Keypoints:
- Protesters demand reserved seats for women
- Bill seeks constitutional change for parity
- Tinubu minister voices support amid hurdles
HUNDREDS of women from across Nigeria converged on Abuja on Monday to demand the creation of women-only parliamentary seats, a move they say is vital to ending entrenched gender inequality in Africa’s most populous country.
Organisers said more than 1,000 demonstrators formed a colourful caravan of buses, vans and a truck pumping Afrobeats through the capital’s broad boulevards before delivering thousands of petition signatures to a House of Representatives committee reviewing constitutional reforms.
‘We want the legislature to work for women,’ said Dorothy Njemanze, a prominent activist who helped organise the protest.
Push for ‘Special Seats Bill’
The proposed ‘Special Seats Bill’ would create one women-only seat in both the Senate and the House of Representatives for each of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Implementing the measure would require a constitutional amendment—an arduous process needing approval from two-thirds of the National Assembly and 24 state legislatures, according to the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).
Women’s groups argue that quotas are essential to overcome the steep financial barriers, entrenched gender roles and the dominance of male power brokers that have left Nigeria with just four female senators out of 109 and 16 women among the 360 members of the House of Representatives. Several African nations, including Ghana, Rwanda and Senegal, have boosted women’s political representation by introducing similar quota systems.
Support and steep obstacles
President Bola Tinubu’s minister for women’s affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has signalled her backing for the legislation. Yet PLAC warned in a legislative brief that constitutional amendments are ‘no walk in the park’, noting that earlier efforts to reserve seats for women have repeatedly failed.
Protesters expressed personal stakes in the fight. ‘I want that seat, because tomorrow I may be the one contesting for it,’ said Onu Ihunania, a 50-year-old civil servant who joined the march.
Nyiyam Ikyereve, 40, travelled from Benue state to press for a parliament that better addresses women’s health and economic inclusion.
Representation flashpoint
The debate over women’s representation intensified this year when Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended after raising concerns about sexual harassment. Senate leaders insisted the suspension stemmed from a dispute over seating arrangements, but activists say the episode underscores the need for stronger female voices in the chamber.
Supporters of the Special Seats Bill hope Monday’s demonstration will galvanise lawmakers to act, despite Nigeria’s history of stalled reforms.
