Women in Borno State are being marginalized and this marginalization is manifest in the low participation of women in politics in the state, the Commissioner for Education Dr Ashabe Vilita Bashir has said. The commissioner said this in a speech delivered at a workshop on ‘Building skills for effective political practice for female politicians' in Maiduguri. The workshop was organized by the Legal Defense and Assistance Project (LEDAP), a Non Governmental Organization. The commissioner who was represented by the Chairman of the Borno State chapter of the National Council of Women Societies, Mrs Zara Mamza, said the performance of women in the last general election in the state was very poor, saying only one woman contested for the House of Representatives and three for positions in the local council.
“Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) emphasizes that 30 percent of the cabinet should be women and the Nigerian government says 35 percent, but this has not been achieved,” she added.
She said women were facing a lot of challenges, which include, religious and traditional believes, none gender sensitive structures in political parties, lack of support from fellow women, lack of capacity on the side of women politicians and high level of illiteracy.
She maintained that women who are civil servants in the state, yet want to go into politics should be assured of job security, saying many of them were scared of losing their jobs if they do not win the elections. More than 50 women from different political parties participated in the two day workshop.
