Women's Exclusion in Politics and Democratic Consolidation in Nasarawa State, Nigeria: 2015-2019

Abstract

This paper examines the exclusion of women in politics and democratic consolidation in Nasarawa State between 2015 and 2019. The involvement of women in the active political space since the emergence of democratic governance in the fourth republic and the challenges that confronted them was evaluated from hard data and secondary sources of information to situate the miniature space occupied by women politicians in Nasarawa State. The descriptive model of political participation was used as the theoretical framework of analysis. Similarly, key informant interview was conducted with notable women politicians and some major stakeholders. Content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The study revealed that women are politically marginalized and feature minimally in governance in Nasarawa state because of patriarchy, cultural belief systems which affects their involvements in political parties, poor informal networks/mentoring, poverty, religious beliefs, political violence and the low level of education. Similarly, weak institutions and the lack of constitutional and legislative framework that can guarantee quotas for women are factors that militate against active women's political participation and governance in Nasarawa state and also discourages the few that brace up with an of expression interest in the political sphere. To overcome these problems, the study recommends   amongst others, the development of electoral reforms that promote equitable representation of women, active engagement of religious and traditional leaders to promote women participation in politics, commitment of women in partisan politics, empowerment of women by ensuring their access to economic activities and intense women activism and lobbying to secure greater representation and visibility in the state etc.