The elections in Nigeria are this month, and the level of excitement and hope for the country was high till the fresh struggles of new naira notes and failed transactions and the hardships it has presented to all Nigerians, especially women. More than ever before the people want real change, it has been a difficult 7+ years for Nigerians, topped with the catastrophic consequences of the pandemic that most of us are still trying to recover from.
Women continue to take the brunt of the consequences of economic downturns, with heightened levels of violence against women and girls, and more households losing considerable household income. As a result of the domino effect, more women have shifted into survival mode, trading, farming, and praying.
It takes incredible fortitude for women to succeed in the face of the patriarchal systems that women confront all across the world, and the world needs to do more to challenge this status quo. It has taken so much effort and resources to ensure that women are included in financial and social structures, but with these new happenings in Nigeria, sadly the trust has been broken and we will see more women, especially those in the rural areas going back to their old ways of storing money in their clothes or under their mattresses. They will also spend more time working to raise income for their families, and caring for their children because they cannot afford extra care anymore. This cycle will continue and sadly we will move farther away from gender equality. A report by United Nations/UN Women presents that at the current rate of progress, it will take 286 years for women to have the same legal rights and protection as men. This is time that we don’t have, especially as Nigerians.
As we go to the polls, it is important that we understand that across the different levels of government, everyone we vote for, who assumes a role will either increase the struggles Nigerian women face and take us back several more years or contribute to fostering an environment that promotes women’s equality and empowerment. We need women and men who will be intentional about finding opportunities daily and faster for women to thrive because the narrative needs to change and we need to give it the urgency it deserves.
