ABSTRACT

Gender equality, a problem infringing on human rights as well as affecting national development, has earned the attention of scholars and policymakers for the past three decades. The study aims to critique the impact of traditional norms on gender equality in the Nigerian society from a feminist standpoint. To measure gender equality, one indicator: women’s participation in politics was examined. On the one hand, the number of women on the voter register was assessed and on the other hand, the number of women elected into political offices was also analyzed. The methods for the study include a mixed historical method where official documents, articles, news stories and other relevant resources on the subject matter were retrieved from websites and scrutinized. Findings reveal that though Nigerian women constitute over 47% of the voting population, they are conspicuously missing in Nigerian electoral politics as less than 4% of elective posts are held by women.