International Women’s Day. 2020

Addressing gender inequality and discrimination against women and girls occupied discourse as the world celebrated the 2020 International Women’s Day.

The theme for this year’s celebration, ‘I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights’ is aligned with UN Women’s new multigenerational campaign, Generation Equality, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most progressive roadmap for the empowerment of women and girls everywhere.

The emphasis on generational equality cannot be glossed over in view of Nigeria’s peculiar demographics. 62% of Nigerian population is below 24yrs and this means that any positive shift in entrenched attitudes must needs be one that will be fully owned by today’s youth. 

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterrez identified the issues as “from the ridiculing of women as hysterical or hormonal, to the routine judgement of women based on their looks; from the myths and taboos that surround women’s natural bodily functions, to mansplaining and victim-blaming – misogyny is everywhere”, he said

Last month marked the start of a Decade of Action to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at building peaceful, prosperous and inclusive societies while also safeguarding the planet. 

Gender equality being the 5th SDG targets among other things women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life.

However, exclusion of women from the decision-making structure especially in developing countries like Nigeria and the barrier to equal opportunities this presents has been the major bane to women development. Most such countries have a strong male patriarchal setting that places barriers to women entrance.

Gueterrez says “At the heart of the issue is power, as male-dominated power structures underpin everything from national economies, to political systems, to the corporate world and beyond.” But he also pointed out that patriarchy also has an impact on men and boys, trapping them in rigid gender stereotypes, declaring that a systemic change is long overdue. “

While countries have made appreciable progress in gender inclusion, Nigeria is still a long way away from admitting women into political power structures. For instance, women constitute just 5.8% of members of the National Assembly.

iRise Africa recommends constitutional amendments to give a quota to women in appointive positions as a starting point in opening the political space for greater inclusion. Very importantly, girl child education must be prioritized while financial institutions should be encourage to set aside significant portions of their loan stock to promote small scale businesses for women.