Women\u2019s groups have issued a seven-day legislative ultimatum to federal lawmakers to recommit to pass the five gender constitution bills.
\nThis call was made at a global press conference in Abuja after the suspension of daily protests outside the National Assembly.
\nThe National Assembly had voted in early March, in a constitutional review exercise, against five so-called \u201cgender bills\u201d amendment bills proposed to address certain issues affecting women through the Constitution.
\nSince then, Women and Gender groups have occupied the doors of the federal parliament for 10 legislative days demanding the reconsideration of the bills.
\nThis was done as a movement called #nigerianWomenOccupyNass under the auspices of WOMANIFESTO at the national and sub-national levels to ensure a coordinated response to the need to pass the five gender demands.
\nAlthough the Senate sent a delegation to address the women, no action was taken.
\nThe House of Representatives, meanwhile, rescinded its rejection of three gender bills.
\nHowever, the women\u2019s daily protests continued.
\nOn Tuesday, March 22, during the usual protest, the women entered the federal parliament, forcing a Green House delegation led by House Majority Leader Alhassan Ado Doguwa to meet with the protesters.\u00a0He asked them to give parliament\u00a0time to work on the bills that caused the suspension of the protest.
\nConsequently, women\u2019s groups held a press conference on Wednesday giving an ultimatum of seven legislative days.
\n\u201cWe are determined to hold them accountable to their promises to ensure that within seven legislative days, the gender bills are re-committed and voted on for inclusive growth and development in Nigeria,\u201d Abiodun Akiyode-Afolabi said in names of women\u2019s groups
\nIf federal lawmakers don\u2019t act on the bills, women\u2019s groups vowed to go back to the gates and \u201cwe\u2019re going to occupy it in a bigger way because they\u2019re giving us more time to plan from state to state.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is not about threatening but about affirming our presence in the country,\u201d he added.
\nDetails
\nOne of the bills is on citizenship as it seeks to amend section 26 of the 1999 Constitution to grant citizenship to foreign husbands of Nigerian women, as is currently guaranteed under section 26(2)(a) for wives. foreigners of nigerian men.
\nThe third bill, on affirmative action, is to specifically amend section 223 of the Nigerian constitution to ensure that women hold at least 35% of political party administration and appointed positions.
\nThere is the Nomination of Ministers or Commissioners Bill to amend Sections 147 and 192 of the constitution so that at least 35% of nominees are women.
\nThe fifth gender bill seeks to create \u2018reserved seats\u2019 by amending sections 48, 49 and 91 to create an additional 37, 74 and 108 seats for women in the Senate, House and AA state assemblies, respectively.
\nLawsuits
\nThe women have seven demands requesting the government\u2019s attention.
\nThey include the urgent summoning, reconsideration and immediate approval of all women\/gender related bills by the National Assembly and the approval of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill (GEOB), currently in the Senate.
\nThey also called for the revival and passage of the Bill to Support Women\u2019s Participation in Elective and Appointed Positions, the immediate incorporation of the Protocol to the African Charters on the Rights of Women in Africa, which Nigeria ratified in 2004, and the Convention of the United Nations on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW), ratified by Nigeria since 1985.
\n\u201cAs our representatives, we demand to know your voting pattern on sensitive citizens\u2019 rights issues and that all bills be passed before March 31, 2022 to gloriously end women\u2019s month,\u201d said Ms. Akiyode-Afolabi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Women\u2019s groups have issued a seven-day legislative ultimatum to federal lawmakers to recommit to pass the five gender constitution bills. This call was made at a global press conference in Abuja after the suspension of daily protests outside the National Assembly. The National Assembly had voted in early March, in a constitutional review exercise, against…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n