Rising Above the Rains for Women in Politics

A dinner conversation inspired Grace Iliya to mobilize women to become politically active and engaged in Nigeria.

In this election, I want to see all women with permanent voters cards vote and make their voices heard. Encourage each other, come out en masse, make it count, and make a difference, for therein lies our destination.

Grace Iliya

I used to see politics merely as the debate between parties having power. I only started to find it interesting early this year at a friend's anniversary celebration. Amid the socio-political turmoil in Nigeria, one of the women began asking if we all had our voters cards. Registration was ongoing, and everyone complained about how difficult life had become in the country. This sparked a discussion on how influential women could be in key leadership positions.

We talked about how the high cost of politics prevents women from running for office. We also explored how societal factors like culture or religion, norms surrounding marriage, and indigeneship (a concept that recognizes only ethnic groups native to a particular state), impede women’s representation. We noted that even educated women face hindrances like gender stereotypes, sexual assault, pay gaps, and childcare and housework, placing them at a disadvantage.

Our discussion intensified to the extent that we all agreed not to wait any longer to rise up and join forces with other women raising their voices — to be part and parcel of our country’s democratic growth. This gave me the push I needed to start engaging women, including those with disabilities, on the importance of being active participants in politics. 

I asked myself, “Why have we all relegated ourselves to the background of waiting for others to do the job when we could be leaders now?” Women have a say and can change the tides since we are seen as strong leaders. 

This gave birth to my initiative, “Sensitizing Women and Persons Living with Disabilities Towards Nigeria’s 2023 General Election.” It is an effort that encourages women to ensure they are registered for the elections, collect their permanent voters cards (PVCs), be informed voters, and ensure that their votes are counted.

Since I realized that a handful of my friends didn’t have PVCs, I started with them. I also encouraged them to mobilize other women by creating awareness about the importance of involvement in the coming election. It felt bad that we were good at discussing women being marginalized on social media and other platforms but never really took action on the issues. It was a wake-up call for me, and I am now very awake.

Rain and a change of plans didn’t impede our political event

On Saturday, September 10, 2022, dark threatening clouds loomed in the sky, but we were determined to get more women involved in the coming elections. We gave our best shot at ensuring the day wasn’t wasted, even if it meant only talking to one woman.

We had pinned our banner on a tree, arranged chairs, and set the stage to sensitize the women of Karonmajigi on getting their PVCs after registration had ended. Since it was a suburb within Abuja, we expected more than a hundred women would be available. They had started to gather when murmuring suddenly broke out. Before we knew what was happening, the women began to disperse without any explanation. A woman leader later told us that the wife of one of the presidential candidates was visiting the community, and all women were invited.

That became a massive challenge for us as almost every woman in Karonmajigi had gone to that meeting. We debated how to approach this situation, especially with our now empty venue. It would be impossible to postpone or combine the event with the political visit. We were at a crossroads, and the clouds were still not smiling. 

After giving it serious thought, I decided that we should wait. It could be an opportunity to have more women learn when and where to collect their PVCs to be active participants in the coming election. On the fifth stop of our sensitization campaign, we would also give women details on how to know their polling unit before the elections, cast their votes correctly, and ensure that their votes count. These are all critical issues because they have created problems in past elections.

The woman leader apologized that the visit was impromptu and they couldn’t have rescheduled it. She then directed the women back to our venue. Many had returned to their houses since the rains were still threatening, but others believed women’s involvement in politics was an important issue. Our number of participants felt sufficient, and we went on with our discussion. During our interaction, a woman brought comic relief to the meeting after she told of how in the previous elections, one of the candidates gave them five packs of cube seasoning and twelve sachets of salt for the whole community to share. We had a good laugh as she mimicked the presentation of the items during the previous elections.

We needed to continue sensitizing women to actively participate in the elections as the national average of women’s political participation in Nigeria remains at 6.7 percent in elective and appointive positions, far below the global average of 22.5 percent, the African regional average of 23.4 percent, and the West African Sub Regional Average of 15 percent. 

Women are an integral part of any democracy

The clouds no longer held back as it began to drizzle. To my great surprise, the women stayed. No one left her seat or even acknowledged the rain. The women listened attentively as we continued engaging them on their voting rights. 

I was proud that even with the recent data released by Inec Nigeria that only 2.77 percent of presidential candidates in Nigeria are women, even with no party fielding a female vice presidential candidate, the women stayed. 

I was proud that despite women only representing 8.35 percent of candidates for the senatorial seats, the women still listened. 

I was proud that while women only represented 9 percent of House of Representative candidates, the women had no reason to leave.

They stayed even as it drizzled, even though only 381 women were among 4,259 candidates for the presidency and national assembly seats. Though that number was small, it was essential to come together and create a platform that would redefine leadership in the future where more women would aspire to leadership positions. They stayed because they wanted their voices to be heard for the much-needed change, and I was proud.

Women are an integral part of any democracy, and so far, we have sensitized more than a thousand women and counting, online and in person. Women have the numbers and the capacity. In this election, I want to see all women with PVCs vote and make their voices heard. Encourage each other, come out en masse, make it count, and make a difference, for therein lies our destination. I believe that women’s full participation in elections and politics, in general, will open more channels for women to be elected and appointed to positions in governance, making policies that will advance and enhance democracy in Nigeria.

This will help women in the country to put their political agendas in place for credibility and total inclusiveness, which is the next step I will take. I will follow up on policies supporting women’s quest to be active political participants and encourage more women to take the bold step. It is crucial that women continue to see the need to be not only spectators but participants in politics.

Recently I chatted with a colleague who resigned from her government-paid job in politics. She told me how she confronted the myths surrounding women and politics. Some friends, colleagues, and even family members had told her she would fail as she was not from the upper class, but she had to start somewhere. Even though she had no affluence or experience, she told me about the power of having people in her corner. People rallied around and supported her to ensure her campaign went smoothly. This inspired me, and it was a call to shift the gear to another phase after the elections – a stage to engage more women to be trained for politics.

I will continue encouraging as many women as possible to face their fears, become politically active, and see campaigns to the finish line. I am also calling on other organizations to partner with us for a more significant impact and for you reading this to support us by encouraging women’s ambitions toward inclusive and good governance.

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