Women’s Political Participation and Grassroots Democratic Sustainability in Osun State, Nigeria (2010-2015)

Authors

Isola Abidemi Abiola, Babcock UniversityFollow

Disciplines

Gender and Sexuality | International and Area Studies | Political Science | Politics and Social Change

Abstract

Studies on Osun State and women's representation in both the federal and state levels and in the legislative and executive arms of government indicated it has the second highest women's representation in South West, Nigeria. This gives an impression that democracy is being sustained at the grassroots. However, the fact on the ground is to the contrary, especially when compared with their male counterparts and their representation in government. Therefore, this study explores women's political participation and grassroots democratic sustainability in Osun State, Nigeria from 1999 to 2015.This study adopted survey research design. Data were collected through questionnaires and unstructured interviews. The findings revealed that the number of women involved in political participation in Osun state is low compared to their male counterparts yet they are beginning to make great strides. It was found that women’s representation at the two levels of involvement in the period under study was 50 women or 20.5% of the group while male representation was 244 or 79.5 %. Further, it was revealed that the under representation of women in political participation in Osun State was due to certain socio-cultural factors like violence, discrimination against women, people's perception of politics as a dirty game and cultural beliefs. The study conclusions suggest that representation of women in Osun State is low compared to their male counterparts. This indicates that sustainability of democracy at the grassroots level is yet to be sustained. It is recommended that there needs to be local policies to end all discrimination against women as well as a platform of action entrenched in the constitution. In addition, the support of organized women’s associations not only in training women, but also through financial support and with the assistance of the government should be encouraged.

Recommended Citation

Abidemi Abiola, Isola (2019) "Women’s Political Participation and Grassroots Democratic Sustainability in Osun State, Nigeria (2010-2015)," Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought: Vol. 11: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/jift/vol11/iss1/3