Feminist Forum asks women to build political structure

By Osaigbovomwan Iguobaro

Nigerians have advocated the need for women to build political structure towards promoting maximum participation of women in politics and other spheres of life.
They made the recommendations at a One-day sensitization workshop on ‘Legal reform and women participation in political leadership in Nigeria’ by the Nigerian Feminist Forum in Benin City.
The initiative, according to the discussants at the workshop, would help to eradicate discrimination against women through a workable electoral reforms backing quota system for Nigerian women to promote gender equality in politics.
The various discussants Mr Austin Osakue, Luisa Agbonghese, Inumidun Idehen including the programme Facilitator, Chinos Okechukwu, and Journalists, also called for discouragement of preference of male child to female child, insisting that empowerment of women is key to societal development.
The pressure group also called for establishment of trust funds and media support in assisting women with political ambition for financial freedom for women by building network and breaking social and economic barriers that prevent women who are interested in politics build coalition and grow.
The Focal person, Nigerian Feminist, cited stigmatization, low level of education, meeting schedules, political violence, religious and cultural barriers as factors that Nigerian women must work hard to overcome in order to survive in the political space.
According to Edo State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, said, “in political participation, women are minority, but the population of women are more”.
A human Rights Activist, Comrade Austin Osakue, urged Nigerian women to be more active in politics, stressing that “A success without a successor is a monumental failure.

“Women are making a lot of progress outside. But, a lot of them do not have the financial muscle to play politics”, he lamented.