By Mene Prosper
A pressing gender inequality trend in Nigeria, reported by guardian Nigeria has laid bare a worsening gender equality crisis in Nigeria, igniting fresh outrage and demands for systemic change. Titled “Nigeria’s Gender Equality Crisis: Urgent Need for Reform,” the study ranks Nigeria a dismal 179th globally for women’s representation in national legislatures, spotlighting profound disparities in education, employment, and political power.
The report arrives amid a firestorm of controversy following the Nigerian Senate’s suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who recently alleged sexual harassment by a senior colleague. Activists seize on this incident as a glaring example of the entrenched sexism plaguing the nation’s corridors of power. “This is not just one senator’s story—it’s a symptom of a system rigged against women,” said Chika Okeke, a Lagos-based women’s rights advocate. The timing has only fueled public anger, with protests echoing the global themes of International Women’s Day earlier this month: rights, equality, and empowerment.
Beyond politics, the report exposes broader societal failures. Women lag significantly behind men in access to quality education and decent jobs, with economic desperation driving some to transactional sex for survival.
Meanwhile, violence against women surges, with at least 24 femicide cases recorded this year alone, according to Project Alert. Efforts to repeal the 2015 Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act further threaten to unravel fragile protections.
Skepticism looms large over whether this report will jolt the government into action, given its track record of inertia on gender issues. “We’ve seen reports before—words without deeds,” Okeke added. Yet, with activists amplifying their voices and women like Akpoti-Uduaghan refusing to be silenced, pressure is mounting for Nigeria to confront its gender crisis head-on—or risk leaving half its population behind.
