Barrister Maryam Kolo decries increasing denial of women to contest elective positions

By: Adelowo Oladipo, Minna

A former Director General , Niger State Child Rights Agency, Barr. Maryam Kolo has condemned the increasing denial of women to contest elective positions in the State

Barr. Maryam Kolo also a former board member Niger State Universal Primary Education Board, raised the observation in an interview with the Nigerian Pilot in Minna, stressing that the trend is unhealthy to the current Democratic setting and it’s unacceptable.

Barr. Maryam Kolo noted that if the trend is allowed to continue it will not augur well for the country’s social political and democratic setting adding that women as nation builders need to be allowed to participate and contest favourably with their male counterparts for elective positions equally.

Fielding questions from your our correspondent on Tuesday in Minna,Barr Kolo warned that allowing the trends to continue,will amount to injustice and unfair to women.

“ Men are intimidating us. We have the strength, we have the largest population. We are the people that turn out in various polling units to vote. But we are now being intimidated,relegated to the background and harassed by men.

“ This is not fair, it is unjust and ungodly for men to continue in every election year. Men will use all sorts of elements to deny women from contesting any elective position. We will not and will never allow ourselves to be harassed and intimidated any more”Maryam
declared.

According to the former and pioneer Director General Niger State Child Rights Agency (NSCRA), knowing fully well, women turn out in their large and numerical population at various polling units across the country,”that posed a serious threat to them which is their reason of denying us our chance to compete with them at the polls”

She highlighted that women will continue to contest any elective positions, no matter the campaign of calumny and intimidation adding, “no amount of their threat, intimidation and harassment will deterred us from contesting in any elections”

Barr.Maryam Kolo charged various women organisations,women activists,non governmental organisations and other women critical stakeholders across the country to stand by women by raising their voice in the defence “of this unwholesome violence against women during elections”

Speaking further, the former director general posited that the denial of women participation in politics to contest for elective position on its own in the State in particular, is also violence against women.”
End.