President Muhammadu Buhari has recommended for Cabinet posts.
Senators
on Friday were continuing their review of Buhari’s selections for a
second day. Forty-three people were under consideration, but just seven,
or 16 percent, were women. That's a concern for women's advocates like
Justina Toochukwu.
"The problem is not really women not participating, it is the support,” she said. "When you indicate your interest in a particular office, how is it carried, how is it responded to? There's no support for these offices, so it's quite discouraging. It's not like women don't want to participate, but we're continuously downplayed."
In the last decade, Nigeria has seen a greater involvement of women in education, business and the social sector. But women hold just 7 percent of elected positions, even though they make up nearly 50 percent of the electorate. The 7 percent figure is one of the lowest in the world.
'Incremental' progress
Garba Abari, director general of Nigeria's national orientation agency, said progress was being made.
"It
used to be 4, it was 6, now we have 7” percent, she said. "Perhaps the
next Cabinet will be 10 or perhaps we may even get to the 30 percent
affirmative action requirement, but we're seeing some incremental
progress."
The percentage of women serving in government during Buhari's first
four-year term, which began in 2015, was higher, about 17 percent. The
president was re-elected in February, and during his
campaign he promised to improve the representation of women in his
Cabinet.
Political observers such as Rotimi Olawale, founder of Youth Hub Africa, say the president has yet to keep that promise.
"The president is coming more from a politics angle than a policy angle
and it's evident the way that this list has come up,” he said. "You have
nine former governors, two former deputy governors, a whole lot of
former ministers."
But he said there could be a solution.
"I
think that women need to also negotiate more and to find ways by which
they can sit at decision-making tables,” Olawale said. "And if such
tables don't exist, they have to create their own tables and invite men
to sit at them. I'm hoping that in the nearest future, we'll have a
woman president."
VOA