•The proposed bill aims to deepen democratic principles by ensuring diverse voices are heard in national decision-making.
By Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack
As Nigeria continues to navigate the contours of democratic development, one question remains disturbingly persistent: why are women still conspicuously absent from the country’s political power structure?
Despite constituting nearly 49.3% of Nigeria’s estimated 220 million population, Nigerian women remain glaringly underrepresented in political leadership. According to figures from the National Population Commission, the country’s female population is approximately 106.6 million, yet their participation in governance falls far below global standards.
Following the 2023 general elections, only 17 out of 469 federal lawmakers comprising both the Senate and the House of Representatives are women. This accounts for just 3.6% representation. In the Senate, women occupy only 3 out of 109 seats, while in the House, the number stands at 14 out of 360.
The situation is equally bleak at the state level. Out of over 1,000 women who contested seats in the 36 state houses of assembly, only 48 were elected, representing a success rate of just 4.7%, as reported by Dataphyte.
This chronic gender imbalance places Nigeria among the worst performers globally in terms of female political inclusion. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in its 2024 gender equality ranking, places Nigeria at 178th out of 182 countries, with an overall female representation of just 3.9% in the lower house and 2.8% in the upper house.
These statistics paint a sobering picture of a democracy that continues to sideline nearly half its population from decision-making processes.
This underrepresentation is not for lack of qualified women. It is the result of systemic, cultural, and institutional barriers that have endured for decades. Electoral violence, party gatekeeping, patriarchal norms, financial exclusion, and media bias form a near-impenetrable wall against women aspiring to lead.
Now, as the National Assembly considers the Special Seats Bill, which proposes the reservation of specific parliamentary seats for women, the debate has reignited. But it is not merely a debate about representation it is a reckoning with the soul of Nigeria’s democracy.
How Other Nations Are Closing the Gender Gap
Across the globe, countries that have adopted gender quotas and reforms continue to demonstrate the profound impact of inclusive governance. The results are not merely cosmetic they have reshaped policy priorities, advanced human development, and strengthened democratic credibility.
In Rwanda, a constitutional reform enacted in 2003 mandated a minimum 30% quota for women in decision-making bodies. Today, Rwanda holds the highest percentage of female legislators worldwide. According to UN Women, women occupy 63.8% of seats in the Chamber of Deputies well above the constitutional minimum. This level of representation has coincided with significant gains in maternal health, education access, and legislation against gender-based violence.
Senegal’s bold legislative shift came with the Parity Law of 2010, requiring political parties to ensure equal numbers of male and female candidates. As of the 2022 parliamentary elections, women held 44.24% of the seats in the National Assembly. Data from Make Every Woman Count (MEWC) shows that this has led to a more targeted focus on family welfare, rural education, and gender equality in national policy.
In Bolivia, constitutional mandates and electoral laws have guaranteed women equal footing in politics. As of the last general election, 51% of legislators were women one of the highest rates globally. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), this shift has spurred broader attention to poverty alleviation, indigenous rights, and social inclusion.
South Africa presents another instructive model, despite lacking constitutional gender quotas. Instead, voluntary partymechanisms have driven change. In the 2024 elections, women held 45% of the seats in the National Assembly. MEWC data shows that parties like the African National Congress (ANC), which enforced a 50% internal quota, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which adopted a ‘zebra’ listing format, were instrumental in achieving near-parity. The increased representation has translated into progressive social policies and stronger legal protections against discrimination.
These global examples prove that increasing women’s participation in politics is not just a symbolic act—it has tangible governance benefits. For Nigeria, which ranks 179th globally in female parliamentary representation, the lessons are both urgent and instructive.
Nigeria’s Paradox: Democracy Without Inclusion
Nigeria’s status as Africa’s largest democracy makes its gender imbalance especially jarring. While the country has made significant strides in electoral reform and voter turnout, women remain marginalised within political parties, often relegated to token roles without strategic influence.
A 2021 analysis by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with UN Women revealed the stark underrepresentation of women in federal appointments. At the time, women accounted for only 16.2% of ministerial positions in Nigeria, despite making up nearly half of the population. The same pattern of exclusion echoes through Nigeria’s diplomatic corps, where women’s ambassadorial appointments remained disproportionately low. (Source: UN Women Nigeria – Country Results)
The 2023 general elections further underscored this disparity. According to Punch Newspapers, a total of 1,524 women contested various positions. However, only 72 secured elective seats, translating to a success rate of just 4.7%.
At the state level, the numbers remain disheartening. Out of 993 seats available in state Houses of Assembly across the country, only 48 were won by women, representing approximately 4.8%.
These figures do not merely reflect a gap; they expose a gulf one that calls into question the inclusiveness and representativeness of Nigeria’s democratic structures.
