ABSTRACT

Development has opened to women many activities that were once reserved for men, and politics is one of them. This study examines the impact of women's participation in politics in Nigeria, an activity that has long been dominated by men. It is limited to Nigeria and focuses on the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council between 1999 and 2023, the period from the return to civilian rule to the 2023 general elections. The study briefly notes women's participation in politics in other parts of the world. The women who held office in the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council are grouped by region, with the Middle Belt and the South-South joining the nearest region to them. The study reviews the efforts of successive administrations to promote women's participation, enumerates the factors that hinder their full participation, and offers suggestions for improvement.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Women's participation in politics has taken new forms over the years, but it did not begin with modern democracy. Women have played leadership roles in Nigerian history for centuries. Queen Amina of Zaria is remembered as a warrior ruler who led her people, and in the twentieth century women such as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti mobilised thousands of market women in Abeokuta to protest against unjust taxation, while the Aba Women's War of 1929 resisted colonial taxation and the authority of appointed warrant chiefs. Women's organisations, including the National Council of Women's Societies (NCWS), Women in Nigeria (WIN) and the Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), were formed by women themselves to advance their rights and development. Many scholars argue that colonial rule reduced women's economic and political status relative to men by excluding them from the new structures of government.

Globally, women have been under-represented in politics and public administration. This has been linked to cultural and religious views of women as supporters of men rather than leaders, which led to decision-making duties being left to men while women were assigned to domestic and supportive roles. In recent decades, attention has turned to the contribution that women make to the economy and national development, and women's participation in politics is now widely seen as part of nation building. Rising education has also made more women aware of the roles they can play and of their rights as voters and candidates.

In Nigeria, deliberate efforts to include women in public affairs and national planning intensified in the 1980s, around the United Nations Decade for Women (1975–1985). The National Commission for Women was established in 1989 to coordinate programmes on women's affairs, and states were instructed to set up directorates of women affairs. Programmes such as the Better Life Programme, the Family Support Programme and the Family Economic Advancement Programme sought to raise women's awareness and economic standing. The 1995 Beijing conference gave further impetus to women's empowerment, and the National Gender Policy of 2006 set a target of 35% affirmative action for women in appointive and elective positions (Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, 2006). The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex (Arum & Oluwaleye, 2024).

The return to civilian rule in 1999 raised expectations that women would take a greater part in governance. Women have since held high office, as ministers, senators, members of the House of Representatives, speakers and permanent secretaries. However, women's representation in elective office has remained low. Since 1999 women's share of seats in the National Assembly has consistently stayed below 10%, and Nigeria has not elected a woman as president or governor in the Fourth Republic (allAfrica, 2026). In the 2023 general elections, women made up more than 10% of the candidates, but fewer women won seats than in the previous election, so women's representation in the National Assembly declined (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023).

Research points to a combination of causes. Nigerian politics is expensive and competitive, and party primaries, which decide who contests general elections, are often shaped by money, patronage and informal networks (allAfrica, 2026; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023). Idrees (n.d.) identifies campaign financing, political party structures and electoral violence as major constraints, along with patriarchal norms and socio-economic barriers such as limited access to education and economic resources. Arum and Oluwaleye (2024) argue that patriarchy limits women's participation and note that women's lack of economic and political resources makes it hard for them to compete with men for office, although women's involvement could also benefit economic development. The educational pipeline matters as well: customs and gender inequality continue to limit girls' schooling in parts of Northern Nigeria (Mbara & Graham, 2025), which reduces the pool of qualified women who can seek public office.

Reform proposals are at the centre of current debate. A constitutional amendment bill that would reserve legislative seats for women has been before the National Assembly's constitution review process, and the number of women contesting the 2027 Senate elections has revived discussion about it (BusinessDay, 2026). Supporters see reserved seats as a practical way of correcting long-standing exclusion, while others raise concerns, including the size and cost of the legislature. It is therefore important to understand what women's participation has contributed to the Nigerian political system, how many women have actually been involved, and which obstacles remain.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Women are a large share of Nigeria's population, voters and party members, yet they have remained at the margins of the country's politics. More than two decades after the return to democratic rule, their representation in the legislature and in executive appointments is still low and uneven (allAfrica, 2026). Traditional attitudes towards the role of women, the high cost of politics, the nature of party primaries, political violence and limited access to education and economic resources are widely seen as the causes (Idrees, n.d.; Arum & Oluwaleye, 2024; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023).

