MAN'S POLITICAL PRIVILEGE IN NIGERIA

 In Nigeria, political privileges fall at the feet of men. The gender-based societal and political bias fuels the disadvantages that Nigerian women and girls receive as they attempt to move beyond the social and cultural constraints set out for them. Women and girls in Nigeria are often confined to the limitations of the private sphere and their expressions beyond that sphere are repeatedly discouraged and ridiculed. These limitations are reflected in the political gender inequality in Nigeria. In modern-day Nigeria, women and girls have been largely excluded from the political discourse of the country as it was revealed that only 51% of Nigerian women participate in voting during elections and less than 7% hold political positions. Despite the democratic nature of Nigeria, the ostracization of women and girls in political positions and spaces has proven to be a tool to reinforce inequality. To provide insight into the lack of Nigerian women’s participation in politics, one has to critically analyze the pre-colonial and colonial historical contexts which influence the othering of Nigerian women and new opportunities that have presented themselves in fighting against political gender prejudice. In this assessment, history provides a lens into a gendered system that was created to strengthen the division amongst genders. The new opportunities exemplify the importance of resistance in dismantling political gender constraints.