For decades, West African governments have signed declarations, endorsed protocols and adopted policies promising to increase women’s participation in politics. Yet the numbers tell a sobering story. In this report, Joy Baba-Yesufu examines the possibility of achieving gender parity in African patriarchy politics.
Women currently occupy barely 15.5 per cent of parliamentary seats across West Africa, far below both the African average and the global average. Executive offices, party leadership positions and key decision-making institutions remain overwhelmingly dominated by men.
Against this backdrop, women political leaders, ministers, parliamentarians, election managers, civil society organisations, development partners and regional institutions converged in Abuja over the weekend for the West Africa Women’s Political Leadership Forum, determined to answer a question that has lingered for years: How can the region move from commitments to concrete action?
Convened by the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ECOWAS and other regional partners, the two-day forum focused on the theme: “Accelerating Gender Parity in Political Leadership in West Africa: From Commitments to Action.”
More importantly, it sought to transform the proposed Presidential Declaration on Gender Parity in Political Representation into an enduring ECOWAS@50 Legacy Initiative, complete with measurable targets, political accountability and regional cooperation.
Participants agreed that the region has reached a defining political moment. Across West Africa, elections, constitutional reforms and democratic transitions present rare opportunities to reshape governance. Yet these opportunities continue to bypass women because of deeply rooted structural barriers.
Campaign financing remains prohibitively expensive. Politics has become increasingly monetised, while patronage systems often favour male candidates. Electoral violence, insecurity and political intimidation discourage many women from contesting elections. In addition, digital platforms have become new battlegrounds where women politicians are subjected to online abuse, misinformation and coordinated attacks.
Speakers insisted that these obstacles have less to do with women’s competence than with unequal political systems.
The Abuja forum therefore shifted attention from discussing problems to identifying practical solutions capable of changing political realities before the ECOWAS target year of 2035.
Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim said the forum represented more than another conference on gender equality describing women’s political participation as an economic and governance imperative rather than simply an issue of fairness.
According to her, excluding women from decision-making weakens national development because women remain central to policy implementation, peacebuilding, social protection and economic growth.
She noted that the Abuja Action Agenda centres on several strategic commitments, including accelerating the ECOWAS 2035 gender parity agenda, creating sustainable financing mechanisms for women seeking political office, guaranteeing women’s participation during democratic transitions, eliminating violence against women in politics, strengthening regional solidarity among women leaders and establishing stronger systems for monitoring progress.
The minister explained that Nigeria’s ongoing reforms including leadership academies, implementation of the country’s third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and efforts to strengthen family-centred social development reflect the same vision of inclusive governance.
While regional institutions can provide direction, speakers agreed that implementation ultimately rests with individual member states.
Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mme Damtien Tchintchibidja, explained that ECOWAS cannot compel governments to adopt gender parity measures through legislation.
Instead, she said member states must domesticate regional commitments by translating them into national laws, constitutional reforms and institutional frameworks.
To support this process, she announced that ECOWAS would develop a comprehensive regional roadmap aimed at accelerating women’s political participation.
The roadmap will establish measurable benchmarks, monitor implementation across member states and encourage peer learning, allowing countries to adopt successful approaches from neighbouring states rather than repeatedly designing new strategies.
She also pledged that ECOWAS would continue mobilising partnerships with organisations such as UNDP and other development partners to secure financial resources capable of supporting women candidates throughout the region.
Perhaps one of the strongest messages emerged from Sierra Leone’s experience.
The country’s Minister of Gender, Dr Isata Mahoi highlighted how deliberate legislative reforms have already produced measurable gains.
Sierra Leone now enjoys approximately 30 per cent female parliamentary representation, largely because of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act enacted in 2022.
Additional laws require political parties to include women among nominated candidates, while land reforms have expanded women’s rights to own customary land—an important source of economic empowerment.
However, she cautioned that passing laws alone is insufficient.
Governments must enforce them consistently while ensuring that political parties become genuinely gender-responsive institutions rather than organisations that merely maintain ceremonial women’s wings.
She advocated constitutional reforms within political parties, structured mentorship programmes linking experienced politicians with younger women, expanded educational opportunities, particularly in science and technology and stronger collaboration among neighbouring countries facing similar challenges.
She further argued that women who lose elections should not disappear from politics.
Instead, they should receive continuous training, mentorship and financial support to prepare for future electoral contests.
Throughout the forum, one issue repeatedly surfaced as perhaps the greatest obstacle confronting aspiring women politicians—money.
Campaigns across West Africa are increasingly expensive.
Many women exhaust personal savings, sell family assets or rely on informal support networks only to lose elections, leaving them financially devastated.
Participants proposed that political parties should be legally required to allocate a defined percentage of campaign resources specifically to female candidates.
Nomination fees for women should be significantly reduced; dedicated women’s political funds and endowment mechanisms should be established nationally and regionally.
Central banks and financial institutions should design specialised financing products capable of supporting women entering politics.
Such measures, participants argued, would reduce financial barriers while creating a more level electoral playing field.
AWLN co-founder Mme Bineta Diop emphasised that increasing women’s political representation requires much more than isolated interventions.
According to her, sustainable progress demands an entire political ecosystem where governments, political parties, civil society organisations, regional institutions and women’s movements work collectively.
She cited the African Union’s parity principle as evidence that regional commitments can eventually reshape national politics.
Countries that endorse continental and regional declarations, she argued, must be held accountable for implementing them.
Also speaking, Director of UNDP’s Regional Programme for Africa, Dr. Jide Okeke, described women as indispensable agents of peace, democratic governance and sustainable development.
He said despite these contributions, women continue to occupy only 18.4 per cent of parliamentary seats across West Africa.
He welcomed the ECOWAS Presidential Declaration on Gender Parity, expressing optimism that effective implementation could significantly improve women’s representation over time.
However, he stressed that declarations alone would not produce change without sustained investment in women’s political leadership, stronger institutions and long-term partnerships.
The Abuja forum ultimately demonstrated cautious optimism as political commitment appears stronger than before.
Development partners are willing to invest.
Women’s movements are increasingly organised across borders.
Several countries including Sierra Leone, Senegal and Liberia already offer practical lessons capable of informing reforms elsewhere, yet formidable obstacles remain.
Political violence continues to discourage women candidates, campaign financing remains unequal, cultural stereotypes still portray politics as a male domain, many political parties remain resistant to internal reforms.
Without legal enforcement, adequate financing and sustained political will, declarations could once again become symbolic documents gathering dust on government shelves.
The forum concluded with the adoption of the Abuja Regional Action Agenda, designed to accelerate women’s political participation across West Africa.
The framework seeks to operationalise the proposed Presidential Declaration on Gender Parity through coordinated reforms, stronger partnerships, structured accountability mechanisms and a regional roadmap towards achieving ECOWAS’ 2035 gender parity target.
Whether this initiative becomes another forgotten declaration or a genuine turning point will depend largely on what happens after delegates return home.
The real test begins now, whether governments will enact the laws, political parties will open their doors, institutions will provide financing, and societies will embrace women not merely as participants in politics, but as equal architects of democracy.
If those commitments are honoured, the Abuja forum may well be remembered not as another conference, but as the moment West Africa finally began translating promises into political power for women.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
