Women in Politics

'Why Nigerian Women Fail in Elections' This Day (Lagos) INTERVIEW 30 September 2007
Posted to the web 1 October 2007 Lagos
Hon. Patricia Udogu, member House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007, was the first woman Federal parliamentarian from Imo State. She was also a member of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) for four years. In this interview with Chuks Okocha she speaks on ways to improve women's role in future elections. She also takes a critical look at the role of Nigerian female politicians in context with other countries and recommends how to improve women's chances in politics ahead of the 2011 general elections in Nigeria
How did women fare in the last elections in Nigeria?
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The elections were spectacular in the sense that they were the first elections in the annals of Nigeria, which were organised by an incumbent government. Many things have been said and written about the April elections, including several problems in terms of rigging and fairness.
I am not here to discuss the flaws of the elections or otherwise. I would rather concern myself with the role of women at the elections and also how they fared. And to ensure that adequate analysis is done, a comparative analysis earlier would be taken in terms of global electoral concepts. This is as regards women both in presidential and parliamentary elections in conjunction with the spirit of the United Nations and the Beijing Agenda. This has defined standards of women participation in politics and other national engagement.
For a clearer understanding of how women fared, a time frame from 2003 and 2005 shall be my yardstick. Thereafter, an analysis of the women role in the 2007 elections would be undertaken and issues that militated against their progress or otherwise would be highlighted and solution proffered where necessary.
How would you give a global analysis of how women fared in elections?
A review of records from the... [continues]

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