Asma’u Leo is the Executive Director, Centre for Non-Violence and Gender Advocacy in Nigeria, and also a Vital Voices Fellow. In this chat with ENE OSANG, the female youth leader decries the lack of consideration of young women in the scheme of things. According to her, among youths in general, young women are the most discriminated species
As a female youth leader, how would you assess female youths in Nigeria?
First and foremost I would describe young women as females between the ages of 24-35 or 24-40. We are making progress in the scheme of things but not as expected because at this level the Nigerian young woman should have a space and a voice. She should have been able to create her own space in the scheme of affairs, but there is a great challenge because the older women are still struggling for their own space, and I believe with the encouragement from the elderly women and the system at large we will go a long way.
Are the female youths different from the general youths?
Female youths are Nigerian youths but it has become the culture of an average Nigerian where men dominate the scene. And because of the cultural believe and practices where women are to be seen and not heard and not supposed to be in the fore front of any development change but I believe women can do better when given the opportunity but we as young women has been working complementarily with the young men as we have a network of alliance called the Youth Alliance for Credible and Constitutional Review (YACCOR) which is made up of young women and progressive young men who are making changes. As we speak there is an ongoing event in the Northern part of Nigeria and have been to Sokoto, Jigawa, Kano states and will be going to Abakiliki and the south west zone and this advocacy produced a document on youth representation recently about the kind of collaborative work between CS0’s that work with young people and the political parties caucus and with that I can say some of the positions are occupied by young women so we are making progress. I want to call the attention of the SA to the president on Youth and Student matters Comrade Jude Imagwe to mainstream young women into the activities of his office. There are many young female aspirants and they need support of the young men and the political parties.
Why should young women be involved in politics?
Politics is about human affairs, governance and a way of life that has either direct impact on the citizen especially in Nigeria so, I believe for us to move forward as a nation there has to be an all inclusive participation which young women also is a part of because we also aspire to have a say in governance not just in the background but mainstream affairs as well.
Youths are calling for 30% inclusion in governance, where do you vision young women in this?
That is where the problem comes because when there is anything like affirmative action especially amongst females you begin to wonder when the older women are looking for affirmative action how many young women below the ages of 40 are there in governance? Not only at the level of youth yearning for 30% in governance but amongst the women where the place of the younger women is when have the young men usually occupied any available space for youths. If there is any engendered specie or at high disadvantage it is the Nigerian young woman so when you talk about discrimination and exclusion, the young woman suffer it most.
Where do you think the quest for affirmative action leads the country?
Everybody wants positions, want to be heard, wants power and influence and when you can’t get it the only way is to go for affirmative action. I am not an advocate of affirmative action I believe that for someone to be qualified it has to be based on merit because when you give me a quota and it filled and am qualified you will be pushing me aside. People are falling back to affirmative action because of discrimination, political and social exclusion.
What is the way forward if you are to advise?
I think everyone be it women or youth affirmative action, within the affirmative action should be percentage for a quota system if 35% is for women 15% should be for younger women while 20% for the older women, then if it is within youths the 30% affirmative should be 15% each for both the young men and young women.
Do you think this is what will drive the economy?
Most advanced countries don’t use affirmative action to drive their cause; they do things based on merit. As a young woman when the democrats had elections recently in the US the Republican produced the youngest legislature ever at age 18 and this is not because of any affirmative action but out of merit and what she has got to offer.
Affirmative action to me is the greatest undoing to democracy, I want to believe that let everyone that qualified just take it but a situation where that cannot be obtainable in a country like ours where people hold onto power tenaciously the only option is affirmative action.
Where actually do young women belong, is it under youths generally or under women?
We are young people who are women so we belong to both the women caucus and also the youth. I am a female youth leader and I happen to be a member of global vital voices, an organisation formed by Hilary Clinton former US first lady and formed the vital voices which I happen to be the first pioneer member and that made me automatic young women leader.
Do you think youths are ready and capable of occupying leadership positions?
We are ready but the issue is the willingness of the status quo to change and that is why young women must come out and find their voice, come out and have their say because lagging behind won’t help us but let our voices be heard.
