Oby Nwankwo

Oby Nwankwo is a Nigerian lawyer, women's rights advocate and civil society activist. Her work has focused on women's political participation, gender equality and human rights. Quotes Like we largely know, the affirmative action requires state parties to CEDAW to put in place temporary positive measures that will help close the gap which has been created by past marginalisation and discrimination. Nwankwo was explaining the purpose of affirmative action under CEDAW and why temporary measures were necessary to address the historical marginalisation of women. We all grew up with that mentality, but as time went on, we found out men could not cope, even within the home. Nwankwo was discussing traditional attitudes that restricted women to domestic roles and how changing social and economic circumstances challenged those assumptions. The same things have changed in governance! You find out that men alone cannot keep the system going and development is becoming slow! Nwankwo argued that excluding women from governance could hinder national development and that greater participation by women was necessary. This is why we’re saying something has to give. We must make some special provisions for women temporarily, to close that gap. Nwankwo was explaining her support for temporary affirmative-action measures to address the effects of long-term discrimination against women. We’re not asking to be spoon-fed; all we’re emphasising is that a wide gap has been created from a long history of marginalisation. Nwankwo stressed that affirmative action was intended to address an existing structural disadvantage rather than permanently give women preferential treatment. We’re not just talking about increasing the number of women but also about having solid women that will make contributions not just on women issues but also on economic, trade, etc. Nwankwo was discussing women's representation in Nigeria's National Assembly and argued that numerical representation should also result in substantive contributions across different areas of governance. So, for me, to the extent of their capacity, they are doing very well. Nwankwo noted that many of the women legislators were relatively new and were still learning the legislative process. The truth however is that Nigeria is notorious for going to international bodies, ratifying treaties and coming home without bothering about domestication. Nwankwo was discussing the obstacles to the domestication of CEDAW in Nigeria and criticized the gap between Nigeria's ratification of international treaties and their implementation in domestic law. The few women that have held decision making and high profile positions in Nigeria have done well. Nwankwo was assessing the performance of Nigerian women who had occupied senior political and public positions. She cited Dora Akunyili, Oby Ezekwesili, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Farida Waziri as examples. These women and several others have demonstrated that women are capable of delivering quality and positive leadership when the country needs it. Nwankwo concluded her discussion of women who had occupied prominent public positions by arguing that their records demonstrated women's capacity for effective leadership. Although obstacles to women’s effective participation in politics are daunting from every angle, all hope is not lost just yet. Nwankwo acknowledged the obstacles facing women in Nigerian politics while arguing that progress remained possible through policies, political reforms and other interventions. The call for affirmative action policies to redress the imbalance should be sustained. Nwankwo recommended continued advocacy for affirmative-action policies as a means of addressing the underrepresentation of women in Nigerian political decision-making. For women to be actively involved in politics and governance there is the need to mobilise and empower them educationally and economically. Nwankwo linked women's participation in politics with educational and economic empowerment, arguing that these were necessary conditions for greater involvement in governance. Category: Activists from Nigeria Category: Women's rights activists Category: Nigerian women