WOMEN’S (FEMALE GENDER) POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS OF PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Plateau State and Nigeria at large has been recording low participation of women in both elective
and appointive positions. This is a growing concern to many Nigerians. However, concerted efforts
have been made by government and non -governmental organizations to increase the level of
participation of women in politics in line with the declaration made at the fourth World Conference
on women in Beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action. In Nigeria, the extant National
Gender Policy (NGP) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought for a more
inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of both elective political and appointive
public service positions respectively. The under representation of women in political participation
gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from
pre-colonial era till date. However, the re-introduction of democratic governance has witnessed once
again an increase in women political participation both in elective and appointive offices. The
national average of women’s political participation in Nigeria has remained below 7 percent in
elective and appointive positions, which is far below the global average of 22.5 percent, Africa
regional average of 23.4 percent and West African sub regional average of 15 percent. In
Plateau State in particular, there has never been a female governor but the state has had two female
deputy governors in 2007 and 2023 respectively. In the state assembly, women representation has
never been above 8%. In 2015, the state had 2 female legislators representing 8%, 1 female
legislator representing 4% in 2019 and none in 2023. Based on the findings of the study, it is
recommended among others that the Plateau State government through the Gender and Equal
Opportunities Commission should make and implement a policy on Inclusive Equal Gender
Leadership at the Local Government Councils that will empower women politically. This will ensure
that every candidate for Chairmanship position chooses another gender as a running mate. This will
empower women to participate in politics and contribute meaningfully to the development of the
State.