Women are under represented at all levels of decision making worldwide and achieving gender parity in the Political leadership is almost impossible.Despite the numbers and active involvement of women in voting during elections, they are under represented both in elective and appointive positions.
Women assume key roles of a Mother, Producer, Home manager, Societal Organizer, Socio- Cultural Activist but despite their visible roles and the fact that they constitute almost half of the country's population, they have not been given the recognition they deserve. This is due to some cultural stereotypes, traditional practices, patriarchal societal structures and lots more.
Since the creation of Imo State, there has been one or two or no female Lawmaker in each Assembly out of 27 LGAs. Women are sparingly elected as Lawmakers, despite having more women electorate.
One can imagine what happens to women related issues and bills at the floor of the House. The 9th Assembly gave us a glimmer of hope for the women, produced two proactive, reputable women who made profound impacts and became indelible in history. They coordinated actions which gave Imo State Violence Against Person Prohibition Law (VAPP) on December 15th, 2021, which has today amongst several other beautiful things, given women right to family inheritance. Women should not only be remembered when it is time to bath or feed their sick parents but should also have rights to benefit from the common wealth of the family they belong to, married or not.
The current Imo 10th Assembly has no woman Lawmaker. It is a cause for concern as the voices, passions, interests and challenges of women may not be given the necessary attention. No matter how feminine a man is at heart, he cannot relate with the aspirations and needs of a woman like a woman would. Lack of adequate women participation in Politics and leadership is the reason bills on Women do not scale through.
Our traditional institutions have no place for women, this is why there is a lot of domestic violence, subjugation, denials and magnlization especially in our rural communities because at that level, the women are voiceless. In the Ezes' cabinet, for instance, there is usually no female representative of the women folk, as such, women are not given the privilege or right to air their views. Imagine a scenario where a woman wants to report a rape or battering incident to a cabinet of men in a village setting.
With zero women representation in the 10th Assembly, there should be more appointive positions for women to achieve balance and ensure equal opportunity. Men are doing well in political positions, but women need to be allowed to step up to balance the equation.
It is imperative for more appointive positions to be given to female politicians and technocrats in Imo State to achieve the affirmative action in the National Gender Policy of 2021 to 2026. We request Hope Uzodinma to consider appointing many women into strategic positions in this second tenure, as we applaud him for choosing a woman Deputy Governor. We are confident that our voices will be loud through her. Choosing a female running mate, has clearly expressed how deeply Governor Hope Uzodinma values the role of women in politics and recognizes their ability to contribute effectively to the development and progress of the state.
Women's appointment to strategic positions will further bring sustainability to Imo nascent democracy. Women are the backbones of families and communities. They play significant roles in community building and often do well in community development.
Women are naturally gifted and endowed to survive and endure complex situations, which equips them with experiences and maturity needed to excel in leadership positions.
As we anticipate seeing the new cabinet of Governor Uzodinma's second tenure, we hope to see many women in appointive positions.
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