United Nations and the Challenges of Promoting Gender Equality in Nigeria
Chapter One
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The specific objectives of the study are to:
- Establish the various advocacies of promoting gender equality by the Nigerian government.
- Identify and examine the activities of the UN in promoting gender equality in Nigeria
- Discuss the challenges of the UN in promoting gender equality in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
LEGAL, POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
INSTITUTIONAL/ LAWS AND TREATIES
The United Nations has the responsibility to ensure that all its actions promote and protect gender equality and women‘s empowerment. UN efforts to help establish the rule of law for all on the basis of equality are essential to this end. Advancing gender equality and empowering women are widely recognized as ends in themselves as well as means to achieve the UN goals of sustainable peace and security, human rights protection, and sustainable economic and social development (Marcellac Gemelli,UN decade for Women, pg.1) Gender- based discrimination permeates all cultures, and is often manifested in the laws, policies, and practices of institutions. For example, in many countries women are not afforded the same inheritance rights and property rights as men, nor are they allowed to testify in court. Even where constitutional guarantees provide for equality and laws protect women‘s rights, discriminatory practices by law enforcement and security services, courts, lawyers and social services can serve as major obstacles to women‘s security and access to justice. Customary and traditional norms and practices, including informal justice mechanisms, may perpetuate gross violations of the rights of women and girls. As such de facto and de jure inequality is exacerbated by conflict and crisis. Women and girls constitute the majority of refugees and displaced persons, and are increasingly targeted by combatants. Sexual violence and other grave violations of women‘s dignity inflict severe suffering on victims. Discrimination in laws and institutions with respect to employment, property and inheritance rights, reproductive health, and marriage and family matters heighten women‘s vulnerability both in conflict and post conflict. Yet, conflict and crisis involve transformations in gender relations.
CHAPTER THREE
NIGERIA AND GENDER ISSUES
INTRODUCTION
Gender issues in Nigeria are a significant contribution to the gender debate. Gender issues in Nigeria can be said to include all forms of issues that tends to bring about disparity between the two sexes in terms of job employment, political participation, decision making, education, as well as right to one‘s personal life. From this, the gender report in Nigeria as various cases of tolerance of physical violence against women in Nigeria which is thus at an higher rate in regions where the highest number experience the violence. Nigeria has been subjected to have two-third of Nigerian women still experiencing and at the same time experiencing various forms of violence such as psychological abuse, marital rape, sexual exploitation, battering and verbal abuse or harassment within the home.
National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) observed that much of the violence experienced by women range from physical, sexual, and psychological violence that occurs in the hands of family members, particularly husband, father or partners. The NDHS report recognizes that although, certain forms of violence are institutionalized due to the fact that organizations such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women as well Non-Governmental Organization coalition, laments that the law as currently constituted, does not offer women and girls adequate protection from violence; thus creating a progressive way for state to create. For instance, the violence against women Prevention, Protection and Prohibition Act (2002) in Ebonyi, Lagos, and Cross-river have made use of these domestic laws against Female Genital Mutilation.(FGM).
CHAPTER FOUR
GENDER EQUALITY IN NIGERIA
ISSUES OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN NIGERIA
Gender discrimination and violence against women are global phenomena and women‘s rights are the freedom and entitlement of women of human rights without any form of discrimination or violation. Gender discrimination and violence against women are contrary to the fundamental human rights, equity, natural justice coupled with good governance. Nigeria women are faced with various challenges and difficulties in all sectors of the country. It is fair practice of treating women in the society. Women are faced with various challenging situations including the married and the unmarried in both the private and public sector. For instance, the issue of the militant sect in the northern part of Nigeria abducting about 250 girls in a school in April.
CHAPTER FIVE
UNITED NATIONS’ CHALLENGES IN PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY IN NIGERIA
UN AND WOMEN ISSUES IN NIGERIA
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The UN established the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) which was founded in 1976 with the aim of improving the living standard of women in developing countries. It focused on strategic issues affecting women; feminized poverty, ending violence against women, achieving gender equality in democratic governance in terms of peace as well as war and to avert spread of HIVAIDS among women and girls as well as educational inequalities. With the aim to end violence against women (VAW), UN women in Nigeria supports the revision of discriminatory laws, regulation, policies, systems and practices both at the local and national level coupled with the development and implementation of gender policy within the police forces of Nigeria and assist in the protection of women and girls against sexual and gender based violence. Disarmament is another issue facing women as well as access to formal education is still been constrained due to their unfair worked within the household division of labour. Violence against women is widespread in the world. This is a burning issue of human rights often swept under the carpet as if it does not matter, especially in Africa and particularly in Nigeria. This is not limited to physical violence. It is clearly known in Nigeria that women and girls are deprived certain rights.
CHAPTER SIX
CONCLUSION
SUMMARY
The issue of gender equality is paramount to Nigeria as a third world country due to the fact that women are seen as a weaker vessel and being deprived of certain rights. This called for the attention of the United Nations and its efforts in curbing the menace of gender equality. The work went on to discuss on the various violence and abuses that are faced which includes domestic violence; this is violence within the home. It is carried out mostly by male members of the family i.e. the husband and his relatives, against women and children.
These acts include marital rape, beating, verbal abuse; incest; FGM (female genital mutilation); forced marriage and child marriage; femicide; not being allowed their rights (women) (e.g. to choose a husband, or to choose the number of children they wish to have); denial of food even during pregnancy as culture forbids it. Emotional and Psychological Abuse are acts of violence that is not necessarily physical. They are acts that cannot normally be seen. These include all forms of cruelty, e.g. denigrating a woman by treating her as if she were a child, by ignoring her, by refusing to give her any affection or sexual satisfaction.
Sexual Harassment is an act of violence that usually takes place in the workplace. It may also be in a public or private place – the streets, at parties, in schools. It happens to domestic workers, office workers etc. Rape is defined as any form of sexual intercourse without free mutual consent between those involved. Sexual intercourse that involves force, threat, blackmail, deceit or coercion in which women are always at the receiving end.
RECOMMENDATIONS
There should be proper increment in women‘s leadership and participation in every sector both at the public and private sectors in terms of political roles and so on.
All efforts should be made in a bid to put a stop to all forms of violence against women such as placing watchdogs in officers ,as well as in the environment and people involved should be ready to speak out.
The introduction of peace by the UN Secretary-General Boutros BoutrosGhali in an agenda for peace, engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes helps in the promotion of positive peace due to the fact that there is no single country that is free from violence against women which affects women globally.
There should be appropriate implementation of programmes that target the eradication of violence against women and girls including effective recourse to gender justice as a matter of urgency.
To a good degree, there should be increase in the budget allocation of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to effectively finance its gender equality programme.
There should also be an institutionalization of gender through gender mainstreaming strategies in all the federal ministries and at all levels of governance.
The employment of more medical personnel to both the urban and rural areas to encourage and sensitize women on measures to be taken to reduce maternal and child mortality in Nigeria.
Finally, there should be immediate moves towards the domestication of CEDAW.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
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- Emmanuelle Wright (2012): Understanding the role of women in politics The Guardian Newspaper Tuesday, April 19, pg. 12.
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