Introduction
Preparations for gender socialization begin even before
the birth of the child. One of the first questions people ask of expectant
parents is the sex of the child. This is the beginning of a social
categorization process that continues throughout life. Preparations for the
birth often take the infant's sex into consideration (e.g., painting the room
blue if the child is a boy, pink for a girl). Today it is largely believed that
most gender differences are attributed to differences in socialization, rather
than genetic and biological factors. Gender stereotypes can be a result of
gender socialization. Girls and boys are expected to act in certain ways, and
these ways are socialized from birth by many parents (and society). For
example, girls are expected to be clean and quiet, while boys are messy and
loud. As children get older, gender stereotypes become more apparent in styles of dress and choice
of leisure activities. Boys and girls who do not conform to gender
stereotypes are usually ostracized by same-age peers for being different.
This can lead to negative effects, such as lower self-esteem.
According
to Anifowose (2004) Nigerian women
constitute about half of the population of the country and are known to play
vital roles as mother, producer, time manager, community organizer and social
and political activist. But despite the major roles they play and their
population, the society has not given recognition to these and to the fact that
they are discriminated against. This is due to some cultural stereotype, abuse
of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures.
Nigerian women have therefore over the years become target of violence of
diverse form based on their positions in promoting transformative politics.
This paper will therefore examine genderinequality suffered by women; secondly,
access the current status of women in politics and the various efforts made by
them for their political empowerment; thirdly, identify problems women face in
their quest to participate in politics and lastly suggest possible measures for
their political empowerment.
Clarification
of terms
Anifowose
(2004) opines that Socialization is a complex process through which individuals
learn, assimilate and internalize the customs, norms and culture of the
society, and from values that are acceptable to the society. Political
Socialization Like we said earlier of socialization, public opinion is grounded
on political socialization which itself is a complex process through which
individuals become aware of politics, learn political facts, and form political
values. According
to Kira (2003) political cultureis a people’s predominant beliefs, attitudes, values, ideals, sentiments
and evaluation about the political system. It isthis political culture that
political socialization transmits. From the above assertions one could say that
the process of political socialization is an endless thing which involves the
transmission of a people’s, groups and societies political culture from
generation to generation.
Political socialization is the study of the developmental processes
by which people of all ages (12 to 30) and adolescents acquire political cognition,
attitudes, and behaviors. It refers to a learning process by which norms and
behavior acceptable to a well running political system are transmitted from one
generation to another. It is through the performance of this function that
individuals are inducted into the political culture and their orientations
towards political objects are formed (Anifowose 2004).
According toKira (2003) Gender
politics refers to a
society's position on gender roles. What is acceptable or unacceptable for
males and females"? You might want to contrast that with your gender role
views, or the general opinion of people today. Kira (2003) gender politics deals
with activities that are appropriate for males and females and what rights, resources
and powers have inequality is a form of discrimination against the female folk.
It is the inadequate participation of women in developmental issues and
decision making process.
Gender
Inequality: Gender
Inequality often stern from social structures that have institutionalized
conceptions of gender differences. Cultural stereotypes are possible are
possible explanations for gender inequality and the resulting gender disparity.
According to Phillips (1995) women have been traditionally are designated to
occupations which requires such skills. While these skills are culturally
valued, they were typically associated with domesticity. Therefore, occupation
requiring these skills is not economically valued. Men have been traditionally
viewed as “bread winners” or the workers, so jobs held by men have been
historically and economically value and paid higher wages.
Current Status of Women in Politics
The
1979 Nigerian constitution guaranteed the rights of women to participate in
active politics; however, the last decade has witnessed a relative increase in
women’s participation. This is only when we measure increase in participation
with certain standards like the number of women who vote in elections; the number
of public offices held by women; number of women related policies implemented
by government etc. Over the years, there has been a remarkable increase in
women’s participation in politics in Nigeria considering these standards, yet
there is inherently a pronounced level of underrepresentation of women in
politics when compared with their male counterparts. Women’s aspiration to
participate in governance is premised on the following ground; that women in
Nigeria represent half of the population and hence should be allowed a fair
share in decision-making and the governance of the country. Secondly that all
human beings are equal and women possess the same rights as men to participate
in governance and public life. The right to democratic governance is an entitlement
conferred upon all citizens by law.
The
1999 Nigerian constitution by virtue of Section 40 states the following: Every
person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons,
and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or
any other association for the protection of his interests: Provided that the
provisions of this section shall not derogate from the powers conferred by this
Constitution on the Independent National Electoral Commission with respect to
political parties to which that Commission does not accord recognition.
