{"id":124246,"date":"2025-12-05T21:39:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T20:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124246"},"modified":"2025-12-05T21:39:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T20:39:04","slug":"media-urged-to-drive-debate-on-reserved-seats-for-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/media-urged-to-drive-debate-on-reserved-seats-for-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Urged to Drive Debate on Reserved Seats for Women"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Tracy Moses<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A renewed push for constitutional reform dominated discussions on Friday as stakeholders examined a proposal to introduce reserved legislative seats for women in Nigeria. At the centre of the debate was Chidozie Ajah, a gender advocate and constitutional scholar, who argued that the country must address long-standing structural barriers that have historically limited women\u2019s participation in politics.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking during a one-day media training organised by the TOS Foundation for National Assembly correspondents, titled \u201cStrengthening Reporting on the Reserved Seats for Women Bill,\u201d Ajah said the low number of women contesting elections is not due to lack of competence or ambition but decades of cultural, religious, and societal conditioning.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe numbers show the weight of the barriers women have faced for more than a century,\u201d Dr. Ajah said, citing the 2023 general elections. Out of over 1,000 senatorial contenders, only 92 were women, while for the House of Representatives, just 288 women ran out of more than 3,000 candidates.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He dismissed the stereotype that women do not support one another at the polls, highlighting historical examples such as Queen Amina to underscore that Nigerian women have always possessed the capacity to lead.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nigeria\u2019s global ranking in women\u2019s political representation, he added, is a cause for concern. With only 4.7 percent female representation in the National Assembly, 17 seats in the House and four in the Senate, the country ranks 184th worldwide. \u201cWe call ourselves the giant of Africa, yet women hold less than five percent of legislative seats in a nation where they constitute half the population,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to create additional seats reserved exclusively for female candidates\u201437 in the Senate (one per state and one for the FCT) and 37 in the House of Representatives. At the state level, each assembly would receive three reserved seats, totalling 108 nationwide. This arrangement is expected to run for four electoral cycles (16 years) before review.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the Senate Committee reviewing the bill has proposed reducing the Senate\u2019s reserved seats from 37 to six. Ajah noted that even if fully adopted, women would still account for only about 13.6 percent of the National Assembly, an improvement but still below global standards.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis is not a favour,\u201d he maintained. \u201cIt is a necessary correction. Our democracy is functioning at half capacity, and including women makes it stronger, more legitimate, and more stable.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Addressing concerns about cost and potential political abuse, Ajah explained that the financial implication amounts to about one percent of the national budget, minimal compared to long-term economic gains. He cited a McKinsey report estimating that Nigeria could boost its GDP by up to $229 billion if women are fully integrated into governance and economic life.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He further stressed that the reserved seats would still be contested democratically. \u201cThese are not appointments. Women will campaign, canvass, and compete just like men,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ajah also highlighted global evidence showing that women legislators are more likely to champion policies on healthcare, education, welfare, and grassroots development, areas often overlooked in male-dominated legislatures. He emphasised the central role of women in peace-building and community conflict resolution.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adaora Sydney-Jack, a facilitator at the training, said the media would play a pivotal role in shaping public perception of the proposed reform. She urged journalists to avoid portraying women as beneficiaries of charity and instead highlight competence, leadership, policy experience, and measurable achievements.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Drawing examples from Rwanda, Senegal, and Tanzania, countries where reserved seats have significantly advanced women\u2019s political participation, Sydney-Jack noted that gender-sensitive reporting is crucial to normalising women\u2019s leadership. She encouraged reporters to avoid gendered language, stereotypical framing, and undue focus on marital status or appearance in political reporting.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A headline re-framing exercise at the training illustrated the power of narrative. For example, \u201cWoman Emerges Party Candidate\u201d was transformed into \u201cEducation Advocate Wins Party Primary After Policy-Focused Campaign,\u201d shifting the focus from gender to merit.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">With tensions expected as the bill gains momentum, journalists were urged to prioritise fact-checking, maintain editorial independence, and resist sponsored narratives or orchestrated smear campaigns. Facilitators advised reporters to ask substantive, policy-driven questions rather than gendered or condescending ones during interviews.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cReserved seats can either be symbolic or truly transformative,\u201d facilitators noted. \u201cThe media\u2019s framing will play a defining role in determining which direction Nigeria takes.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Journalists were encouraged to approach the constitutional debate with heightened responsibility, recognising that the stories they tell could shape whether Nigerians see the proposal as an issue of fairness<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0or dismiss it as political charity.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tracy Moses A renewed push for constitutional reform dominated discussions on Friday as stakeholders examined a proposal to introduce reserved legislative seats for women in Nigeria. At the centre&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Media Urged to Drive Debate on Reserved Seats for Women - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/media-urged-to-drive-debate-on-reserved-seats-for-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Media Urged to Drive Debate on Reserved Seats for Women - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Tracy Moses A renewed push for constitutional reform dominated discussions on Friday as stakeholders examined a proposal to introduce reserved legislative seats for women in Nigeria. 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