Women in Nigerian continue to suffer various forms of discrimination that are rooted in culture and tradition. Practices across the country indicate that government’s commitments to women’s rights are ignored soon after signing, and little is being done to ensure implementation. Part of the problem is the society’s attitude to culture and tradition.

Most Nigerian communities take pride in their rich culture and time honoured values; consequently they tend to hold fast to their ways of life including aspects that no longer serve any useful purpose.  But the discriminatory nature of some of these practices, especially as they concern women, often creates dilemma as they have become a hindrance to individual and collective development. Sustained advocacy for the abrogation of discriminatory practices against women since the return of democracy are beginning to yield results though the progress is excruciatingly slow.

A few bills to promote and protect women’s rights are at various stages of deliberation in the National and State Assemblies. Among these are the bills to domesticate international instruments on women’s rights notably, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) on the Rights of Women.

At the state level some laws have been enacted against harmful traditional practices such as widowhood rites, female genital mutilation, disinheritance of females, and violence against women.

But there remains a need to establish a national benchmark, and demonstrate a strong backing for the various state legislations aimed at promoting and protecting women’s rights.  This can easily be achieved through a constitutional provision to the effect that men and women are equal and that no form of cultural practice that discriminates against women, humiliates them or bars them from the enjoyment of their social and economic rights shall be permitted. This section must exist alongside other gender sensitive amendments and should also reflect in the new Electoral Act as gender based affirmative action to promote women’s political participation.

So far the voices of groups and organisations calling for gender responsive Constitutional/Electoral Reforms have not been loud enough to compete with other interests.  The majority of women who are mostly at the grassroots level seem lost as to what exactly the women’s demands are. These women need to be carried along.

The GADA/AWDF Project addresses this awareness and capacity gap. It targets women at local government level using community based associations. Apart from popularizing the women’s issues in the Constitution/Electoral Reforms through awareness creation, the project seeks to build the women’s capacity and enable them contribute to the national debates using CEDAW and the Women’s Protocol of ACHPR on Women’s Rights as references. The project is designed to remain relevant after the current Constitutional/Electoral Reforms.