From
the foregoing, it appears that there is nothing in the constitution, which
excludes the participation of women in politics in Nigeria. Yet when it comes
to actual practice, there is extensive discrimination. Few and almost
insignificant number of women were elected into various posts in the 1999, 2003
and 2007 general elections held in the country. Men dominate most public
offices till date. Female gubernatorial candidates have emerged but none has
ever won and same goes for the Presidency. Legislative representation has
witnessed the presence of women yet they remain under-represented when compared
to their male counterparts.
Following
two decades of military rule statistics reveal that women only secured 3%
representation in contested positions in 1999, 4% in 2003, while in 2007 they
made with only 6%. Few and almost insignificant number of women were elected
into various posts in past three general elections held in the country between
1999 and 2007. The result of the survey shows that no woman was elected as
governor of any state in the federation. We only had few women as members of
Houses of Assembly across the country and as members of the upper house(Senate)
and lower house (House of Representative) of the National Assembly. This survey
shows a poor representation of women in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections. In
2003 in States like Adamawa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi,
Nasarawa, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, no woman was elected as member of the
State House of Assembly. In states where women were elected as members of House
of Assembly, they were very few. According to the figures collated from the
database of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), records shows
that a total 7160 candidates (men and women) contested in the April elections.
Of this number, only 628 women participated. Out of the 25 candidates that
participated for the office of the President, only 1 is a woman while 5 women
contested for the office of the Vice President, (
For instance, there were about 9 female
senators out of 109 Senators and 25 women in the House of Representatives of
360 members, and also 54 female members of the State Assemblies. This is two
percent improvement of the 2003 general elections. In 2007 there was about
HOW SOCIALIZATION HAS AFFECTED GENDER
POLITICS IN NIGERIA
Gender roles – Patriarchy
The family is the main institution of
patriarchy (Kate Millet, 1970), which is an important concept in explaining
gender politics. Literarily, it means “the rule of the father”; more broadly,
it refers to a society ruled and dominated by men over women. This is inherent
in most African families. Giving men a higher social status over females has
crept into public life, which reflects in state activities. The family plays an
important role in maintaining this patriarchal order across generations. The
socialization of children to expect and accept different roles in life has
created a social mechanism for the development of values that engender the
several forms of discrimination against the female sex. The greatest
psychological weapon available to man is the length of time they have enjoyed
dominance over women, who have taken it for granted especially in the area of
politics that often continue to stereotype women and justify their
subordination.
Virility deficiency – women’s conception of
politics
Some consensus has been of the belief that
Nigerian politics is based on high political virility – those who have all it
takes to compete in the turbulent environment; those who possess the
wherewithal to take it by force when force is required; those that can march
violence with violence. This consensus belief that men possess the superiority strength,
competitiveness, are self-reliant and are prepared to tussle in political
endeavour, whereas women are considered too passive to engage in politics and
governance. This consensus is also constructed by societal norms and values,
which through socialization has defined different gender roles according to
biological differences. Women’s perception of politics as a dirty game and
continued fright at the thought of violence has further alienated them from
mainstream politics. In Nigeria there seems to be no critical understanding of
the difference between “a visible agenda for women and an impacting agenda for
women.” (Nkoyo, 2002:29). While severally, emphasis is laid on women’s
numerical strength, translating such into the attainment of powerhas been
difficult as women are perceived as “supporters club, team of cheerers and
clappers” in contrast to their male counterparts. Women politicians seek
offices on the premise of being different; most believe they must do what men
are doing to succeed. And the meekness of women is not to their advantage in
political tussle.
Discriminatory customs and laws
The customary practices of many contemporary
societies are biased by subjugating women to men and undermining their
self-esteem. The overall impact of gender bias, cultural norms and practices
has entrenched a feeling of inferiority in women and place them at a
disadvantage vis-à-vis their male counterpart in the socio-political scene even
in urban centers.
These socially constructed norms and
stereotype roles make women overplay their ‘feminity’ by accepting that they
are ‘weaker sexes’, overemphasizing the
dainty nature of their sex and regarding exceptional achievement as masculine.
For example, most customs often prefer sending the male child to school over
the female, who is expected to nurture siblings and to be married off. This
marginally increases the illiterate women and stiffens their competition with
their male counterparts in politics.
Religious
Doctrine: Some religious
doctrines militate against the active participation of women in politics and
position of authority. As Millet puts it: “patriarchy has God on its side” that
is, Christianity portrays Eve as an afterthought produced from Adam’s spare
rib. Furthermore, it is held that the origin of gender discrimination began
from their sins. Islamic doctrines strictly bar women from some political endeavor
public speaking etc. That can facilitate their political ambitions. In recent
times, however, there have been a number of movements to the commitment, both
to the personal and social change of women in their status in public life.
Through series of women enlightenment, emancipation and conscious raising of
groups on women movement, women subordination in politics have been reduced to
an extent. Women through several of these platforms have played influential
roles and this has further spurred more women in to politics.
