Education is the crux of the Nigerian women’s empowerment
movement.
More girls are attending primary schools in the 21st century
than ever before. By extension, more women are enrolling in universities and,
upon graduation, capitalizing on their diplomas to land professional jobs and
the sustainable incomes that come with careers.
Professors at Lagos State University studied decades of
government data and found that Nigerian women accounted for a mere 7.7% of the
country’s university-level students in 1960. Over the following 30 years, that
figure rose to 27%. It surged further to about 45% by the start of the current
decade.
Between 1960 and 2016, women in Nigeria’s professional
workforce multiplied roughly seven times and the country’s gross domestic
product climbed nearly 1,000%, according to a Trading Economics analysis.
That growth reflects multiple factors. But, key among them
is Nigeria’s gradual but notable shift over generations from a male-dominated
society to one that, today, is influenced by both men and women. A country that
draws upon the ideas and talents of all its citizens stands a much stronger
chance of innovating, of boosting productivity and growing its economy.
That philosophy is at the heart of the women’s empowerment
movement in Nigeria, and at the core of that movement is a focus on continuous
improvement in education infrastructure and resources and ongoing advances in
learning opportunities for girls and women.
Nigerian Senator Nenadi Usman embodies and helps lead
the movement. A former Minister of Finance and now a prominent member of
the People’s Democratic Party in the National Assembly, she
champions legislation and government action to bolster investments in
education, advances for women in the workforce and overall economic prosperity.
A case in point: In 2017, the federal government set
aside N1.6 billion for a women empowerment program called the National Women
Empowerment Fund, NAWEF. The money is for low-cost loans, training and business
support aimed at providing women boosts in the workplace or in operating their
own businesses.
A particular aim is to inject funding into impoverished
rural areas where women lack opportunities. The goal also is to build strong
partnerships between the federal and state ministries of women affairs and
various economic development partners.
Beyond the halls of the capital, Usman helped form a
non-government organization called Education and Empowerment for Women and she
chairs the Coalition of NGOs for Women Development in Kaduna.
Senator Nenadi built her own career on education. She
earned both a university degree and a post-graduate diploma. She began as a
classroom teacher, went on to work for the governor of Kaduna and later became
a minister in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration. She has served in the Senate since winning election in 2011.
Her doctrine: Nigerian prosperity is dependent on the
entirety of its population, and women must be enabled to realize their full
collective potential.
Notably, while women have made big strides in recent
decades, the long shadow of male chauvinism still lingers, still casts a
pall over sizable swaths of the country.
Girls remain twice as likely as boys to live below the
poverty line. Where school resources are limited, girls get squeezed out to
make room for boys. Girls still have longer roads to traverse to get into
universities. And women still trail men in the Nigerian workforce. In the
National Assembly, for example, Nenadi and her women colleagues represent a
small minority of senators.
But much progress has been made, and momentum can gather
further with strong government support and robust advocacy from the likes of
political leaders such as Nenadi Usman. Nigeria simply needs more such proponents in
government. Women represent roughly have of the country’s population. When
women account for half of the National Assembly’s members, full parity could
follow. Genuine and equal prosperity for women could become a reality.
