Gender Gaps in Nigeria Constitution: By Racheal Okegbola

1. THE LANGUAGE OF THE CONSTITUTION
The language in which the constitution is written betrays its seeming desire to continue with the patriarchal tradition of our society. In our opinion, it is necessary to divest the constitution of its masculinity and make it gender sex recognizing that not only men are human beings in Nigeria. The pronoun "he" appears in the 1999 Constitution 235 times and the word woman was used only two times {See Sections 26 (2) (a) and 29 (4) (b)}and in both cases it was used it was to cause some

2. CITIZENSHIP
The Section 26 of the 1999 Constitution defines who is a Nigerian citizen and how same may be acquired by naturalization and by registration. The Constitution makes no provision for the process by which non-Nigerian men married to Nigerian women and who are so desirous, may become Nigerian citizens. The silence here has continued to wreck untold hardship on the stability of many marriages.

Furthermore, section 29(4) (b) of the constitution provides for the renunciation of citizenship and thus allows an under aged woman to revoke her citizenship even when she has not attained the age of majority or the constitutional voting age.


3. INDIGENESHIP
There is a continued ambiguity about the "origin" of a woman who marries a man from al)other ethnic or geographical area to hers. The reality of most women in this category is that they lack any definitive claim to the area they left or that to which1hey married into. In some instances women have been denied their rights to appointive or political positions due to the fact that they can no longer claim their original place of origin or that or their husbands.

4. DISCRIMINATION
Section 42(1) prohibits discrimination on grounds of sex amongst others and further to that, the Nigerian Government has signed and ratified several instruments that frowns at inequality and discrimination, and aim at protecting women's rights as human rights. Nevertheless, the right of the woman to freedom from discrimination has been specifically derogated from by the Constitution itself in the very section guaranteeing the right. Thus, section 42(3) has precluded the right to freedom from discrimination as conferred in section 42(1) from applying with respect to any public office, including military or police appointments

.3.1 Section 42(3), 1999 constitution is restrictive, nullifies and impairs women's rights and the rights of others and thus should be abrogated

5. RIGHT TO DIGNITY OF WOMANHOOD
Section 34 1999 Constitution of the constitution generally speak to right to dignity of human persons, however does not touch on the specificity of women's rights to be free from harmful traditional practices which includes widowhood practices, female genital mutilation, force a marriage and others which have constituted a continuing threat to the lives of women in Nigeria

6. POLITICAL RIGHTS
It is an incontestable fact that women constitute about half of the projected national population of Nigeria. Unfortunately, this numerical strength has never found a corresponding expression or representation in Nigeria's public life

The problem is beyond the usual position that "there are no suitable women to fill vacancies or even token appointments to "gender balance" a string of appointments. The fundamental Issue remains that there are institutional reasons obstructing the possibility of full public advancement of women. The societal conditionings of women as subservient weaker sex including the conceptualized dichotomy of public and private spheres are impediments to women s full participation in public life. African Countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Eritrea, Malawi etc has used constitutional measures to enhance women's active participation in power and in decision making. Today, Rwanda parliament has almost 50% representation of women.


7. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS
Barriers to improve women's health are often rooted in social economic, legal, cultural and religious belief. Thus, women in Nigeria become vulnerable to increased risks of sexual and other abuse, in and out of marriage affecting women's bodily integrity and autonomy. Is a fact that Nigeria's maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world today and yet women still lack access to education and information needed to benefit from reproductive health services. Reproductive health and rights are so fundamental to the enjoyment of right to life for women and must be protected by the constitution


8. ENFORCEABILITY OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Chapter II of the. 1999 Constitution makes provision for the Fundamental Objectives and Directives Principles of State Policy of Nigeria. Many of these rights are the most laudable objectives for which any state can set for itself. In particular, when weighed against the economic, social and political situation in the country. However, as laudable as these objectives are, they remain non justifiable in the court of justice

A perusal of theses objectives reveals that it is the women folk and the poor that will stand to benefit the most from the legal enforcement of these rights.


9. FEDERAL CHARACTER COMMISSION
Section 14(3) entrenched the federal character principle without affirming the principle of equality and non discrimination that should strictly speaking be the basis for composition of government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs. As it is now the focus of the Commission, which is by no means independent and gender balanced even in its composition is to ensure ethnic balance in power and in the access to national resources. This state of affair is unjust and contradictory to a constitution that postulates equity and social justice.


10. RIGHT TO INHERITANCE
Women in most communities in Nigeria are treated as objects or properties and therefore not a subject of inheritance. The practice of denial of inheritance right has caused untold hardship to women and girl-children often left destitute and In extreme poverty at the death of their husbands or fathers. The 1992 Constitution of Ghana has provision that guarantees women inheritance and general spousal right to each others property


11. LAND USE ACT
Women in most communities in Nigeria are denied rights to land and the provision in the constitution on the Land Use Act does not guarantee equal access of men and women to land and also adequate compensation for land compulsorily acquired. Rather, it reinforces discriminatory customary and cultural practices that deny women access to land- an important means of production


12. WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES
The consequences of living with physical or mental disabilities are particularly serious for women in a society like ours where discrimination against women is heavily practiced. Failure of the State to provide for enabling environment within which women in this category can live free, limits their possibilities of enjoying their rights as human beings.