West African leaders have launched an ambitious regional drive to boost women’s political participation, with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) setting a 2035 target for gender parity in political leadership and Nigeria pledging sweeping reforms to expand women’s representation in governance.
The commitment was made at the Forum on Women’s Political Leadership in West Africa held in Abuja, where ministers, parliamentarians, electoral management bodies, civil society organisations, development partners and women’s groups agreed on a common agenda to dismantle legal, financial and institutional barriers limiting women’s participation in politics.
Speaking at the forum, the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, described greater female participation in politics as a strategic imperative for national development, democratic consolidation and economic growth rather than merely an issue of equity.
She said the meeting was convened to transform longstanding commitments into concrete action through the proposed Abuja Action Agenda, which aims to fast-track the ECOWAS 2035 Gender Parity Agenda by expanding financing opportunities for female political aspirants, eliminating violence against women in politics, strengthening women’s participation in democratic transitions, deepening regional cooperation and establishing accountability mechanisms to monitor progress.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s commitment extends beyond policy declarations, noting that the Federal Government is implementing its Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security while strengthening leadership academies across the country’s six geopolitical zones to prepare more women for leadership positions.
She argued that inclusive development would remain elusive if women continued to be excluded from decisions affecting governance, public investment, peacebuilding and social protection.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim also disclosed that the proposed Special Reserved Seats Bill for women is undergoing a comprehensive review to better reflect Nigeria’s political realities.
She revealed that government was considering fresh options, including the introduction of an electoral college mechanism, as part of efforts to develop a workable framework capable of significantly increasing women’s representation in elective offices.
“We are still trying to find what instrument is fit for Nigeria so that we can give our system the necessary shock it requires to admit many more women while we continue to compete on a level playing field,” she said.
The minister added that the administration of President Bola Tinubu was committed to aligning Nigeria’s domestic reforms with regional gender commitments and would host an International Family Summit later this year as part of a long-term strategy to strengthen African families.
Also speaking, ECOWAS Vice President, Damtien Tchintchibidja, cautioned that the success of the regional initiative would depend on implementation rather than declarations.
She said that following the adoption of the Freetown Declaration by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, the regional bloc would work with member states to domesticate the commitments through legislative reforms, dedicated national budget allocations, peer-review mechanisms and stronger collaboration with development partners, including the United Nations Development Programme.
She added that ECOWAS would monitor member states’ progress toward achieving gender parity by 2035 through regular reporting and accountability frameworks.
Sharing Sierra Leone’s experience, the country’s Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Isata Mahoi, said women now occupy 30 per cent of parliamentary seats following the enactment of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act.
She attributed the achievement to electoral laws requiring political parties to nominate at least one woman among every three candidates, alongside reforms expanding women’s land ownership rights, cross-party collaboration among female politicians, leadership mentorship initiatives and scholarships encouraging girls to pursue science and technology education.
Liberia’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Gbeme Horace-Kollie, identified inadequate financing as one of the greatest barriers facing women seeking elective office.
She advocated comprehensive electoral reforms, including mandatory campaign funding quotas for female candidates, reduced nomination fees, dedicated credit facilities through the banking sector and sustainable financing mechanisms to ease the high cost of political campaigns.
Meanwhile, Senator Chantal Moussokoura Fanny urged governments to match political commitments with concrete action, warning against celebrating declarations without effective implementation.
While welcoming the regional initiative, she noted that many West African countries were yet to attain the minimum 30 per cent representation benchmark for women in political leadership.
The Ivorian lawmaker argued that implementation should extend beyond ministries responsible for gender affairs to include ministries of justice, finance and other key institutions capable of translating commitments into enforceable legislation and sustainable public policy.
She also called on established female leaders across the continent to embrace mentorship as a responsibility, stressing that the next generation of women leaders must be deliberately nurtured to achieve lasting political transformation.
The Abuja forum concluded with renewed calls on governments, political parties, electoral management bodies and development partners to move beyond rhetoric by removing entrenched barriers to women’s political participation, amid growing optimism that coordinated regional action could significantly narrow the gender gap in governance across West Africa.
