Assessment of the Constraints to Women Education and Its Implications on Their Participation in Politics in North Western Nigeria (Published)
Women constitute a larger percentage of the illiterate group in n Nigeria. This could be attributed to the fact that in most families, parents prefer to send their sons to school, instead of their Daughters whom they feel would eventually get married and thus get incorporated into another family and by implication a larger percentage of the girls remain uneducated and unexposed. Girl-child access to basic education, especially in northern states, has remained low. The importance of women education in enhancing the education of their children is succinctly put in the old adage which states that ’’to educate a man is to educate a person, but to educate a woman is to educate a nation’’ The participation of women in politics may influence equalization of educational opportunities, quotas for female participation in governing bodies, legislative reform to increase focus on issues concerning women and children, financing gender-responsive budgets to equally take into account the needs of men and women,. Therefore there is need to analyses constraints affecting women participation in politics and their consequences in retarding development of women education.This paper therefore is to appraise some constraints to women education and implications to their political power play in North West Nigeria. In doing this, the paper discusses how women had fared in the traditional societies for educational struggle and how that had helped in the definition of their political status. The paper also attempts a historical overview of the participation of women in the political arrangement in North West Nigeria. It tries to probe into the political future of women in the country to determine whether there are opportunities for improvement or not. The paper finds a great deal of role stereotype against women by tradition and absence of practical steps taken by both political parties and government towards political achievements. It opines that more women should be given opportunities for education for participation in the politics of the country. This can be achieved through laws that are deliberately aimed at removing the barriers against women and genuine practical approaches.
Keywords: Assessment, Constraints, Education, Political Participation, Politics, Women