In Nigeria, the obstacle course of the few women candidates in the elections

For Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, running for a second term as an MP in Nigeria means putting her life in danger, confides this 56-year-old woman who is running in the legislative elections on February 25 in the south-west of the country. On the same day, Nigerians will also elect their senators and their next president – ​​Muhmmadu Buhari stepping down after two terms, as provided for in the Constitution. On March 11, they will choose their governors and the deputies of the local assemblies.

Read the report: Election in Nigeria: “What if the opposition won…? »

In 2019, during the last elections, the campaign bus of Mme Akande-Sadipe had been destroyed and his press officers assaulted. For this election, she says she narrowly escaped an attack while campaigning against five men for her party’s primaries. In Nigeria, “Electoral violence is very real and it targets me more because I am a woman”, told AFP the MP from Oyo State. According to her, her opponents “think they can intimidate him” because she is a woman.

Africa’s most populous country, the continent’s largest economy, has many women in leadership positions in the private sector and on the international stage. But when it comes to elective functions, they are under-represented and very often set aside. In the current lower house sit thirteen women among the 360 ​​deputies, thus placing Nigeria at 184e rank out of 190 countries in the world, according to a ranking by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), based in Geneva. And the situation hardly seems to be improving.

Only one presidential candidate

The number of women contesting the 2023 elections has decreased at almost all levels: women are contesting only 10% of seats in local assemblies, 9% of seats in the National Assembly, 8% of seats in the Senate and 6 % of governorships. Only one woman, Princess Chichi Ojei, is a presidential candidate on February 25, against 17 men. And she is far from among the favorites Bola Tinubu of the ruling party (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition party (PDP) and outsider Peter Obi of the Labor Party (LP).

Read also: In Nigeria, cash and fuel shortages weigh on the presidential campaign

And yet, women played a major role in the political construction of Nigeria, mobilizing against colonial power and then during military dictatorships, according to Chiedo Nwankwor, professor at the American Johns-Hopkins University. But “once these movements succeeded, women were pushed aside”. The conservative cultural and religious system does not help women to assert themselves in the political landscape, according to Mercy Ette, a Nigerian researcher at the University of Leeds, who has studied female representation in the country. “Even among highly educated people, patriarchy is very strong”adds MP Akande-Sadipe.

The obstacles are immense, but that does not prevent Khadijah Abdullahi Iya from wanting to become the next governor of the state of Niger (center), plagued by violence from criminal groups. A position that no woman has ever held in the 36 states that make up the federal republic. But according to this 48-year-old woman, “Attitudes are changing” because “People are at a breaking point and they feel that women have the necessary compassion, that they can heal their ailments”. Insecurity is a crucial issue in the 2023 elections, with the country plagued by violence from jihadists, criminals and separatists.

“Laying the foundations for the future”

The financing of electoral campaigns is one of the obstacles for female candidates. “Women often don’t have the money to get started and very few men are willing to invest in their campaign”according to M.me Ette. Last year, the male-dominated parliament rejected five bills aimed at advancing gender equality and women’s representation.

Read also: In northern Nigeria, the big city of Kano at the heart of electoral covetousness

“There is very little political will to change the status quo”, told AFP Ibijoke Faborode, who runs ElectHer, a platform that supports young candidates. However, she believes that “something has changed” with the “EndSARS” protest movement against police violence, which broke out at the end of 2020 before being repressed. Among the main leaders were charismatic young women (lawyers, journalists, etc.) grouped together in a “Feminist Coalition”. None is a candidate, but their commitment has fueled the hopes of many others.

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Like Juliet Isi Ikhayere, a 28-year-old lawyer who is running for MP. At an event last month, she was called “toddler” by a man in the crowd. The last of the derogatory remarks she suffered throughout her campaign. But if “There are many challenges” And “if not by now”she says, “it’s all about laying the foundations for the future”.

The World with AFP

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