Lack of affirmative action quota
Affirmative Action is usually a measure
intended to supplement non-discrimination; it is a broad term encompassing a
host of policies that seek to support weak groups in society. They include
policies where deliberate action is used to stop discrimination. A policy
process of this kind allows for rules that have the objective of enhancing
equal opportunity for individuals and the improvement, in the situation of
marginalized groups. In 1979, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW). This convention has variously been described as the “Bible of women
empowerment” and “Women’s International Bill of Rights.” Since its adoption it
has become a reference point for the women’s movement in the demand for gender
equality. The Convention “reflects the depth of the exclusion and restriction
practiced against women solely on the basis of their sex by calling for equal
rights for women, regardless of their marital status in all fields – political,
economic, social, cultural and civil. It calls for national legislations to ban
discrimination, recommends temporary special measures to speed equality in fact
between men and women” (UNESCO, 1999:6). The Convention provides that: Adoption
by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto
equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as
defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail as a consequence
the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be
discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have
been achieved. - Article IV, CEDAW. The 1999 Constitution made provided
somewhat similar affirmative action to supplement non-discrimination of
contending parties. The Constitution provides that: “the composition of the government
of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall
be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria
and the need to promote national unity, and also command loyalty, thereby
ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or
from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or any of its
agencies. It is not the use of Affirmative Action that seems to be the problem
but the practical effects and its linkage to fundamental ideas of fairness and
justice.
Lack of economic incentives (Financial
backing)
Women’s historical experience of
discrimination puts them at a disadvantage economically. Political campaigns
are expensive and require solid financial backing for success. Over the years,
sexual division of labour and job opportunities offered on sex basis has given
men productive gender roles, enabling them to possess more purchasing power
over their female counterparts. As an implication, the Nigerian labour market
has about 75% of labour being supplied by men. This economic disparity favour
men to the disadvantage of women. Only few women that are affluent possess the
economic power to bankroll political campaigns. Societal value assumes that
political activities are masculine and this makes it worse as financiers and
sponsors of politicians prefer male candidates over female ones, since they
believe they stand a better chance. Most success achieved by women in politics
has been through women movements that sponsor women political aspirations
financially and otherwise. Women dependence on men financially made manifest
through wife’s dependence on their husbands in families reveals the extent of
financial incapacitation of women in Nigerian politics. As a result, women
political aspirations have been grossly hampered by lack of financial bedrock
to subsist their endeavor.
CORRUPTION
Corruption which has become the latent
function of women involvement in governance process is growing with the speed
of light. Women that was perceived as an indispensable gender in nation
building have joined their male counterpart in looting with impunity. Following
the gender struggle with corruption as the umpire, can one say that indeed
women can do what men can do? or is morality gradually fading away? Maybe is a
change in societal role or our own definition of gender equality.
The first female speaker of the house of
representative, Patricia Etteh was dethroned as the fourth most powerful
official in government following a corruption allegation involving
N628 million. The first Female minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison Madueke is
not also free from corruption scandal as she was accused of withdrawing #30.9
billion in five days from December 26 ,2007 in order to beat government 31st
December deadline for returning of unspent budget allocation to government
treasury when she was the minister of transportation.
Obasanjo
Bello was also in the same canopy as she was accused of N3.5 billion contract
scam which she allegedly awarded to her company when she was the commissioner
of health in Ogun state. On the same gender and sector but at federal level,
professor Adenike Grange, a former minister of health and 12 others were
charged by EFCC on the ground of corruption following N300million unspent fund
belonging to ministry of health which was shared by the accused under the
instruction of the minister. Minister of aviation,Mrs Stella Oduah was not left
out by the dew of corruption as she allegedly bought two budgeted BMW
armored cars at an exotic price of N225 million. For some inexplicable reasons,
government has still decided to keep the beautiful minister in her cabinet as
the call for her removal from the office by the masses does not cut an ice on
government.
FACTORS LEADING TO THE GROWTH OF WOMEN PARTICIPATION
IN POLITICS
Women Empowerment Programs
According to Nkoyo (2002) women empowerment
is a multi-dimensional process involving the transformation of the economic,
political, social, psychological and legal circumstances of the powerless with
its aim of dismantling the cultural, traditional and social norms, which
disvalue, disempower and dispossess women with its central objectives tied to
the needs of women to opportunities, facilities, skill acquisition and position
of authority, especially within the political sphere. This recent development
accords women the opportunity to develop their individual talent and contribute
more meaningfully to societal development, helping subvert cultural as well as
the societal norms which have been of disadvantage to the women folk.
