MUSLIM WOMEN AND THE NIGERIAN PARTY POLITICS

Authors

  • AbdulGafar Olawale Fahm University of Ilorin (Nigeria)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54561/prj1501175f

Keywords:

Muslim, women, party politics, Nigeria, religion, gender studies

Abstract

Women’s participation in party politics in Nigeria has been largely marginal. This has led to the clamour for more involvement of women in political decisions and increased presence in political sphere. The objective of this paper is to examine the participation of Muslim women in the Nigerian party politics. Muslim women have made significant contributions in Nigerian society through their efforts in educational, economic, health, and humanitarian services i.e. playing a social responsibility role. Descriptive and analytical methods were adopted for this purpose. The study revealed that the involvement of Muslim women in party politics in Nigeria was impeded by cultural and religious bottlenecks and not lack of participation. It concluded that emphasis should be placed on the complementarity roles between men and women in order to suppress the intolerance often encounter by Muslim women in Nigeria party politics. Hence, there is a need for the existing political parties and most especially the ruling party to take advantage of the complementary differences in order to create balance in political decision-making.

References

Abubakre R. Deremi, “Islam Nostrum for Religious Tolerance in Polity of a Multi-Religious State: The Nigerian Experience”, in: Religion, Peace and Unity in Nigeria, J. O. Onaiyekan (ed.), NACS, 1984.

Adebayo Rafiu Ibrahim, Muslim Women in Partisan Politics in Nigeria: The Reactions of the Traditional ‘Ulama, Al-Hikmah Journal of History and International Relations (AJHIR), Vol. 2, No. 2, 2015.

Adeogun Tolulope, “Nigerian Women in Peace-Building Processes and Its Implications on State Building,” in: Reflections on Politics, Governance and Economy in Contemporary Nigeria, Ibadan University Press, 2016.

Afolabi Oluwaseun Olawale, The Role of Religion in Nigerian Politics and Its Sustainability for Political Development, Net Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2015.

Afolabi Oluwaseun Olawale, The Role of Religion in Nigerian Politics and Its Sustainability for Political Development, Net Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2015.

Agbalajobi Damilola Taiye, Women’s Participation and the Political Process in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects, African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, Vol. 42, No. 2, 2010.

Azuh Dominic and Matthew D Egharevba, Gender Discrimination and National Politics: The Nigerian Case, Covenant University Journal of Politics and International Affairs, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2014.

Basri Hasan, Sa’diyah El Adawiyah, and Wawan Hernawan, Women and Politics, Opcion, Vol. 35, No. 20, 2019.

Brown Nadia E., Political Participation of Women of Color: An Intersectional Analysis, Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, Vol. 35, No. 4 2014.

Callaway Barbara J. and Enid Schildkrout, “Law, Education and Social Change: Implications for Hausa Muslim Women in Nigeria,” in: The Women’s Decade, 1975-1985, Lynn Iglitzen (ed.), Santa Barbara, ABC Clio Press, 1985.

Callaway Barbara J., Muslim Hausa Women in Nigeria: Tradition and Change, Syracuse University Press, 1987.

Callaway Barbara J., Women and Political Participation in Kano City, Comparative Politics, Vol. 19, No. 4, 1987.

Dolan Julie, Melissa M. Deckman, and Michele L. Swers, Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019.

Fahm Olawale AbdulGafar, Muslim Women and Social Responsibility in Nigeria: Contributions of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Alternation Special Edition, Vol. 19, 2017.

Hamzat Abdulrazaq, “Understanding the 56% women cabinet in Kwara”, PM news Nigeria online, October 24, 2019.

Imam Ayesha M., “Politics, Islam and Women in Kano, Northern Nigeria,” in: Identity Politics and Women: Cultural Reassertions and Feminisms in International Perspective, V. Moghadam (ed.), Boulder, Westview Press, 1993.

Isola Abidemi Abiola, “Party Politics, Electoral Administration and Women Political Participation in Nigeria”, in: Reflections on Politics, Governance and Economy in Contemporary Nigeria, Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju (ed.), Ibadan University Press, 2016.

Khursheed Wadia, “Women from Muslim Communities in Britain: Political and Civic Activism in the 9/11 Era,” in: Muslims and Political Participation in Britain, Timothy Peace (ed.), Routledge, 2015.