A Path Forward: Quotas as a Tool, Not a Crutch
Critics of gender quotas often invoke the sanctity of meritocracy. They argue that political office should be earned, not handed out. But in a system where the odds are structurally skewed, what constitutes “merit” is itself biased.
“Culture does not make people. People make culture,” author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once said. This is a call to reimagine the political culture not as one hostile to inclusion, but one that sees diversity as strength.
Special seats, far from being undemocratic, are corrective instruments. They are not a finish line; they are the starting point. They acknowledge that centuries of exclusion cannot be undone by rhetoric alone. They institutionalise access, creating space for women to compete, contribute, and lead.
Countries like Uganda and Tanzania have adopted reserved seat systems with measurable success. In East Africa, legislative frameworks have been deliberately crafted to promote gender equity, offering instructive examples for Nigeria’s policy trajectory. In Uganda, the Constitution mandates that each district elects one woman representative to Parliament, leading to the reservation of 112 seats out of 529 for women. This provision guarantees a minimum of 21% female representation, although women currently occupy over 34% of seats in the legislature, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Tanzania, on its part, has entrenched a quota system within its Constitution, reserving no less than 30% of parliamentary seats for women. These positions are allocated to political parties based on their share of electoral victories. The result has been a consistent presence of women in the National Assembly currently at 37.8% with notable impact on national planning, budgeting, and legislation that reflect gender-sensitive priorities. These figures are confirmed by the IPU and corroborated by regional policy analysis from institutions like the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA).
What the National Assembly Must Do
The ongoing effort to redress Nigeria’s chronic gender imbalance in governance has re-emerged in the 10th National Assembly through House Bill 1349, a proposed constitutional amendment championed by Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu and co-sponsored by several lawmakers. Dubbed the Special Seats Bill, the proposal seeks to reserve one seat per state and the Federal Capital Territory in both the Senate and the House of Representatives exclusively for women, creating a total of 74 gender-designated seats across the federal legislature. If passed, it would mark a significant structural shift in Nigeria’s legislative framework, offering what supporters describe as a “corrective mechanism” to decades of underrepresentation.
The bill, which passed second reading in the House of Representatives on 9 July 2024, also includes provisions to allocate three reserved seats for women in the Houses of Assembly of each state, spread across their senatorial districts. These provisions are intended to be implemented after the current legislative term and subject to a 16-year review clause, ensuring room for periodic evaluation and adjustment.
This renewed attempt follows a failed constitutional reform in March 2022, when the 9th National Assembly rejected a similar proposal that would have created 111 reserved seats for women comprising 37 in the Senate and 74 in the House of Representatives. Despite support from civil society and women’s rights groups, the 2022 bill secured only 30 votes out of 91 senators present, falling well below the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments.
The defeat triggered nationwide protests led by activists and gender equality advocates, who marched on the National Assembly complex in Abuja. Protesters decried the vote as “a fundamental failure of democratic justice”, waving placards and chanting songs of solidarity.
According to a report, the 2022 proposal had explicitly aimed to enshrine 111 gender-based legislative positions into the Nigerian Constitution. The current version, while narrower in federal scope with 74 proposed federal seats, expands the initiative to the sub-national level by including the State Houses of Assembly.
Proponents of the 2024 bill argue that Nigeria’s current figures of 2.7% female representation in the Senate and 4.7% in the House of Representatives during the 9th Assembly are not just dismal but among the lowest globally. They cite countries like Rwanda and Andorra, where affirmative action policies have transformed legislative diversity.
“This amendment is not just about equity; it is about harnessing the full potential of our nation,” said Hon. Kalu during his lead debate on the floor of the House.
The debate surrounding the bill reflects deeper tensions about structural reform, gender equity, and political inclusion in Africa’s largest democracy.
Observers note that Nigeria ranks 179th globally in female parliamentary representation, trailing behind countries with far smaller economies and populations. The rejection of the Special Seats proposal in 2022 thus marked a critical flashpoint in the country’s ongoing struggle to expand women’s political inclusion.
This time, however, civil society momentum has grown. Groups like Women in Politics Forum, Gender strategy advancement international and NILOWV are pushing harder than ever, calling on lawmakers to “correct a national anomaly.”
The bill’s opponents must reckon with one uncomfortable truth: a democracy that excludes half its population is not a democracy. It is an echo chamber.
The road to gender equity in Nigerian politics is long, but the Special Seats Bill could be a landmark step forward. It is not a panacea but it is progress. It acknowledges history, confronts injustice, and lays the foundation for a more representative political future.
Let the record show that Nigeria had a chance to evolve and took it.
Because the promise of democracy is not only in the casting of votes. It is in the casting of voices. And every Nigerian woman deserves her seat at the table not as a guest, but as a co-architect of the nation’s destiny.
