Founder of the Global Initiative for Women in Leadership (GIFWIL), Dr Sarah Umahi, has declared that her organisation would continue to mobilise for action until the Women Reserved Seats Bill before the National Assembly is passed into law.
At a rally in Abuja in support of the bill’s passage, Umahi described it as a critical step toward achieving gender equality and inclusive governance in Nigeria.
“As a patriotic Nigerian, I firmly support the Women Reserved Seats Bill currently before the National Assembly. This is a critical step toward achieving gender equality and inclusive governance in Nigeria.
“The bill represents a long-overdue legislative intervention to address the persistent underrepresentation of women in Nigeria’s political space. For too long, women have been told to wait, wait for the right time; wait for political parties to be fair; wait for society to change its mind. But the waiting has not worked. The time for legislative action is now,” Umahi said.
She said Nigeria’s democracy cannot be truly representative when women, who make up nearly half of the population, occupy less than 10 per cent of seats in the National Assembly and state legislatures.
“Democracy is about representation. If half of the population is systematically excluded from decision-making, then we do not have democracy; we have a system that serves only half of its people. The Reserved Seats Bill is not about lowering standards or giving women undeserved advantages, but about levelling a playing field that has been tilted against women for decades.
“I strongly call on members of the National Assembly, civil society organisations, women groups, and all Nigerians who believe in equality to support the passage of the bill. I also urge lawmakers to look beyond partisan politics and recognise the bill as a national imperative that will strengthen democracy, promote social justice, and accelerate development,” she said.
Umahi added that her initiative would continue to advocate, mobilise, and engage stakeholders until the Women Reserved Seats Bill becomes law.
The bill is among the 44 prioritised constitutional amendment bills awaiting final voting by the National Assembly and subsequent approval by state Houses of Assembly.
The proposed legislation seeks to create reserved seats for women in the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to increase their presence in decision-making in the country.
According to proponents of the bill, it is intended to address the persistently low representation of women in Nigeria’s legislative chambers by creating special constituencies contested exclusively by women.