Mama Amina, “Women in Politics”, in: Routledge Handbook of African Politics, Nic Cheeseman, David M. Anderson, Andrea Scheibler (eds.), Rotuledge, 2013;

Matland Richard E. and Günemurat M. Tezcür, Women as Candidates: An Experimental Study in Turkey, Politics and Gender, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2011.

Matland Richard E., Enhancing Women’s Political Participation: Legislative Recruitment and Electoral Systems, Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, Vol. 2, 2005.

Mendez Jeanette Morehouse and Tracy Osborn, Gender and the Perception of Knowledge in Political Discussion, Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 63, No. 2, 2010.

Mohon Vasundhara, Political Participation of Muslim Women in India, Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Mumbai, 2009,

Muslim Women and Politics of Participation, Mahnaz Afkhami and Erica Friedl (eds.), Syracuse University Press, 1997.

Nolte Insa, Nathaniel Danjibo, and Abubakar Oladeji, “Religion, Politics and Governance in Nigeria”, Working Paper 39, 2009.

Odionye Ada E., Education as a Panacea to Women Active Participation in Nigerian Politics, Journal of Education and Practice, Vol. 7, No. 30, 2016.

Okafor Emeka Emmanuel and Monica Ewomazino Akokuwebe, Women and Leadership in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects. Developing Country Studies, Vol. 5, No. 4, 2011.

Oloyede Oluyemi, “Monitoring Participation of Women in Politics in Nigeria”, National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Abuja, Nigeria, 2015.

Olufemi Jacob Fatile, Ighodalo Akhakpe, Chinyeaka Justine, and Chukwuemeka Okpo Oteh, Feminism and Political Participation in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis, International Journal of Asian Social Science, Vol. 2, No. 7, 2012.

Onapajo Hakeem, Politics for God: Religion, Politics and Conflict in Democratic Nigeria, The Journal of Pan African Studies, Vol. 4, No. 9, 2012.

Onyeji Ebuka, “UPDATED: 2019 elections worst for Nigerian women in nearly two decades, analyses show”, Premium Times Nigeria online news, April 24, 2019.

Oyewole Imam Yahya, Leadership of Women in Islam: A Critique of Some Scholars and Medical Evidences, Ado Journal of Religions, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002.

Paden John, Religion and Political Culture in Kano, University of California Press, 1973.

Paxton Pamela and Kunovich Sheri, Women’s Political Representation: The Importance of Ideology, Social Forces, Vol. 82, No. 1, 2003.

Pereira Charmaine, Domesticating Women? Gender, Religion and the State in Nigeria under Colonial and Military Rule, African Identities, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2005.

Pereira Charmaine, Domesticating Women? Gender, Religion and the State in Nigeria under Colonial and Military Rule, African Identities, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2005.

Arikewuyo Ahmed Nafiu, Islam, Women and Politics in Nigerian Context, Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies, (IJOURELS), Vol. 9, No. 2, 2019.

Sanni Kunle, “Kwara governor names nine women among 16 commissioner-nominees”, Premium Times, October 22, 2019, available at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/north-central/359034-kwara-governor-names-nine-women-among-16-commissioner-nominees.html, (date accessed 9.9.2020).

Sbaity Fatima Kassem, Can Women Break through? Women in Municipalities: Lebanon in Comparative Perspective, Women’s Studies International Forum, Vol. 35, No. 4, 2012.

Shehabuddin Elora, Reshaping the Holy: Democracy, Development, and Muslim Women in Bangladesh, Columbia University Press, 2008.

Shettima Kole Ahmed, Engendering Nigeria’s Third Republic, African Studies Review, Vol. 38, No. 3, 1995.

Ukwenga Glory Nneka, “Political Apathy and Mobilisation of Women for Democratic Governance in Nigeria,” in: Reflections on Politics, Governance and Economy in Contemporary Nigeria, Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju (ed.), Ibadan University Press, 2016.

Women in Politics: Gender, Power and Development, Mariz Tadros (ed.), Feminisms and Development, Zed Books, 2014.

Women, Quotas and Politics, Drude Dahlerup (ed.), Routledge, 2013.

Yusuf B., Gender, Islam and Muslim Women’s Political Activism in Northern States, Kano, 1997

Downloads

Published

2022-12-02

How to Cite

Fahm, A. O. (2022). MUSLIM WOMEN AND THE NIGERIAN PARTY POLITICS. Politics and Religion Journal, 15(1), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.54561/prj1501175f