Re: Senate passes ‘Gender and Equality Bill’ for second reading

Support  gender Bills – Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies

A Former female Presidential Candidate, Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, a Professor of Applied Linguistics and an activist has commended the Senate, as ‘Gender and Equality Bill’ passed second reading, says the effort the Senator who sponsored the Bill, Senator Biodun Olujimi representing Ekiti South and the members of Senate is laudable.

“To always support female gender Bills, is a must,” Adesanya-Davies added campaigning for supporting for gender Bills.

It has been reported, “The bill further consolidates senate’s courageous passage of the bill on sexual violence in higher institutions in Nigeria, assuring girls, women and men of protection from abuse and exploitation in our schools.”

It was reported in May 31, 2023 by Opinion Nigeria that,
The Senate, on Wednesday, passed the Gender Bill for second reading. The bill aims to eliminate every form of discrimination against women and people living with disabilities.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Biodun Olujimi representing Ekiti South noted that if the bill is signed into law, it will motivate women to aspire and reach their full potential.

Olujimi, in 2021 was asked to withdraw the legislation after some of her colleagues raised arguments it is against their socio-cultural and religious beliefs.

The ‘Gender and Equality Opportunities Bill’, according to Olujimi will ensure the equality of opportunities for every person.

“The bill seeks to implement section 42 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. It also seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women,” she said.

“It will ensure the equality of opportunities for every person.

“You will find this bill beneficial for the clear and constructive ways the bill seeks to address several forms of issues bedevilling men and women in their constituencies in issues of land ownership, inheritance, education, employment and the rising tide of sexual and gender-based violence in private and public spaces of institutions of learning.

“The bill further consolidates senate’s courageous passage of the bill on sexual violence in higher institutions in Nigeria, assuring girls, women and men of protection from abuse and exploitation in our schools,” she said.

Contrarily, we would recall, it was reported on 17 December, 2021 by Africanews, that “For the third time in five years, Nigerian senators have rejected a bill that sought to promote gender equality in the country, while this serves as the fourth time.

“The proposed package was rejected after some lawmakers in the upper chamber, mostly northern Muslims, cited social, cultural and religious concerns.”

The bill focused on making discrimination on the basis of gender or marital status a crime. Another aim was to reinforce existing laws against gender-based violence. Many of the senators who opposed the legislation during a plenary session, said their resistance was strictly a religious issue. Just only about 7% of the nation’s senators are women.

Again, in another report in TheCable by Dyepkazah Shibayan on March, all Gender bills were rejected, while the senate and house of representatives had voted on a total of 68 bills seeking to amend the 1999 constitution. The voting on the bills were done simultaneously in both chambers. The red and green chambers agreed on some of the bills and differed on others.

Also, marking the International Women’s Day last year, Nigerian Women protest at National Assembly over rejected gender bills
The women asked the lawmakers to reconsider the gender bills rejected during the voting on the constitution amendment on March 1 in a report by Oge Udegbunam in Premium Times Nigeria on March 8, 2022.

As part of the activities to mark the International Women’s Day, it was reported, some Nigerian women have gone to the National Assembly in Abuja to protest the rejection of some bills seeking gender equality in the country.

The women, in their hundreds, gathered at the gate of the National Assembly, to ask the lawmakers to reconsider the bills rejected during the recent voting on the constitution amendment at both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Five (5) of the 68 bills, which sought to promote opportunities for women in politics, governance and the society at large, failed to get the required number of votes to be included in the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution.

The women began the protest on March 2, a day after the voting. On Tuesday, the protesting women, carrying placards with various inscriptions, were led by civil society groups and men who expressed solidarity with them.

The Executive Director, Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassaan, who spoke on their behalf, urged the lawmakers to reconsider the bills and give women equal rights.

“We constitute about 49 per cent of the population and we are all the same, they should sign our bill,” she said.

The former Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Peter Ameh, said as a gender advocate, he was in support of the bills. He called on the National Assembly to reconsider the bills, in order to get a greater Nigeria. For Nigeria to move forward, we must include women in governance, we must give them equal opportunity in government,” he said.

Among the bills rejected by the National Assembly on March 1 were those seeking to reserve special seats for women at the National and State Houses of Assembly, provide for affirmative action for women in political party administration, and grant citizenship to foreign-born husbands of a Nigerian woman.

However, currently, no member of the National Assembly has addressed the grievance of the protesting women. Adesanya-Davies prays, hopefully, let’s believe this current bill on Gender and Equality will successfully sail through unlike the rest gender bills rejected by the upper and lower house in the past.

Samuel Nuhu
Media, PMACO

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BREAKING NEWS: Senate passes ‘Gender and Equality Bill’ for second reading

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