Women participation in Nigerian politics is crucial to the development of Nigeria
and since women constitute a sizeable proportion of the population, neglecting them may
mean losing their valuable contribution. Traditional socio-economic and political and
cultural structures aid discrimination against women leading to loss of contributions of
women to societal development. Raising the status of women through gender empowerment
has is considered in certain quarters as vital in the quest towards improvement in living
standards and wellbeing of the masses in economies transiting to stability. Despite global
efforts to improve the poor conditions of women through numerous conventions and
conferences such as CEDAW, MDGs among others, gender discrimination has not ceased.
The paper aims at throwing light on gender discrimination, obstacles to gender equality and
suggests strategies for promoting effective gender equality and empowerment of women.
Using secondary data, from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, the paper found that gender
discrimination exists in all variable indicators considered. Current status of Nigerian women
in relation to men in the areas of education, income, labor force and share of seats in
parliament or level of political participation were considered. Some of the main factors
militating against women’s effective participation in politics are illiteracy, poverty, money
politics, instrument of intimidation, harmful traditional practices and discriminatory cultural
stereotypes, violence against women, barriers by electoral process, and religious barriers. It
is suggested that more efforts are required by civil society groups and government agencies
for greater awareness on gender issues and rekindling efforts of all stakeholders in the quest
to formulating policies and programs towards reduction of gender inequality.