Although governments have introduced policies and programmes to improve the position of women, women's representation has not reached the 35% affirmative action target (Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, 2006). The impact that women's participation has had on the political system, and the extent of their participation over the whole Fourth Republic, have not been systematically documented. This study fills that gap.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What is the impact of women's participation in politics on the political system in Nigeria?
2. How many women were involved in politics in the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council between 1999 and 2023?
3. What problems hinder women's participation in politics, and what are their causes?
4. How can these problems be addressed to improve women's participation in politics?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to examine the impact of women's participation on the political system in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:

1. explore the impact of women's participation in politics;
2. examine the number of women in the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council between 1999 and 2023;
3. investigate the major problems hindering women's participation in politics; and
4. propose solutions that will improve the full participation of women in politics.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The study is significant in the following ways:

1. Women. It seeks to encourage women to participate fully in politics, to obtain quality education and to take part in politics without fear of intimidation. It also encourages women in rural areas to begin with local politics, which is the grassroots from which they can advance to the state and federal levels.
2. Knowledge. More than twenty years after the return to democracy, women are still on the sidelines of Nigerian politics, so a detailed analysis of the factors that hold them back is timely, and it adds to the limited knowledge in this area.
3. Institutions. The findings will be useful to non-governmental organisations, scholars and government agencies concerned with gender issues, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in their work on gender equality.
4. Policy. The recommendations will help to improve the level of women's political participation in Nigeria.
5. Researchers. The materials of the study will be useful to scholars who wish to carry out further research on women and political participation in Nigeria.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study is limited to Nigeria and focuses on women in the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council between 1999 and 2023. It groups the women who held office by region, with the Middle Belt and the South-South joining the nearest region. It reviews the efforts of successive administrations to promote women's participation, identifies the factors that hinder it, and makes suggestions for improvement.

1.7 Definition of Terms

• Participation: The act of taking part in an activity or event.
• Politics: The activities involved in gaining and using power in public life and in influencing decisions that affect a country or society.
• Political parties: Organised groups of people with similar political views who act together to gain control of the machinery of government and to shape public policy.
• Democracy: A system of government in which people exercise political power either directly or through elected representatives.
• Fourth Republic: The period of civilian democratic rule in Nigeria that began on 29 May 1999.
• Nigeria: The country whose name was taken from the River Niger and which was formed by the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914.

References

allAfrica. (2026, January 27). Nigeria: Why Nigerian women remain shut out of power. https://allafrica.com/stories/202601280218.html

Arum, I., & Oluwaleye, J. M. (2024). Women and political participation in Nigeria: Is the patriarchal nature of Nigeria a factor? Journal of Gender, Politics & Development Studies, Maiden edition. Benue State University.

BusinessDay. (2026). 123 women in Senate race revive debate over special seats bill. https://businessday.ng/life/article/123-women-in-senate-race-revive-debate-over-special-seats-bill/

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (2023, May). Why women haven't been successful in Nigerian elections. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2023/05/why-women-havent-been-successful-in-nigerian-elections

Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. (2006). National gender policy. Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Idrees, M. G. (n.d.). Constraints to women's participation in the electoral activities in Nigeria's Fourth Republic: What it means for democratic consolidation. In Women representation in governance in Nigeria (Chap. 13). University of Johannesburg Press. https://ujonlinepress.uj.ac.za/index.php/ujp/catalog/download/290/1149/5166?inline=1

Mbara, G., & Graham, S. (2025). Intersecting barriers to girl-child education in Northern Nigeria: A critical and feminist assessment of Sustainable Development Goal 4. African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies, 7(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.51415/ajims.v7i2.2258