UK, Nigeria still far from gender parity — Envoy

The British High Commission has said some Nigeria and the United Kingdom are inactive acold from achieving sex parity, with women facing persistent inequalities successful representation, access, and opportunities.

British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Gill Lever, said this connected Thursday successful Abuja astatine the 9th Voice of Women (VOW2025) Conference and Awards, themed “Nigerian Women and the Power of Collective Action.”

She noted that though women made up 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, they occupied little than 4 per cent of seats successful the National Assembly, which she described arsenic profoundly concerning.

Lever said the UK besides had not achieved afloat sex parity, but was connected its ain journey, learning, improving, and sharing lessons with Nigerian women striving for the aforesaid goal.

“This league comes astatine a pivotal clip successful Nigeria’s journey, during a law betterment effort aimed astatine improving the governmental practice of Nigerian women,” she stated astatine the event.

She reaffirmed the UK’s enactment for Nigeria’s ongoing reforms, describing the sex imbalance successful governance arsenic a contradiction that indispensable beryllium addressed done corporate effort and bold action.

She emphasised the value of planetary solidarity among women, careless of nationality, to larn from each different and propulsion for reforms that drove sex equality astir the world.

Lever commended Nigerian women’s advocacy successful championing law reforms, particularly the run for reserved seats nether the projected Women’s Bill successful the National Assembly.

She said the bill, if passed, would people a historical milestone for Nigeria, enhancing women’s information successful authorities and boosting Nigeria’s representation arsenic a progressive planetary economy.

Former South African Deputy President and ex-UN Women Executive Director, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, besides noted that sex disparity remained a planetary contented that affected astir each nation.

She said though immoderate countries had made amended progress, adjacent practice remained a cosmopolitan situation that continued to clasp backmost inclusive improvement and antiauthoritarian governance.

“We hardly person a cleanable state erstwhile it comes to sex equality. Some are worse and request much work; others are better, but nary person afloat solved this problem,” she said.

She warned that sex parity could instrumentality much than 100 years to execute without deliberate and strategical efforts by stakeholders, governments, and women themselves.

Mlambo-Ngcuka urged women to stay relentless successful demanding adjacent representation, noting that challenges were galore but could beryllium flooded with persistence and the close strategies.

She encouraged Nigerian women to absorption connected solving section and grassroots issues to summation visibility and relevance up of predetermination seasons and ceremonial governmental participation.

President Bola Tinubu, represented by Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, said Nigeria was incomplete without the spot and publication of its women.

“Your voices stay the heartbeat of our country, undaunted, unyielding, shaping a aboriginal of equity and advancement nether the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Tinubu said successful his goodwill message.

He reiterated his administration’s committedness to women’s empowerment, describing them arsenic protectors of families, drivers of innovation, and cardinal players successful gathering Nigeria’s trillion-dollar economy.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, represented by Rep. Kalifat Ogbara, said women’s underrepresentation successful governance would soon beryllium past with the transition of the Special Seats Bill.

According to him, the beardown momentum and advocacy down the measure bespeak that Nigeria is connected the way to yet addressing sex imbalances successful elective positions and nationalist offices.

Convener of the VOW Conference, Mrs Toun Okewale-Sonaiya, said it was captious for women to basal broadside by broadside with men astatine the centre of governance and nationalist decision-making.

She noted that grassroots women, the largest and strongest voting bloc, had often had their choices shaped by antheral interests, a communicative that indispensable c...