by Chris Agbo
One of the leading disability organizations, Cedar Seed Foundation in collaboration with Africans Young Female Advisers Initiative on 4-5 December, 2020 in Abuja organized 2 days National Consultation on Young Women in Governance and Young women with disabilities Rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and Proposed Women Fair Representation in the Elective and Appointive Positions Bill 2020.
The Founder and CEO of Cedar Seed Foundation, Mrs. Lois Auta Udonkata in her interaction with the Qualitative Magazine (TQM) said that the essence of the program is to include the issues of women and girls with disabilities(WGWDs) in the Constitution because their issues were not captured in the 1999 constitution.
She said that they are now working with other CSOs such as Africans Young Female Advisers Initiative with support from Actionaid and Global Affairs, Canada to work on the document with the help of consultants like Cynthia Mbamalu and Barrister Funke Nweke to come up with a memo or recommendation that they would be presenting to Federal Ministry of Women and UN Women to assist them take the document to the Presidency and possibly to the National Assembly to fashion it into our laws to enhance the political participation of women and girls with disabilities in accordance with Article 29 of United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Speaking further, she called on National Assembly to expedite action on the gender equality opportunity bill, ensure that it is passed in both the senate and house representative and transmit to the President for assent because the bill will enhance the opportunity of women in general. Women will enjoy 35 percent affirmative action and 5percent of it would be reserved for women and girls with disabillities. She said that they are demanding 5 percent for now coming to WGWDs.
She strongly believe that this affirmative action would be achieve soon and that’s why she have been organizing capacity building training for WGWDs to encourage them to come into politics because these laws will remove the bottlenecks that hinders their progress in politics.
“Women with disabilities should build political base, participate in Party politics from the grassroots to the state and National level” she counseled.
She revealed that she is going to present herself once again for house of representative come 2023 and urged other women with disabilities to present themselves as well.
The event brought together women with disabilities, women in government and other CSOs and they looked into challenges of women with disabilities in governance and politics, constitution and women’s fair representation bill with emphasis on Young women with disabilities.
