Feminism and Political Participation in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis

Nigerian women have encountered a number of problems while venturing into politics. There is large scale discrimination from the men folk, both in voting for candidates and in allocating political offices. This paper examines women political participation in Nigeria and the challenges facing them. In analysizing the issues raised, the paper utilizes the nature of society, political, socio-cultural, and economic approach to feminism. To scientifically investigate the issues of feminism and political participation in Nigerian, the descriptive surveys as well as direct observation were employed. Combinations of clustered and simple random sampling method were used to draw a sample of seven hundred and twenty (720) respondents from the six geo-political zones of the country. The paper observes among others, that lack of adequate finance is a crucial hindrance to effective female participation in Nigerian politics. Large portions of the Nigerian female population are not as financially strong as their male counterparts. Yet, family responsibilities and childbearing also hinder women from participating effectively in partisan politics. The paper submits that the prospects of Nigerian women in politics are bright as some of the obstacles highlighted above are already being removed. However, a quiet but significant social revolution is necessary among women if they are to attain the desired position in Nigerian politics. It concludes that the need to educate women and their female children which is invariably a source of political, economic and social power cannot be over emphasized.