Source: The Daily Independent
The Nigerian Women Trust Fund, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), on Thursday urged all stakeholders to provide opportunities for women to occupy elective positions in the forthcoming 2015 general elections.

The Fund's Executive Officer, Ms. Ayisha Osori, made the plea at a news conference in Abuja.

Osori said Nigeria needed to be committed to its Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) to increase women's participation in politics by 30 per cent.

Nigeria needs to open all spaces by removing barriers which prevent women from achieving this goal by formulating gender-friendly laws and affirmative action in constitutions and party structures," she said.

The NGO official listed finance, gender stereotypes, and violence against women as some of the barriers.

Last week, to mark Democracy Day, President Goodluck Jonathan urged all political parties to come up with manifestos on policies to mandate youths and women to hold key electoral positions.

This echoes our sentiments. The global and regional average for women in legislature is 22 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

Therefore, more needs to be done to move Nigeria's seven per cent female representation in the National Assembly to 30 per cent under the MDGs," Osori said.

The executive director urged all stakeholders to emphasise values of good governance and free and fair elections.

NAN reports that the highlight of the event was the launch of a short film, 'A New Dawn', which demystifies the socio-cultural barriers to women's political participation.

The film also showed the dissatisfaction of a community against under-development and the resolute of one woman who wanted change.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Women Trust Fund was created in 2011 to drive strategies to increase the representation of women in governance.

 

• Nigeria