*Dinidari Foundation promises capacity building workshop
*Shonekan decries disenfranchisement due to insecurity
*Risikat demands PLWDs inclusion in 35% affirmation
By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
As the 2023 elections draw closer, the Dinidari Foundation Africa Women Political Empowerment Project gathered women at the Asaa Pyramid Hotel Kaduna on Tuesday November 29, 2022, with a resolve at ensuring that the 35 per cent affirmation for political offices is actualised.
In an introductory remark ahead of the session, Dinidari Project Associate, Sonia Yusuf while speaking on the Validation Session, said that it is aimed at capturing 35 per cent affirmation by political parties.
“We converged to validate findings and make recommendations before presenting it as a report.
“It is targeted at having women in leadership positions, not just women in the party serving as women leaders,” she said.
She informed that soon there will be a capacity training for women hopefully in less than two weeks.
In the presentation of the document titled, “Preliminary Findings Capacity Assessment of Women’s Wings of Political Parties Kaduna State” a consultant, Rachael Aisha Akingbehun said that their findings captured four political parties, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
She said that methods used in gathering their data includes Desk Review, while women from the four political parties, APC, PDP, LP and NNPP were interviewed.
According to her, women leaders were interviewed in the two states, Kaduna and Plateau where the project is ongoing.
She said from their findings, women are becoming aware and bracing up to compete with male counterparts.
According to her, the role of women in the four parties studied, is geared towards wooing female voters.
“All roles appear to be tailored towards mobilizing women voters,” she said, explaining that NNPP however, has no role for women spelt out in its constitution.
She explained that other ways they lure women to the parties is to share food items to keep them in the party.
She identified barriers faced by women to include, lack of finance, discrimination by men, poor leadership skills, lack of cooperation and low awareness.
“For the women leader in Kaduna State, the main barriers identified were, funding, how to convince women to engage in politics, lack of cooperation amongst members and neglect of women (non inclusion) in party affairs,” she explained.
She said in Kaduna, a woman is the deputy governor and as such, she needs to be supported, to encourage more women to participate in politics.
According to her, solutions to bringing more women on board includes, prompt funds release, women empowerment, educating women and engaging men in political positions, which will address barriers raised with respondents, according to their research.
Speaking further, she explained that from the survey sent out, there are capacity needs of women in political parties in becoming leaders.
She listed such needs as governing rules for the women wings in political parties, functional committee for increasing women participation in politics, monitoring and evaluation of women inclusivity (does not exist in four parties), budget for increasing women participation in politics (does not exist in three parties, inadequate in one party), advocacy strategies for women wings in Kaduna (inadequate in all parties, especially those related to lobbying, no advocacy strategic plan known to all), partnership and collaboration (only NNPP and LP), Resource Mobilisation (inadequate practice, resource mobilisation needed) and leadership training (inadequate, no training plans for promoting leadership training).
While speaking to newsmen, Communications Associate of Dinidari, Clara Jack said that the project is aimed at meeting with the women, identifying their struggles and organising a capacity building workshop.
She said women deserve more representation and inclusion in governance.
“The capacity training will be held in December. We are collating their questions raised here to tailor it towards the capacity building workshop,” she disclosed.
On whether the training will be relevant for the 2023 elections, she said it is not, but in view of the appointments that would be made subsequently after the elections, women expect the 35 per cent affirmation reflected.
In an interview with newsmen, Risikat Toyin Mohamned said that PLWDs also need inclusivity in governance.
She called for equal opportunities for all, including PLWDs in all seats.
Also speaking, Executive Director Women and Youth Awareness Empowerment Network, Dr. Rakiya Shonekan, said that women constitute bulk of campaign team and actual voters.
She lamented that they also generate most of invalidated votes during elections, as well as voter apathy makes their number at the ballot to dwindle
Shonekan said that violence is also affecting voting patterns, as people move from such violent prone areas to safer havens, thereby being disenfranchised in the process.
She therefore, stressed the need for voters education to sensitize women on electioneering process.
“Women wing of parties talked about budgeting, representation and others from the research carried out. If I will make my input, a lot still needs to be done. Like when decisions are taken, what difference can a woman in an exco make? Where you have 17 exco and only one is a woman, what can one do, so there is more to be done by parties. Women also need to be knowledgeable,” she declared.
UN Women partnered Dinidari Foundation in holding the meeting which attracted women leaders from most of the top political parties in Kaduna State.
