AN APPRAISAL OF WOMEN IN POLITICS: LAWS AND CIRCUMSTANCES LIMITING PARTICIPATION

ABSTRACT Women’s political participation in Nigeria is a growing concern, as women are poorly represented in both elective and appointive positions. Since the beginning of recorded history, men have and is still dominating the political landscape and the governance of Nigeria. However, this study presents a critical appraisal on the circumstances and laws limiting women’s participation in Nigerian politics. The country’s landscape is characterized by an ingrained patriarchal structure, which has led to long lasting underrepresentation of women in politics. The study reveals that the patriarchal system and male domination of the society, which relegates women to subordinate role, is creating women’s inferiority complex and alienating them from the mainstream politics in Nigeria. Women’s political participation in Nigeria is historically low with various factors contributing to this issue which ranges from cultural and religious factors, violence and intimidation, unequal access to education and resources, lack of political representation, gender quota laws etc. Accordingly, this study reiterates that the Sustainable Development Goals recognizes women’s political participation and aims to achieve responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels by 2030. This study is a qualitative analysis that relies on the primary and secondary sources of law. The primary sources which includes Nigerian laws and international treaties, while the secondary sources includes textbooks, journals and reports from other authors. Consequently, the study emphasizes the need to address these factors that entrench women’s subordination in Nigerian Politics. These includes amongst others, the reformation of all laws and practices that perpetuate women’s political underrepresentation in the country and the explicit specifications and modalities of affirmative action on women’s political participation and clear guidelines for implementations in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.