Democratization and Gender Equality: Comparative Study of women Empowerment in Nigeria and Ghana
Keywords:
Keywords: Democratization, Gender Equality, Women Empowerment, Political Participation, Nigeria, Ghana, GovernanceAbstract
This study focuses on the relationship between democratization and gender equality by analysing and comparing women political empowerment in Nigeria and Ghana. Despite the further spread of democratic governance in both countries since the 1990s, the political participation of women is still substantially under-represented in political leadership and decision-making processes. The study employs a qualitative research method and comparative research approach, relying on secondary data, institutional structures, and statistics of women representation in the Parliament.
Results indicate that both countries have seen opportunities for political participation as a result of democratization, but not gender equality as such. The representation of women in Nigeria is still very low, averaging below 6% in the National Assembly while the representation of women in Ghana is still high but not satisfactory, ranging from 8% to 15%. The study highlights several prominent factors that hinder women's political participation, such as entrenched patriarchal norms, institutional weaknesses, lack of financial resources and the male dominated party structure. Additionally, the analysis shows that Ghana's recent Affirmative Action Act (2024) offers a solid legal basis for gender inclusion, while the gender policies in Nigeria are policy-based and weak. Study concludes that for gender equality, there should be deliberate institutional reforms and socio-cultural transformation in addition to the process of democratization. It calls for enacting binding gender quota laws, making their implementation more robust, providing more funding and institutional support to women, and continuing to take action to change discriminatory cultural norms. This research makes a contribution to the literature as it offers a comparative analysis of the issue of gender and democratization in West Africa and gives policy-relevant insights in how to improve women's political participation and inclusive governance.
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