At the beginning of the 2022 women’s history month, precisely on 1st March 2022, the National Assembly voted on 68 constitution alteration bills. These included 5 women issue bills, which were voted down by a majority of Nigeria’s male dominated National Assembly. One of it was the bill to create additional special seats for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly. The reactions that trailed the rejection of these bills included widespread criticism and protests by women and women groups at the National Assembly in Abuja and in some States across the country. Several reasons were given for the failure of the bills, but the major finding is that Nigerian male lawmakers are not ready to confront the problem of the dwindling numbers of women in their membership like their counterparts in other jurisdictions.
Why the Special Seats Bill?
The Special Seats Bill is a proposed Temporary Special Measure (TSMs) aimed at addressing women’s underrepresentation in the legislature. The concept of TSM was first enshrined in international law in Article 4 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which was ratified by Nigeria in June 1985. TSMs come in various forms such as policies, actions, support programmes, resource allocation, regulations, laws etc. TSMs have a “temporary” nature i.e., they are often discontinued when their desired results have been achieved and sustained for a period. Gender quotas, particularly those that are time bound, is a type of TSM.
The Special Seats Bill, which is a type of Seat Reservation, has a sunset clause mandating its review after 4 electoral cycles to determine is discontinuance. The proposal of this bill followed from a long period of research, advocacy, and consultations on the best quota design for Nigeria since previous suggestions or proposals to adopt party or candidate quotas were vehemently rejected by male politicians who are faced with the threat of having to step back for a female candidate if political parties were to implement same. The Bill was further informed by country experiences that confirm that candidate quotas are less likely to succeed in electoral systems based on single-member constituencies, e.g., Nigeria, where a party presents one candidate, unless reserved seats are used in that system. In single member-constituencies, only one representative is returned, but in countries using a multi-member constituency, more than one representative is usually elected to represent a constituency. The advantage is that it encourages parties to balance their nominations in each constituency between men and women to attract more voters. These are part of the considerations that informed the proposal of the Special Seats bill.
What the law currently says
Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (1999 Constitution) provides for non-discrimination and/or restrictions against any citizen of Nigeria, whether male or female or by virtue of his/her political opinion, however it also prohibits privileges and advantages via law or executive action on the basis of sex. The Electoral Act 2022 does not provide for a quota system to facilitate the representation of women in politics; and its attendant Electoral Regulations deals strictly with the procedural aspect of an election process. Recommendations to include affirmative action proposals in the Electoral Act have never been taken forward mostly because of the qualification in section 42.
Unfortunately, this provision in the Constitution against using the law to create privileges or advantages on the basis of sex (among other criteria) has been used as a basis by male politicians to refuse proposed legislation such as the Gender and Equal Opportunities (GEO) Bill. This argument also reared its head during the recent constitution alteration exercise by the 9th Assembly when it was cited by some male legislators as an impediment to the proposed constitution alteration to create affirmative action provisions for women (within the same Constitution). This obvious misinterpretation clearly ignores the fact that the Constitution specifically refers to privileges or advantages accorded via the “practical application of any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action.” Law here refers to enactments by an elected National Assembly, not a Constitutional provision that is supposedly made by “we the people.”
This resistance by male legislators to women issue bills informed the intention of female legislators to push for inclusion of affirmative action in the Constitution itself – the supreme law of the land – and not via the Electoral Act which is considered an inferior legislation to the Constitution.
Interestingly, the main arguments against quota systems include the idea that they are in breach of the principle of equality, as some candidates are allegedly favoured over others based on their gender. They are also often viewed as reducing the freedom of choice of voters. Even some female politicians oppose quotas, as they do not want to be elected just because they are women. But the reality is that women are excluded just because they are women. And countries adopting quotas understand that it is a tool of last resort where men are unwilling to share power.
Recently, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) and other NGOs, secured a declaration from the Federal High Court in Abuja, recognising 35% affirmative action policy for women which entails increased appointive positions for women to ensure inclusivity as contained in the National Gender Policy, 2006. This policy was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the same year but has not been implemented.
Factors behind successful introduction of gender quotas
- Good design: The success or effectiveness of gender quotas depend on their design. Badly drafted quotas e.g., weak enforceability, no sanctions or incentives, no clear rules on emergence of women etc. do not generate results. A rule of thumb is that well drafted quotas must fit the electoral system in place. For Nigeria, the first-past-the-post/majoritarian system where the winner takes it all cannot be ignored in designing quotas for women. This is why the Uwais Panel in 2008 recommended a hybrid electoral system involving proportional representation to facilitate the election of more female legislators. As noted earlier, Reserved Seats quotas is considered the “best-fit” and most effective quota type for countries using a First-Past-the-Post electoral system.
- The presence of mobilised women within and outside political parties – It has been found that efforts to increase the representation of women cannot happen without the prior mobilisation of women. Women’s movements have been closely associated with the adoption of quota systems in most countries, and this includes women’s wings of political parties, women NGOs, scholars, activists, etc. Some scholars have even argued that the activism for gender quotas to increase women’s representation in Nigeria has not been as robust, formidable, or effective as other countries where the quest for affirmative action measures gathered national momentum or was successful. The Senegalese women’s group, COSEF (Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes – Senegalese Council for Women in English) has been cited as a successful model for collaborative and aggressive but effective advocacy.
