…urges 10th NASS to reintroduce, pass all gender bills

…honours Jennifer Sheifagha, victim of election violence

By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja

WITH technological advancement and penetration in socio-economic life of various nations, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, yesterday, decried gender digital gap limiting women and girls as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark International Women Day 2023 March 8.

The Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, in a statement pointed out that women have made untold contributions to the digital world and their accomplishments have been against all odds, but they are “neither welcomed nor appreciated.”

Rafsanjani, who saluted the courage and patriotism of Nigerian women in actively participating in the political process and representation amid double exploitation, discrimination, and segregation are still making positive contributions towards Socio-Economic and political development in Nigeria.

However, he said CISLAC expresses sadness over the way and manner the outgoing 9th National Assembly handled and acted on the constitutional amendment for gender mainstreaming to minimize discrimination of women, and denial in political participation of women to foster social integration, issues of indignity were thrown away by the 9th Assembly.

He added that “despite the popular support canvassed during the public hearing, the Ahmed Lawal-led National Assembly leadership deprived this opportunity for women to be mainstreamed into socio-economic and political development in Nigeria.”

The CISLAC boss also said his organisation is seriously disappointed with the February 25 National Assembly elections, which technological innovation had high expectations as far as transparent and credible elections are concerned but was a huge setback that affected the country’s push towards achievement of affirmative action.

He expressed concern that out of the seven female serving Senators in the 9th Assembly, “the result announced by INEC so far indicates that none of the female senators will be returning, and only three new female senators have been announced so far.”

Meanwhile, CISLAC noted with serious concerns “the situation across some states where women were targeted in electoral conflict, physical and virtual intimidation, as well as harassment in the cause of discharging their civic duties. This is despite the support they provide to political parties and governance in Nigeria.”

On the issue of violence during the February 25 polls, CISLAC celebrated and honoured Mrs Jennifer Sheifagha, on the heels of being attacked and injured by thugs in Lagos, went back to cast her ballot after receiving treatment.

CISLAC also described her action as heroic and condemned in the strongest term, acts of thuggery, and demand that the perpetrators of the dastardly act be brought to justice.

He said: “From the earliest days of computing to the present age of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, women have made untold contributions to the digital world in which we live.

“Women’s accomplishments have been against all odds, in a field that has historically neither welcomed nor appreciated them. Unfortunately, Women make up only 22 per cent of Artificial Intelligence workers globally. A global analysis of 133 Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems across industries found that 44.2 per cent demonstrate gender bias.

“In Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data shows that women on the average make up only 22 per cent of the total number of engineering and Technology University graduates on yearly basis, even though the IT industry often talks about inclusion and diversity, much more work needs be done with respect to technological innovation for gender equality in Nigeria.

“Today, a continuous gender gap in digital accessibility keeps women from realizing technology’s full potential. This is largely due to underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and careers which form a major barrier to their participation in tech design and governance which is not unconnected to sextortion in institutions of learning and workplaces.

“The dominant threat of online gender-based violence coupled with a lack of legal recourse too often forces them out of the digital spaces they do occupy.

“Therefore, 2023, CISLAC is making the following demands towards achieving gender equality in the country: CISLAC is urging that the 10th NASS reintroduce and pass all the gender bills that were rejected by the 9th Assembly.

“CISLAC is urging governments at all levels to adopt collective solutions to improve sexual and reproductive health rights and pursue the achievement of 95% digital literacy in Nigeria.

“We urge the government to prioritize nutrition education, workforce nutrition, food fortification and sensitization campaigns towards the reduction in the consumption of salt in the country.

“We are urging government at all levels to implement strategies that have the potential of reducing financial hardships caused by climate shocks with its attendant likelihood of school dropouts of girls, resulting in child marriages, teenage pregnancies, and sexual trafficking of girls and women.

“We demand the government to fully implement the Safe School Initiative to guarantee the safety of school children, especially for girl children.

“We Demand relevant authorities to provide the enabling platforms for reporting cases of all forms of sextortion and prosecute reported cases.

“We demand that the state governments adopt and implement the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015.

“We demand that the dysfunctional and poor access to health care for women which leads to maternal mortality and malnutrition be remedied.

“On this note, we ride on the opportunity of the International Women’s Day 2023 and in alliance with the theme of this year’s celebration, to call for equal opportunities for digital literacy for Nigerian women.”