TRAINING: KIND, UNIFEM train women aspirants for 2011 polls

Due to the poor representation and perceived marginalisation of women in politics with Nigeria toping the list by 6% in Africa, KIND, an advocacy group for women participation in politics, with its allies, has launched an activation project to train women political aspirants interested in 2011 general elections.

The Founder/President, Hasfat Abiola Costello, said in Lagos that the reason why women are short-changed and are robbed of their rights politically is because of poor representation and in most cases gender inequality.

She said that the purpose of the training is to make sure that interested women in politics will be equipped enough to go for their positions especially in this part of the world where women participation is hindered due to corruption.

Costello said that the marginalisation of women in politics in Nigeria has made it difficult for women to access certain amenities because of marginalisation.

Continuing, she said, poor representation and marginalisation have increased the rate of women prostitution in the country because nobody fights for them and that as a result poverty continues to ravage women.

Stressing, she said, only 19% of HIV positive women can access drugs to prevent mother to child transmission of the dreaded disease because of the poor economic development that is fuelling the trafficking among Nigerian women. She added that recent UNICEF report had it that 1,100 women die for every 100,000 during childbirth.

Costello agreed that though women's marginal position in politics is a global phenomenon, however, many countries are well on the way to redressing this fundamental injustice. Already Rwanda leads the world with their women representing over 50% of its political system. South Africa and other handful of African countries have over 30% women's representation.