Nigeria: Women Protest For Reserved Seats Bill

The push for special seats for women in the national and state assemblies gained momentum Monday at a national public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, women groups, the United Nations, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other stakeholders expressed support for a bill seeking the creation of reserved seats for women in Nigeria’s legislative houses, stressing that gender inclusion is central to the country’s democratic and developmental aspirations.

This is as women groups also took to the streets of Abuja in protest, demanding support for the bill seeking exclusive seats to be reserved for women in both the federal and state parliament.

The Constitution Review committee chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, brought together civil society organisations, traditional rulers, members of the diplomatic corps, political parties, women groups/activists, people with disabilities, youth groups and development partners, among others.

In his address, the Speaker said the current representation of women in Nigeria’s parliament is unacceptable, hence the need to support the bill which seeks to increase women representation in parliament.

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