Ahead of 2023 general elections, a group, Young Ladies in Politics (YLP), said it has prioritized the education of young ladies on political issues to prepare them for active participation in the coming elections.
Izekor Loveth, the Director General of YLP, who disclosed this during a chat with newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, noted that the group serves as a platform to encourage young women to actively participate in political activities for the overall development of the nation.
She also disclosed that part of the mandate of the group is to ensure that the leadership of public institutions and parliaments reflects the populations they serve – including their gender composition, stressing that such inclusiveness can contribute to the fairness and responsiveness of these institutions.
“Achieving gender equality in politics requires more than women and men having an equal share of parliamentary seats and ministerial positions amongst other positions in government which people feel are meant for only the male. It requires that women and men of all backgrounds have equal access to such positions and can subsequently participate in decision making on an equal basis.
“Young Ladies In Politics is a committed and well structured organization established with the sole aim of contributing to the growth of democracy in Nigeria. The group also seeks to maintain, preserve the integrity, unity and promote the equality and rights of the female gender in the society.
“Achieving this entails putting in place inclusive work environments, facilitating equal access to leadership roles, for example chairs of parliaments and parliamentary committees, and removing socio-economic barriers to political participation through gender-mainstreaming and targeted public policies. These and many more are what we seek to achieve” she said.
According to Izekor, YLP has been widely embraced by women across the country, having spread to the 36 states of the federation in the last six years.
“The organization is well structured and we already have followers in large numbers from the 36 states of the federation, including the federal capital territory, Abuja.
“Young Ladies are aware of the current sufferings across the country, so the need to educate ourselves on political realities and parties to follow becomes imperative. We are already doing that and the outcome and interest so far have been quite amazing” she added.