Some Nigerian women are set to hold another protest at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The demonstration which some have described as the “mother of all protests” is aimed at calling on the federal lawmakers to reconsider all the gender bills that were rejected during the Constitution amendment last week.
The co-convener of Womanifesto, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, made this known during a meeting with other women groups.
She regretted that on the first day of Women’s History month – March – the Nigerian legislature voted to deny citizenship to the foreign-born husbands of Nigerian women but a Nigerian man’s foreign-born wife gets automatic citizenship and lawmakers also denied Nigerians in the Diaspora the right to vote.
She also lamented that lawmakers voted to deny women the ability to take indigeneship in their husband’s state after five years of being together and also rejected 35 per cent appointed positions for women.
The lawmakers, she said, also voted to deny women 35 per cent affirmative action in party administration and leadership as well as specific seats for women in the National Assembly.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the lawmakers last Tuesday, voted on the 68 bills that seek to alter the Constitution.
Of the 68 legislations, five bills sought to promote more opportunities for women in political parties, governance and the society at large.
They were all rejected.
One of the legislation sought to grant citizenship to foreign-born husbands of Nigerian women. Already, a Nigerian man’s foreign-born wife is automatically a Nigerian citizen.
Another sought to allocate 35 per cent of political positions based on appointment to women. There was also a separate legislation to create special seats for women in National and State Assemblies.
Over 200 Nigerian women protested last Wednesday at the National Assembly against the rejection of the bills.
The women had accused the lawmakers of choosing to deny women the opportunity of inclusion and representation in governance by voting against the bills.
While the women say they have demanded a list of how each lawmaker voted during the process, they vowed to keep “occupying the National Assembly” until the bills are reconsidered.
They accused the men of the ninth assembly of reinforcing the discrimination and political bias against women as enshrined in the Constitution.
Besides recomitting and reconsidering all the five gender bills, the women are also asking the lawmakers to pass the Gender and Equal Opportunities bill currently before the Senate and immediately domesticate the African Charters Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, which Nigeria ratified in 2004.
The National Assembly is also being asked to domesticate the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Nigeria ratified in 1985.
Nigeria’s male dominated legislature
Nigeria’s legislature is male-dominated with a very poor women representation (which spreads across political and elective positions).
Nigerian women have resolved continue to struggle to push back on the misogynistic attitude of some of the lawmakers and the pattern of neglect toward women concerns and disregard for womanity.
‘We reject further dehumanisation of Nigerian Women. The constitution should cure the defect and we will continue to protest to show our dissatisfaction.
“We call on the Senate President and the Speaker to call an urgent meeting to discuss how to readdress the wrong if not we shall continue to occupy the National Assembly,” they said.
The protest is scheduled to hold across many cities in the country.
THEGUARDIAN