Members of the NASS Constitution Review Committee Debating Amendment Proposals (Feb. 2022)
COSEF is made up of women from across divides – political parties, civil society, media, the bar association, grassroots/rural women etc. They led the mobilization and advocacy efforts that led to the passage of the parity law in Senegal in 2010 following over 10 years of advocacy. Following from a Study Tour to Senegal undertaken by PLAC and some female legislators from the 8th House of Representatives Women in Parliament Committee in 2018, it was found that there was what was called a “COSEF mindset” that stressed on unified women, exclusion of political and religious affiliation and personal interest in the campaign. COSEF had women with diverse education and economic backgrounds but that did not get in the way of their joint advocacy as they saw themselves primarily as women with a common problem. COSEF organised trainings for women in local languages where governance terms and issues were explained properly using local parlance. Stakeholders engaged at the Study Tour described COSEF as a “dream team” of women activists.
- Support from (male) political leaders and party elites – Research studies show that in nearly every case of quota law adoption, the support of party elites was critical. It has also been found that in the majority of cases, male elites are ultimately responsible for adopting quota laws. Women in Peru lobbied for quotas in the early 1990s, but it took the public support of then President Fujimori, who was reported to have aggressively recruited women and sponsored legislation on issues of special concern to women, to send a quota bill to parliament in 1997. Opponents to the law fell into line after public support from the party leader. In Senegal, former President, Abdoulaye Wade, who is described as the “patron of parity”, was instrumental to the successful adoption of their 50/50 gender parity law. It is widely reported that Wade first proposed a gender quota of 50% in the African Union during a conference in Durban in 2002. The women’s movement in Senegal leveraged on his reformist stance and support to achieve the parity law.
- Timing – Introduction of gender quotas is common in countries coming out of conflict, undergoing transition, or constitutional and legal reform. Constitution review often presents a window of opportunity for the introduction of quota laws. South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tunisia are examples of countries that had extensive constitutional and legal reforms following national upheavals. Women activists took the advantage to fight for the inclusion of strong constitutional and legal protections for women, including affirmative action in politics. Consequently, Nigeria’s cyclical constitution amendment exercise offers an opening for women.
Conclusion
The rejection of the gender bills should not be a discouragement to Nigerian women but should instead fuel the fire to keep women issues, particularly the Special Seats Bill, on the front burner. This is because the road to affirmative action laws or gender quotas is often a long and bumpy one.
For instance, in Senegal, an earlier version of the parity law was declared unconstitutional in 2007 following resistance by opponents, but another law was introduced and successfully adopted in 2010. In France, the first attempt to introduce a legislated 25% quota in favour of women for election to municipal councils in 1982 was overturned by the Constitutional Council as being discriminatory. But in 1999, gender parity was successfully legislated through a constitutional amendment and the adoption of an electoral legislation that mandated equal access for men and women. In Egypt, seat reservations for women in parliament were first adopted in 1979, but the Constitutional Court struck it down in 1986 causing the numbers of women to drop drastically. However, it was subsequently reintroduced years later and currently, a minimum of 25% of seats in the Egyptian parliament is Constitutionally reserved for women. Similar country experiences of resistance, struggle and eventual victory abound.
A good amount of outrage has been directed towards male legislators in the National Assembly and expectedly so. However, this battle cannot be won without their support. While the protests seem to have died down, re-strategising and behind the scenes work continues. With the recent court ruling, renewed agitations for affirmative action, and growing number of supporters, there is a spark of hope that change could be around the corner, if Nigerian women remain undaunted in the face of resistance.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
- Ballington, Julie (2004). “Strengthening Internal Political Party Democracy: Candidate Recruitment from a Gender Perspective.” International IDEA.
- Ballington, J. 2004. The Implementation of Quotas: African Experience. Stockholm: Trydells Tryckeri.
- Dahlerup, Drude and Lenita Freidenvall (2003). Quotas as a “Fast Track” to Equal Political Representation for Women: Why Scandinavia is no Longer the Model. Paper presented at the IPSA World Congress, Durban, South Africa, June 29 to July 4 and the APSA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, August 28 to 31.
- Krook, M. L. (2006). Reforming Representation: The Diffusion of Candidate Gender Quotas Worldwide. Politics & Gender 2: 303–327.
- Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (2018). Women’s Political Representation in Nigeria: Why Progress is slow and What can be done to Fast-track it. Available at: https://placng.org/i/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Women-Political-Representation.pdf
- Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (2021). Bill Analysis on Special Seats for Women in the Nigerian Legislature. Available at: https://placng.org/Legist/placs-bill-analysis-on-special-seats-for-women-in-the-nigerian-legislature/
- Weeks, A. C. (2018). Why are gender quota laws adopted by men? The role of inter-and intraparty competition. Comparative Political Studies, 51(14), 1935-1973.