. Ezeilo discussed women’s and children’s rights in her book Women and Children’s Rights. She began the book by quoting the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Woman. She examined women’s rights in the worldwide arena and also highlighted women’s rights issues in Nigeria,
such as economic, political, legal, social, and cultural elements. She concluded the book by encouraging individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to continue their struggles for the promotion and protection of women’s rights.
10 The book is relevant to this research because it informs people about women’s rights and the rights that women should be granted. It did not, however, note that some women had overcome such obstacles, struggled, and made some headway towards gaining their rights.
Kennedy Aniemeka Ogbuani’s book is another significant contribution to the research. The author covered the phrase superiority in the book, as well as how certain women triumph despite all circumstances. He began by examining male dominance in all aspects of life, as well as men’s attitudes towards women.
He mentioned women who had a positive impact on the world stage, such as Margret Tharcher, who contributed to the economic greatness of the United Kingdom, and other international figures such as Indira Ghandi, Corazon Aquino of the Philippines, Benazir Bhuto of Pakistan, and Magdaline Albright of the United States.11
As a result, Hajara Mohammed Kabir’s book aided in this investigation. The book focused on the issues that women face in Northern Nigeria. The Author appears to understand the issues impeding women’s progress in the North in the way that only a true northerner would. Some cultural practises, she believes, work against women’s advancement or development.
The author believes that the Purdah system, in particular, has contributed significantly to the underdevelopment of women in Northern Nigeria. She is adamant that the Purdah is a barrier to women’s political success.
She argued that the constant incidents of rapes, sexual harassment, hawking, and unguided early marriages that are the result of women in development are un-Islamic.
12 However, the author focused her attention on women who only became involved in politics because their husbands were Presidents or Governors at the time. These are not politicians in my opinion. She would have named women who ran for and won elections at all levels.
Furthermore, Jibrin Ibrahim and Amina Salihu’s work concentrated on women’s discrimination and marginalisation in many fields, particularly politics, effective economic policies, and governance. The importance of aligning women’s energies, hopes, and aspirations with national objectives has been overlooked.
To bolster their case, they highlight the experiences of fifteen (15) female candidates in the 2003 General Elections, each of whose tale offers tough yet uplifting lessons. The book also includes a comprehensive study on civil advocacy activities to increase women’s political participation.13
Furthermore, another article by Ahmadu Sesay and Adetanwa Odebiyi examines the numerous industries in which women efficiently play their roles. Despite national and international attempts to empower women, the book highlights the barriers to gender parity and full engagement in development as participants and beneficiaries.
The author also makes some suggestions. The discussion on women and development in Nigeria society has certainly become richer as a result of this book, as have new directions for ensuring gender equity and full participation of women in development as participants and beneficiaries.
14 However, the writer fails to recognise that women have created an enabling environment in which to venture into any productive ventures. However, most women prefer white collar employment and hence refuse to engage in entrepreneurship: when it fails, they scream discrimination.
Again, Modupelu Fasake’s book discussed how the Nigerian woman has affected and been influenced by her society over time. The Nigerian ladies had come a long way, and the book chronicled their struggles.
The book focuses on the effects of colonialism and military rule on the Nigerian woman in the context of her pauperization. The author lists her ideas for possible solutions.15 However, this text is rife with partisanship and prejudice, and it may provoke women to revolt.
Also in Abiola Odejide’s book, the author recognised that the media are not the primary source of women’s subordination. However, due of their impact, memorability, and reach, they are a potent weapon that frequently promotes the community’s existing pictures by magnifying and beaming them back.
The goal of this book is to re-define the function of the Nigerian media by fostering an environment of thought conducive to the promotion of gender equality and the advancement of women’s economic and social standing. She also advises female journalists to train and practise in order to advance to high-level editorial positions where judgements about the quality,
quantity, and positioning of women’s news are made. A special interest group should also be formed to monitor the country’s pattern of media ownership and advertising practises,
as well as to give education about women’s rights and issues.16 The book is gender biassed because women now dominate the Nigerian media.
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