Gender advocates ave said the proposed constitutional amendment bill to reserve parliamentary seats for women could significantly reduce gender-based abuse and violence in Nigeria, if passed into law.
This was noted in a statement ahead of the special dialogue on the reserved seats bill, hosted by the Emerge Women Development Initiative on the SheThePeople Platform, on Wednesday in Abuja.
The dialogue will be hosted in partnership with the Entrepreneurship Centre for Women’s Development.
Founder of the SheThePeople platform, Mary Ikoku, said reserving seats for women would ensure inclusive representation and reflect the diversity of Nigerian society.
Ikoku added that the forthcoming dialogue aims to foster high-level conversations around women’s political participation and empowerment in Nigeria.
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“Reserved seats are not a favor; they are a structural correction for decades of exclusion. We must build the momentum to make this reform a reality,” she said.
Founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said that “we have talked long enough, now is the time for institutional action. This bill represents a turning point for women’s rights in Nigeria.”
The event, scheduled for September 18, will also focus on issues related to gender-responsive legislation, women’s empowerment, and shaping the future of women’s representation in Nigerian governance.
The bill, currently under consideration by the National Assembly, is part of an ongoing constitutional review led by the House of Representatives.
It proposes the creation of one reserved Senate seat per state and the Federal Capital Territory, one additional seat per state in the House of Representatives, and three seats per state in each state House of Assembly, all to be contested exclusively by women.