For
instance, theForum of Nigerian Women in Politics (FONWIP) whose central
objective is to promote women empowerment and eradication of all forms of
violence and discrimination against women. It supports women in decision making
in both public and private sector. The group organizes seminars on empowerment
and inequality among other things. It is influential in its agenda; it
requested that government should yield to 30% female representation in
government appointments; made several attempts to increase official awareness
on gender issues in public policies and conduct of workshops for women who aspire
to run for public offices (Nkoyo (2002).
Activities of UN and other International Organizations
The
principles, policies and actions towards ending gender inequality in Nigerian
politics have been advanced and undertaken with the influence of international
organizations by both government and non-governmental organizations. On its
part, the United Nations (UN) has fostered several Declarations and Conventions
aimed at ending all forms of political discrimination among women.
Quotas and proportional representation: These are generally seen as a positive action
of laws allocating quotas for women to assist in the promotion for gender
balance in public life. Quotas are considered as a legitimate means of securing
this end. According to Nkoyo (2002) the exclusion of women in politics is as a
result of reasons such as financial, cultural, traditional and political. Asserting
this fact and the reasons that have made it so implies that quotas should not
be seen as discrimination towards men and cannot be branded unconstitutional as
most quotas are formulated under neutral basis. The Law (Nigerian) provides for
a maximum of 60% and a minimum of 30% representation for either sex, which was
implemented as a result of the Beijing Conference. The Conference agreed that
30% of public seat and positions should be reserved for women. Nigeria records
an increase of 78% progress in women’s election into public offices spanning
from 1999 - 2007. In the 4th Republic which started on May 29, 1999 the
Nigerian political terrain had witnessed an increase in the number of women
political appointees as few women have emerged as Chairpersons of Local
Government Councils. Lagos State produced a female Deputy Governor in the
person of Senator Bucknor Akerele. In the Senate, there were three (3) women
namely Chief (Mrs.) Agbalajobi 081 Florence Ita Giwa representing Cross-River
State, South Senatorial District; Mrs. Stella Omu from Delta State and Hajia
Khairat Abdul-Rasaq representing the FCT. Twelve (12) women in the House of
Representatives; Barrister Iquo Minimah, Mrs. Patience Ogodo, Lola Abiola
Edewor, Patience O. Etteh, Dorcas Odurinrin, J.F. Adeyemi, Binta Garba Kosi,
Gbenni Saraki, Florence Aya, Linda Ikpeazu, Temi Harrinnan and Mercy Almona
Isei. In the Executive Councils, Former President Obansanjo also appointed a
number of women in the Federal Executive Council. In the present administration
eight (8) women occupy strategic ministerial posts, they are – Prof. Dora
Akunyili the (Min. for Information), Mrs. Felicia Njeze (Min. of State), Mrs.
Dlazani Madueke (Defence), Mrs. Agata Jerry (Transport), Mrs. Aishatu Dikku
(Min. of State), Mrs. Grace Ekpiwhre (Science and Technology), Fatima Ibrahim
(Min. of State of Energy and Power) and Mrs. Bingudu (Min. of women Affairs),(Nkoyo 2002).
From
the foregoing it is evident that there has been an increase in the number of
positions manned by women in Nigerian political affairs, afar cry from what
persisted in the 1950s. This has been made possible due to the quota allocation
system as approved by the UN to be implemented in global politics. It can
therefore be seen that the practice of the quota system assists in reducing the
low-level of women participation in politics, a veritable solution to male
dominated patriarchal society. It also stereotypes the presence of women, which
changes the face of decision making, providing opportunities for substantive
input. This technique contributes to no small measure in improving female
intention to participate in Nigerian politics despite the prevailing political
structure and societal norms, as “a woman’s experience is needed and necessary
in political life and policy making in order to represent the entire society”(Nkoyo 2002).
Conclusion
Socialization and gender politics in Nigeria
is discussed in three historical epochs namely, pre-colonial, colonial and
post-colonial periods. Since the inception of democracy in 1999, especially
since 2011, the number of women in the governance process has been on the
increase. This is evident in the number of women in the national assembly,
government agencies, departments and ministerial positions .Just as light was
about to shine at the end of the tunnel following the gradual cultural
liberation by women, came a bigger tunnel known as corruption ,a syndrome to
ethics and morality.
Women Participation in Nigerian politics is
an issue of great importance. Women have been put at the background politically
for years; this has engendered a consciousness of women under-representation in
public life. However, the intention of most women to participate in politics is
basically to support their female folk, this is their substantive
responsibility and it is even on this platform that most women emerge as public
office holders successfully. They use the platform of women movement as a
veritable platform to seize political power and consolidate the power on this
same platform. Be as it may, there is an increase in women participation on
these bases and women movements are promising in achieving gender equality and
equity.
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