Rose Audu
Nigerian women on Wednesday staged a protest at the National Assembly as all five bills which seek to promote more opportunities for women in political parties, governance and the society at large were rejected by lawmakers.
On Tuesday, a coalition of 229 women groups has condemned the National Assembly for rejecting all gender bills during the voting on the amendments to the 1999 Constitution.
The groups, in a statement, described as sad the lawmakers’ decision to deny women the opportunity of inclusion and representation in governance by voting against the gender bills.
The National Assembly, they said, has spoken loud and clear that it does not want progress for society – for mothers, aunties, sisters, wives, and for daughters.
Some of the groups listed in the unsigned statement are Action Aid Nigeria, African Women’s Initiative (AWI) and Amnesty International Nigeria.
Others are EiE Nigeria, UN Women and 1. Stand to End Rape (STER)
TOS NEWS reported that the federal lawmakers on Tuesday voted on 68 bills that seek to alter the Constitution.
One of the bills sought to grant citizenship to foreign-born husbands of a Nigerian woman. Already, a Nigerian man’s foreign-born wife is automatically a Nigerian citizen.
Another bill sought to allocate 35 per cent of political positions based on appointment to women.
On Wednesday, the women, led by many civil society groups, carried placards to express their grievances.
Addressing the aggrieved women, the Minority Leader of the Senate, Eyinnaya Abaribe said he supported the bills but was outvoted.
He asked the women to seek the voting records to know which lawmakers voted against the bills.
