Women in Nigeria have again advocated that appointive and elective positions in the polity must be seen to reflect the 35% Affirmative Action and in line with political parties’ constitution.
This was reiterated in Abuja on Friday at a lecture with PDP women, organised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to commemorate the 2024 International Women’s Day celebration.
This year’s ceremony with the theme: “Inspire Inclusion,” was aimed at addressing key challenges confronting women globally.
While delivering a keynote address with the sub theme: ‘Supporting Women And Girls into Political Leadership’, the national women leader of the PDP, Hon Amina Divine Arong, expressed regrets that despite being powerful agent of change with proven benefits, women have continued to be under-represented in politics and other sectors.
She said, “There are 26 countries where women serve as Heads of States or government, with only 15 countries out of 195 in the world having a woman as Head of State and 16 having women as head of government which you will all agree is quite poor.”
Arong, who further stressed the need for continuous advocacy for active participation of women in politics, insisted that, to achieve global gender equality and democratic governance, stakeholders must invest in women’s right to active political participation.
In a welcome address at the event, the acting national chairman of the party, Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum, restated the roles of women in politics and society, saying like the founding fathers of the party, PDP would continue to give them their rightful place and opportunity to aspire to any position.
Represented by the national secretary of the party, Sen. Sam Anyanwu, Damagum assured that a programme to further reposition and give women a sense of belonging was underway.
“The men have failed us and I think we need to give women the chance to be President of our great nation,” he said.
A former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Ina Marian Chiroma, posited that “PDP is the only party that started as the Nigerian party”, assuring that “the party has a good history of doing well for the country.
Going forward, Chiroma urged the party to continue to support women to be able to reach their peak and contribute their quota as stakeholders in the country.
