Although women had a majority of the vote in the recently held elections, the Gender and Constitution Reform Network (GECORN), Northwest zone, has noted that just two women—a member of the House of Assembly and a deputy governor—were elected in the entire zone.
GECORN’s Northwest Coordinator, Dr. Lydia Umar, revealed this at the conclusion of a meeting held at the Mold Suites Hotel in Kaduna.
60 people from the seven states of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kebbi attended the conference, which was called to hear about the struggles faced by women and girls during the just finished 2023 elections.
According to her, the project aimed to increase electoral integrity and accountability and also aims to share the first-hand accounts of women who bravely ran for various posts while actively participating in campaigns and voting.
“We plan to celebrate these women whether or not they were successful because their single, audacious choice to participate in an election that men, violence, and money dominated was a victory for women and girls.
Umar added that another goal of the discussion was to come up with tactics that might be used to help women do better in the elections of 2027.
Sixty persons from the seven states in Nigeria’s Northwest Geopolitical Zone attended this people’s hearing. It was predominately made up of women, some of whom ran in the just held 2023 elections, as well as party members and leaders of the civil society. Leaders from the traditional and local communities, activists, and people with disabilities are among the additional participants. Two-panel discussions followed plenary sessions.
To this purpose, she noted that “the zone can only brag of two elected women in the 2023 election: a member of the House of Assembly, and a Deputy Governor. This is although women have the same voting rights as males.
Additionally, he noted that just 1,553 women—or a pitiful 10%—of the 15,307 people who ran for office in the recently ended 2023 elections worldwide.
“That women in the Northwest have reached an appropriate age and are now competently educated and qualified to participate in decision-making processes regarding politics and regional governance.
That religion and culture have been used as tools to prevent women from actively engaging in politics.
