Gender Politics in Nigeria: A Socio-Political Analysis of Women’s Perspectives on Feminism, Feminist Politics, and Democracy

Abstract

Nigeria’s democracy exhibits gender-based inequalities that suppress women’s voices and disproportionately under-represent them inpolitical leadership. Using feminist political philosophy as its theoretical framework, and mixed methods to gather data, this study interrogated Nigerian feminism, feminist politics, and democracy through the lens of 100 working-class women. Findings reveal the existential struggles of participants whose material deprivation and political powerlessness have increased apathy towards gender politics, elections, and political institutions. Wedged between modernity and patriarchy, they reject Western notions of sexual liberalism and conceptualize democracy as necessary but incapable of ensuring economic progress – the end for which it exists. The arguments in the present article matter because they contribute to feminist/political scholarship in Nigeria.