Nigeria’s Political System Still Unfair to Women — Kingibe

The Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has lamented that Nigeria’s political environment remains oppressive to women, stressing that the proposed creation of six additional seats for women in the Senate will not significantly improve female representation.

Speaking during an interview on Arise News, Kingibe argued that reducing the proposed special seats from 37 to six would make little difference in addressing gender imbalance in the Senate.

According to the lawmaker, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, the National Assembly remains overwhelmingly male-dominated, a situation she said continues to limit women’s voices in national decision-making.

“In the Senate today, there are only four women. Even if you add six more, that brings the number to eight. That does not fundamentally change the narrative or balance of representation,” she said.

Kingibe also noted that outspoken male lawmakers are often praised for being bold, while women who speak strongly are labelled troublesome.

“In the National Assembly, outspoken men are described as just outspoken. But outspoken women like me are often described as troublesome,” she stated.

The senator further disclosed that the Gender Equal Opportunity Bill has passed its first reading but is yet to scale through the second reading due to resistance from some lawmakers.

She said many of her colleagues question the need for the bill, with some arguing that it may contradict the Constitution.

However, Kingibe maintained that the demand for improved representation is legitimate, noting that while the Constitution provides for equality, advocates are only pushing for the enforcement of 35 per cent affirmative action.

She also expressed concern that women are sometimes excluded from critical legislative committees, revealing that ad-hoc committees of up to 20 members are occasionally constituted without a single female member.

The senator warned that Nigeria risks falling behind other nations on gender inclusion, noting that some international parliamentary bodies have begun imposing penalties on countries that fail to include women in their delegations.

According to her, many countries with strong religious and cultural traditions have made more progress on gender representation than Nigeria.

“We have a society that is oppressive to women. Sometimes you want to say something but you are not allowed to speak unless you make a fuss. How can a country develop without the voice of 50 per cent of its population?” she asked.

Kingibe, however, expressed hope that the Gender Equal Opportunity Bill could still be passed before the end of the 10th National Assembly, noting that it would also require approval by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly to become law.