EU Seeks Women’s Inclusion In Politics.

European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, has stated that the active participation of women in decision-making and politics remains important if Nigeria is to achieve equality, sustainable development, peace, and democracy.

She noted that while women have the fundamental right to participate in political life, most of them still face a lot of social, cultural, and financial challenges.

She, therefore, reminded stakeholders, especially the National Assembly, that the ongoing constitution reform process presents Nigeria with a unique opportunity to join the league of progressive nations in promoting gender parity through the adoption of a legal framework that discourages discrimination based on gender.

Ambassador Isopi, who was represented by the EU Deputy Head of Mission to Nigeria, Zissimos Vergos, made this known in Abuja, during a two-day roundtable on women’s inclusion in politics, in commemoration of the International Women’s Week, organized by the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria on Wednesday.

The event has ‘Women’s underrepresentation: exploring the use of temporary special measures to elect women to parliaments’ as its theme.

In his remarks, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, explained that women bring immense value to nation-building, particularly as they are more thorough, unbiased, look beyond themselves, and are selfless.