The protection of Nigeria’s female candidates and voters at the 2023 General Elections lies in the hands of the general public, as well as the media, political parties and the government.
This was the unanimous agreement at a discussion with multiple stakeholders on Friday during a Twitter space hosted by ElectHer titled “2023 General Elections: Protective Measures against Electoral Violence on Female Voters and Candidates.”
Dorothy Njemanze of the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation noted that cases of violence around the elections, such as attacks either to or from the Polling Units, get little to no attention from security personnel. She notes that this contributes to voter apathy from women.
“There is (also) the aspect of crimes done against women and girls using the internet,” She said. “We expect a lot of attacks on different people’s personalities on the internet. To what extent are we able to hold people accountable for all the slut shaming.”
Funlola Florence Akinrinde, the House of Representatives candidate from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency of Ogun State, called for a tightening of security at the polls. She also asked that the government follow through on finding and holding perpetrators of electoral violence accountable under the law.
“Sometimes, the protection is the spotlight,” said Document Women CEO Kiki Mordi, noting the role of media in chronicling female candidates. “The more we erase women from the media, the less eyes are on her.”
Ms Mordi noted Document Women’s difficulties while trying to profile all the women running for office at the 2023 polls. The project, Uhuru Watch, places female politicians and news at centre stage.
ElectHer is a party agnostic organization advancing the inclusion of African women in politics and public life. Through Agender35, ElectHer is supporting Nigerian women to run for office at the 2023 polls.
The discussion was held to mark the start of the 16 Days of Activism, to raise awareness about gender-based violence against women as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels, and to bolster local work around gender-based violence against women.
There are few women in both elective and appointive positions but women form a huge part of the voting demographic
A report from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) noted a 22 per cent increase in the number of organized political violence events in Nigeria. The violence resulted in over 9,900 reported fatalities, nearly a 30 per cent increase compared to 2020.
In 2019, the Woman Leader of Engineer Musa Wada/Aro Campaign Council, Mrs Salome Acheju Abuh, was burned alive in her house by suspected political thugs, adding a deadly new dimension to the violence that had punctuated gubernatorial votes in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
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