All healthy democracies allow both women and men to vote, run for office, and criticize the government. Unfortunately, the democratic rights of women in Nigeria, who consist of 49. 4% of the 214 million population, is still a pressing issue. The constitution of Nigeria states that every Nigerian (man or woman, Ijaw, Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Igala, etc.) has the right to vote and be voted for. That does not, however, translate to any real political representation for most Nigerian women. Part of this can be attributed to the patriarchal society and religious values of the country, where women are not afforded as many opportunities as men and are not allowed to participate in politics.
Activists, governments, and non-profit organizations continue to pursue various strategies to help women overcome barriers to action in many countries around the world, including rallying support for protests, mass action, and educating and mobilizing women to vote. Fortunately, these activities, digital media, and technological developments have all changed how women engage in politics in recent decades. Nigerian women suffer many challenges despite the possibilities of technology, including lack of education, limited financial resources, poor internet access, and remote locations. Thus, the fundamental question still stands: how can technology be utilized to raise women’s political involvement and improve Nigeria’s democracy?
Context of the Evaluation
The current National Gender Policy (NGP) calls for 35% affirmative action and increased presence of women in elective political and appointive public sector positions. However, the national average of women in elective and appointive positions in Nigeria was 6. 7 percent in 2016, far beneath the global average of 22. 5 percent, the Africa Regional Average of 23. 4 percent, and the West African Sub Regional Average of 15 percent (Oluyemi, 2016). After 23 years (1999-2022) of continuous democratic leadership, Nigeria has not seen fit to elect a woman governor in any of the 36 states of the Federation.
As a result, this piece offers a critical assessment of the role of technology in encouraging women’s political engagement in Kontagora, Niger State.
Details of the Evaluation
For two weeks in January 2022, door-to-door interviews were done with 113 women from 30 randomly selected families in the Ungwan Zuru, Kawo, and Tudun Wada areas of Kontagora, Niger State. This survey strategy was ideal for getting data in these areas when phone sampling was not feasible.
Even when access to technology did not improve, it was discovered that women who got political sensitization from NGOs and political parties had 5 to 10% greater levels of political awareness than other women. In households with literate young women who had access to technological devices and digital media, 40% of respondents said the internet gave fresh information on the importance of women’s political participation. I also discovered three young women who are exceptionally active in online political activism for women, however, they only account for roughly 2% of the total number of replies. The remaining respondents (27 % of interviewees) are disengaged, meaning they are not interested in any political activity, whether online or offline.
I discovered that the majority of women had little or no interest in political participation or equality. The data also reveal that financially empowered and informed women are more likely than the rest of the female population to actively participate in politics.
Policy Lessons
There have been discussions about online activism ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections, implying that technology could engage more individuals, notably women who have traditionally been less engaged in offline politics. However, Shedrack Muazu, Team Lead of Youths in Justice, Health, and Sustainable Social Inclusion (YIJHSSI), believes that the efficacy of technology-based attempts to combat political marginalization may be contingent on the channel used. “I feel that for the time being, sending tailored SMS to urge women to participate in politics and reminding registered voters of voting dates would be a more successful engagement tool than Twitter or Facebook action,” Muazu explains.
However, David Ali, a civil servant, believes that increasing voter accessibility is the best way to use technology to address women’s underrepresentation in politics. “I anticipate that Nigeria will revolutionize the voting system in the near future to provide all citizens the option of voting from their homes,” Ali says. “Rather than using a paper-based system, everyone, including women, should be able to vote using a mobile device or an online voting system.” This would also result in more accurate and timely election results.”
“Artificial intelligence (AI) technology will improve Nigeria’s electoral process and increase political representation for women,’”Eze Hanson, an ICT expert, reiterates. “We all know that artificial intelligence has a lot of superior memory than humans! Women will be more educated and motivated to exercise their civic rights as a result of AI.”
This article is part of Anibe Idajili’s Gidan Yanci Fellowship series, which aims to encourage women to get involved in politics.
