Nigerian Women celebrate 35 percent affirmative action

The Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF) in collaboration with eight other Non-Organisations(NGO’s) have  admitted that Nigerian women are now accorded 35 percent affirmative action as a matter of right in line with democratic ethos.

Penpushing reports that the women made this known in a statement to celebrate one year of marking landmark victory on 35 percent affirmative upheld on April 6, 2023 by the Federal High Court, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja

The groups include Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD- WEST AFRICA), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Vision Spring Initiatives (VSI), Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), Yiaga Africa Initiative, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and 100 Women Lobby Group

‘Today we celebrate the one year of the significant victory gained by Nigerian women through the laudable judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Wednesday 6th of April 2022’, the statement reads.

‘This journey began in 2019 when the Nigerian Women Trust Fund called for collaboration on this historic litigation, of which eight organizations saw the need to join the suit to institute the action in court as co-plaintiffs’.

‘The case was first heard on Wednesday 2nd December 2020 at the Federal High Court Abuja and 16 months after on Wednesday 6th April 2022, the hope of Nigerian women and next generation of girls was reignited’.

‘The landmark judgment upheld and mandated the implementation of the provisions of the National Gender Policy (2006) on 35 percent affirmative action in appointive positions. The court also upheld the equality of the sexes and the constitutional mandate to recognize gender in all appointive positions. In effect, it clearly means that Nigerian women are now accorded 35 percent affirmative action as a matter of right in line with democratic ethos’.

‘Though this victories for Nigerian women were widely celebrated for shaping a Nigeria that is truly democratic, it was a great surprise to realize that the matter was appealed by the Federal Ministry of Justice Abuja in July 2022 in contradiction to President Muhammadu Buhari’s acceptance of the judgement through the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs at the world press conference on 14th April 2022 at Treasure Suites Abuja’, the statement said

‘We therefore demand that the Ministry of Justice withdraws its appeal and allow Nigerian women enjoy the dividend of democracy as equal citizen of Nigeria. We use this opportunity to call on the outgoing Nigerian government, to put value where value belongs and follow through with the implementation as demanded by the judgment’.

‘We also demand the immediate implementation of the judgment of the court by the President – elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu in all appointive positions in his cabinet. We call on him to set up implementation framework for the enforcement of this landmark judgment and we demand for all parastatals, agencies and ministerial appointments to henceforth be in compliance with the National Gender Policy’.

‘We further demand that the 10th Assembly acknowledge that truly Nigerian women are equal citizens in Nigeria whose rights deserve to be honored by passing all the gender related bills hitherto before the 9th Assembly’.

‘We will not rest on our oars as this judgment births the need to intensify our advocacy for inclusiveness in Nigeria at the national, state and at the local government level especially after the poor representation of women emerging from the just concluded 2023 general elections’.

‘A New Nigeria will emerge for Nigerian women with this victory. The date Wednesday 6th April 2022 was a day when our faith and resilience yielded a new turn in our trajectory. We will continue to celebrate and make our marks as women, whether in technology, law, business, governance, aviation, medicine etc’.

‘We appreciate Falana and Falana’s Chamber who provided pro bond support for litigation. We most importantly want to thank the Nigerian Media and the International Media, from the electronic media, print media and the social media all whose interventions contributed to making this day possible. The media have relentlessly stood by Nigerian women on this journey. Truly the media is the purveyor of our democracy. We thank you. ‘Congratulations and happy anniversary to our Nigerian women and to all the women who came together to make this possible. No woman No Nation!!

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