Factors That Militate Against Women Participation in Politics in Enugu State

Abstract

This research studied factors militating against women’s participation in politics in Enugu state using four communities (Amokwe, Ikpamodo, Ndeaboh and Eha-Amufu) drawn from three senatorial zones as case study sites. The research approach employed was Community Familiarization Visits, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and In-Depth Interview (IDI). The FGD comprised of women and men leaders in the selected communities who served as the respondents while in the case of IDI the selected women community leaders served as the respondents. The study revealed among other things that women from the study areas have not been actively involved in politics since the return of Democracy in 1999 mainly due to poor finance, lack of education, lack of support from fellow women and an unfavorable political environment. The study thereby recommends different measures to end women’s discrimination and intimidation, and the creation of a favorable environment for the improvement of women’s political participation in Enugu state.