Gender relations in Nigeria's democratic governance

The imperative of popular participation to democratic governance has engendered intense academic discourse on the political alienation of women across the globe including Nigeria. Based on recent research study carried out, it has been realized that despite the increasing global agitations for gender equality, the situation in Nigeria, following the demise of military rule in 1999, is nothing to write home about as women representation in the national parliament in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections recorded a dismal 6.3%, 8.8% and 7.3% respectively. Of the factors explored, research findings reveal that four major factors are responsible for women's marginalization in political participation, namely; socioeconomic, cultural heritage, political acrimony and institutional designs. This paper therefore argues that any measure directed towards redressing the low political participation of women in Nigeria will only be superficial unless the structural factors that limit women's political empowerment in the country are addressed.