Negative portrayal of women stifles democracy, says UN Women

TUnited Nations ( UN) Women has said that negative portrayal of women in politics and leadership stifles democracy and justice. According to the UN Women, the roles assigned to women and their contributions to society are not valued.

Veronica Ogbole of the UN Women stated this, yesterday, at a training with the theme ‘ Positive Portrayals of Women in Politics and Leadership’ for political reporters, in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Women’s political involvement since 2015 is very low, despite decades of struggle for gender equity and women empowerment, she lamented, noting that women recorded an all- time low participation of 14 in the House of Representatives and eight in the Senate.

“The National Gender policy and the Independent National Electoral

Commission’s Gender Policy Draft did not translate to increase in the number of women elected or appointed into leadership positions, despite that women make up the majority of the population,” she said.

According to her, political parties in the country are one of the key mechanisms for women to advance their political aspirations for leadership at all levels. “But they are not helping women achieve their leadership roles, as women are denied effective participation within the existing political parties.” On decline of women in leadership, she said: “In 1999, only 12 females against 978 males were elected into the Houses of Assembly, three females out of 109 senators, 13 females in the House of Representatives as against 347 males. Women constituted only 11.9 per cent of ambassadorial appointments.