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Mainstreaming Gender Policy in Nigeria By Marshall Ifeanyi
When in 2004 I wrote my debut book
“Our Origin: Our Choice”, a book with a feminist view on
religion, tradition and other issues, I dwelled extensively on the issue
of women in politics. It was saddening then to face the reality that
women had little or no presence in the governance of this country. It is
two years after, I look back at the feat women have achieved in nation
building, governance, economy and attitudinal change and my faith in the
enormous strength of women and what positive changes they can bring in
the body polity of the nation becomes stronger. I then appreciate the
Obasanjo administration for giving women a chance to serve.
I have watched the reform programmes of
the present administration and can confidently assert that these reforms
are largely successful as a result of the thrusts made by women
appointed to run them. Reforms in sectors ranging from tourism,
transport, education, health, economy, solid minerals, due process,
civil service, gender mainstreaming and a host of others too many to
mention.
Never a time in the history of modern
Nigeria had women achieved this feat but in this present time. The only
time women were given the type of accolades they receive now was before
and during the colonial era and shortly before independence when the
likes of Queen Amina of Zaria, Inikpi of Ida, Madam Effuronye,
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the famous Aba Women of 1929 and other women
who in their different shows of good prowess ruled and fought the good
cause of women gallantly.
After independence, few women have stood
out and remained the women’s good-cause flag bearers. Such women
include, among a few others, Sarah Jibril and the first female Vice
Chancellor of Nigeria, Grace Alele-Williams. The latter has never
relented in training and retraining women to assume their rightful
places, especially, in the political arena. She keeps telling them that
there is no victory yet for women so long as they continue basking in
the euphoria of celebrating the “1st woman ever” in their
chosen fields. Saying that “the first woman” is insignificant in the sea
of men competitors in the same field and that until women come out
enmass, then those celebrations are done in futility. A clarion call for
gender balance and equal opportunities.
It is therefore necessary to say gender
inequality is a reflection of the disparities existing between the male
and the female sexes. These disparities result due to misconceptions of
the natural differences and make-ups between men and women as designed
by God. In Nigeria today, the attitude toward women is such that calls
for serious concerns. Such patriarchal beliefs that engender
discrimination against women are becoming too alarming even in public
offices. If a young man is taught to believe that he is more superior to
a young woman, he imbibes and grows up with such wrong notion and tends
to treat a woman as such. If he is told that beating a woman is a mark
of great strength and respect, he tends to exhibit his negative power
motivated prowess at the slightest provocation by a woman. Men forget
that the world is changing and need support systems in their
counterparts – women.
The consciousness to advance women’s right
and their place in good governance is ever building and growing. It is
in recognition of all the above that the Federal Ministry of Women
Affairs has been in the forefront of campaigns and advocacy to promote
gender equality for sustainable development. And this time, the Minister
of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Maryam Inna Ciroma, is in the
forefront of this struggle. Recently, she made a call for the
development of a National Gender Policy to engender gender mainstreaming
during a one-day validation of findings forum at Bolingo Hotel, Abuja in
November, 2006. She said issues such as overview of the national gender
policy of Nigeria, status, policy framework, guiding principles,
priorities and institutional/operational strategies are to be discussed
if the gender policy framework is to succeed.
The initiative has a team of gender
consultants led by Professor Aina Olabisi of the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ife, who facilitated the discussions at the forum alongside
other consultants including Dr. T. Tyoor, Director General, Quality
Development & Management Resources, QDMRC-Nigeria and Dr. Bola Akanji,
Associate Research Professor, Nigeria Institute of Social Economic
Research, NISER.
The Minister also said that a National
Gender Policy will empower, enhance cooperation and support of men,
increase the participation of women in politics and the economy, defend
and advance women’s right, fight against stereotyping in work places
among others. She added that the policy will take into cognizance the
twelve areas of concern of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action, CEDAW, NEEDS, and SEEDS as well as NEPAD. The process which
began in August 2006 is with a view to review the national and
international documents and reach a consensus which will translate
policies into actions. This will further produce a people-oriented
policy to replace the National Policy on Women. She therefore called on
the stakeholders civil society and development partners to see to
fulfilling the yearnings to integrate women in national development.
Participants were drawn from government agencies, inter-governmental
organizations, UNICEF, NGOs, CSOs, OPS, institutions of higher learning,
press and members of the public.
Also recently, the Independent National
Electoral Commission, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and UNIFEM in a
related development and in a bid to intensify the campaign on women’s
rights advancement, organized a Stakeholders’ Conference on Women and
the 2007 Elections with theme, “Women and the Elections: Issues,
Challenges and Prospects for 2007”. This event held at the Yar Adua
Centre, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, December, 2006.
It has been observed that there are so
many constraints hinder the implementation of gender policy in Nigeria.
Culture features prominently, patriarchy follows as well as absence of
legal instruments to drive actions. Also the lack of political will and
low awareness of people in political issues are contribute as well as
inadequate number of gender advocacy groups and the few existing ones do
not practice what they preach. The negative portrayals of females by the
media are a worrying concern.
Despite the above, there is still
opportunity for gender policy formulation and implementation. Some
vibrant civil society groups are causing awareness on gender issues. The
presence of some good role models in government presents an opportunity.
These efforts especially that of developing a National Gender Policy for
Nigeria, has become imperative and commendable so as to effect a change
in our attitude towards women. There is need for government, schools,
the mass media, the family, civil society groups, non-governmental
organizations, community based organizations, organized private sector,
traditional and religious institutions, as change agents, to come
together and support this transformatory and time enduring policy
initiative of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.
In this regard, deliberate efforts must be
made by these change agents to influence our thoughts, feelings and
actions towards the emergence of new national philosophy that can make
the country a gender-balanced nation where our level of civilization is
measured by among others, how we treat our women. Laws alone, like I
said in my book, cannot erode the negative attitudes towards women. Let
us begin to appeal to our hearts and consciences. It is a subtle but
sure additional way of winning the fight for equality.
But for these efforts to scale through to
success, our attitude towards gender issues must begin to change. Has
anyone cared to ask if gender equality in anyway has hampered
relationship between men and women? Maybe somebody should take a closer
look at countries like Finland, Sweden, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda,
Ghana and Rwanda, where gender issues have been fully mainstreamed into
their laws and practices, some of where women and men both enjoy
maternity and paternity leave, freedom from sexual violence, women
reproductive rights upheld, separate tax for women, parental allowances,
separate commission on gender equality, mandatory legal/financial
literacy for women, all customary laws against women stamped out, and so
forth. has the emergence of a female president in places like Liberia,
Pakistan, eroded the dignity of their men? In Nigeria, the journey may
seem distant, but we are getting close. Let all hand be on deck.
Marshall Ifeanyi
National Press Centre, Abuja. December,
2006
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