By PALANG KASMI
ANOTHER respondent, former Director of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, University of Jos, and Deputy Dean of the Sociology Department of the same university, Dr Plangsat Dayil, stated that Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP) — which includes restrictive party structures, conspiracies against female candidates, party financing, attitudes towards female aspirants, and Godfather interference in politics — are factors responsible for the declining participation and progress women are making in Nigerian politics.
The academic stated: “Socio-cultural restrictions include masculine preference and persistent gender prejudices, as well as established patriarchal traditions, among others. Even fewer women are chosen for leadership posts, implying a decrease in overall governance. As a result, the lack of a strong support system and an inclusive institutional approach within political parties and party structures further marginalises women. All of these variables influence women’s capacity to effectively compete for political office.”
She continued: “Addressing these multifaceted difficulties requires extensive policy interventions, advocacy for gender-sensitive changes, and measures to remove systemic impediments to women’s political engagement.”
According to the gender expert, to a large extent, there is a link between mentoring and female participation in politics and the factors she mentioned work against women compared to men, playing a key role in affecting women.
According to her, “This lack of mentorship not only limits the number of women entering politics but jeopardises the long-term viability of increases in women’s political representation.”
“So, women need to re-group and fund each other, which is essential for developing confidence, providing guidance, and sharing the skills required to navigate the difficulties of political life. Established female politicians can mentor potential female candidates and women to assist them in comprehending the political system, building networks, and learning effective campaign and leadership strategies. When such mentorship opportunities are sparse, many potential female candidates lack the support and practical know-how required to overcome obstacles such as prejudice, limited access to resources, and the difficulties of juggling public and private roles. Without experienced female role models to assist and advocate for them, rising women leaders frequently struggle to break into male-dominated political environments and develop the resilience required for success,” she said.
Dr Dayil also addressed the notion that women are their own enemies, saying that it is not necessarily true. She said, “Women are human and are not a homogenous group. They belong to parties and enter into contracts to protect party interests and ideologies. I think we should concentrate on bringing up and supporting women who are in leadership positions to form a strong, formidable, and critical mass in support of upcoming female politicians to make strategic choices and build their ability to overcome problems when they are confronted with one.”
According to her, “Politics are primarily the product of highly entrenched societal norms, institutional hurdles, and discriminatory practices that limit women’s prospects, as well as patriarchal systems, unequal access to resources, a lack of support networks, and prejudices about women’s leadership qualities, all of which provide substantial challenges that are not just the result of women’s actions.”
Hon. Alice Dimlong Asaje, the Plateau State All Progressives Congress (APC) Woman Leader and former member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, stated that the statistics of women’s participation in politics are declining day by day.
She noted: “And I will use a clear example of the recent Nigerian elections in 2023, and particularly in my own party. I know that quite a number of women came out and participated. But the major hindrance was a lack of internal democracy, because a lot of times, the men sit down and write names without allowing us to go to the primary elections.”
Dimlong, addressing the issue of a lack of mentorship affecting women in politics, suggested that it was necessary to look at both sides of the coin: “I will say yes and no at the same time. It is good to mentor and get us prepared, because one of the things I will always say is that we should be prepared ahead of whatever challenge, and one of the ways we can do so is to mentor the younger ones.
“Mentoring actually gets us prepared for whatever comes our way, but you can also mentor as much as you can and still get nowhere because of the lack of internal democracy in these parties. Our democratic system hasn’t reached the level where you can say you are an independent candidate or perhaps stand with an unknown party. So the major parties usually just do as they wish, without considering the female aspirants.”
She commended the APC for its recent amendment of the constitution, where it was enshrined that the 35 per cent affirmative action must be reflected from the polling unit to the ward, local government, and up to the state level. “And it shouldn’t be only in elective positions, it should even be in party positions and appointive positions. So if we comply with the constitution, we will probably begin to have a good number of women in the party executive who can speak and stand for other women.”
She added, “I don’t think women are their own problem in politics. Why I say so is because what applies to the women also applies to the men. Following keenly whatever position the men are contesting, you will hear them calling each other names, struggling, and doing whatever the other women also do. Women should just learn to play the game by its rules. Every game has its rudiments. If you learn to play it by the rules, we will get it right. And when I say we should play it by the rules, it means we should always go back to the grassroots and integrate with the women.
She said: “So women should learn to go back home and integrate with fellow women in their localities because every politics is local. And gaining acceptance by the women would solve 70 to 80 per cent of the problem. But saying that women are the problem of themselves, I really don’t see it that way because those issues that are raised, like name-calling, quarrels, and many more, also apply to the men.
“But they overcome it. I think if these things are addressed, perhaps in 2027 we may have a better outcome because, as it is right now, female participation in politics is nothing to write home about, as rightly observed.”