Women in Public Life, a Newsletter Published by GADA is one of the outcomes of a series of activities that was aimed at building the capacity of Nigerian women for greater and more effective participation in the political transition process from military to civilian, which started in 1996. Like their counterparts in most parts of the world, Nigerian women have long been virtually excluded from decision making whether in the family or in the community and national life. Following the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995, there have been re-doubled efforts here and elsewhere to get women into the mainstream of political participation as a means of increasing their access to decision making. But the results of the 1998 / 99 general elections in Nigeria did not reflect any significant progress in that direction.

The experiences in South Africa, Uganda and the Scandinavian countries show that the desired boost in women’s political participation would mainly come through different levels of Affirmative Action. Affirmative Action is still a contentious issue here in Nigeria where traditional beliefs and cultural Practices stand in the way of the needed gender – based power shift. At the root of the resistance to change is the issue of ignorance and misunderstanding of key development concepts.

To garner the necessary support for women’s empowerment, the issues involved need to be clarified for the sensitization of those who are in a good position to facilitate the desired change, namely: - policy makers, legislators, politicians, civil society, the youth and the generality of women themselves. Since women are usually denied access to the mainstream media and women’s issues when featured at all are kept off the front pages, a special publication such as Women in Public Life is expected to enhance the advocacy efforts of those who strive to bring gender issues to the fore.

In response to the yearning of women, GADA facilitated the drafting of A Political Agenda for Women (now published) and three zonal workshops on the theme, Women in Public Life. This was done in collaboration with the British Council, and Women for Independence Self Sufficiency and Economic Advancement (WISSEA).

As a follow up to the workshops and summit GADA and WISSEA agreed to produce a regular bulletin that would report the political initiatives of participants and the many politically active women and women’s group across the country and beyond Nigeria.

The Publication:

Women in public Life (WPL) was first published with support from the British Council / DFID in the last quarter of 1997 as a one leaf monthly bulletin in size A4 white bond paper, and two colours – black for the text and blue for the nameplate. In January 1999, just before the elections the number of pages was increased to accommodate the inclusion of a wide range of issues related to democracy and the political transition. In addition to the regular columns such as Briefs, Event and personality Profile, WPL featured reviews, essays and interactive pieces on topical matters ensuring that articles were selected for their incisiveness and the amount of information they contained.

Thus women’s performance in the elections was analyzed with the aid of the necessary data. As election results showed that women performed poorly the reasons for it were adduced and strategies for immediate redress of the gender imbalance were suggested and long term solutions proffered. As a panacea for women’s accelerated empowerment, the concept of Affirmative Action in respect of appointive and elective posts was discussed in various articles. Other issues that were dealt with included gender relations in the family, the trafficking in women and children, harmful traditional practices and the various manifestation of discrimination against women in the society.

Circulation:

Currently, WPL has a print run of 2000 copies per edition. Of this, 1000 copies are sent to partner organizations and the other 1000 are distributed by post or hand to schools, universities, the national and Lagos State libraries, NGOs, politicians as well as individuals in the private and public sectors. A large number is given out at workshops in which GADA is represented and some readers come to the office to request for copies. GADA has a well – stocked resource center where the public can read the newsletter and other reference materials.

WPL was out of circulation in 2002 because there was no funding for it. However before the year ran out, there was a commitment from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) to support twelve issues of the newsletter in this election year 2003, It is expected that NORAD will like the DFID be interested in the distribution of the publication to their various publics.

Feedback and impact:

As an advocacy tool, WPL has made positive impact on legislators and policy makers. Female lawmakers and gender sensitive male counterparts, find that the articles in the WPL are persuasive materials in making a case for gender reform bills. Partly based on the anti-discrimination campaign of WPL, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Youth Development has recognized GADA as one of the foremost Women NGOs in Nigeria. Consequently GADA is a member of the National Consultative and Coordinating Committee on the Advancement of Nigerian Women Recently set up by that ministry.

Projection:

The WPL has been and will remain a reference material on women’s political agenda. It will not only continue to prioritize the issues but also proffer strategies for the realization of set objectives. It will also seek to give more exposure to women who are already in politics as well as those who will become the new entrants as local government elections begin the next round of the elective process this year. This means that more space will be devoted to the activities of individual female politicians and political aspirants.