By Alex Uangbaoje, Kaduna

Women are not short of the capacity to lead; Nigeria is short of a political environment that gives them a fair chance to do so.

That is the central message from a community listening exercise conducted by the Basileia Vulnerable Persons Rights Initiative (BVPRI) as the country moves towards the 2027 general elections.

Presenting preliminary findings from the Community Listening and Dialogue Tour on Tuesday in Kaduna, BVPRI Founder, Jennifer Agbaji, said women across communities are facing a combination of gender stereotypes, sexual harassment, moral stigmatisation, financial barriers, political gatekeeping and unequal access to influential networks.

“Women have the capacity to lead. The question is whether the political and social environment will allow them to lead,” Agbaji said.

The findings were generated under BVPRI’s Women’s Political Inclusion Project, supported by the Urgent Action Fund Africa (UAF-Africa).

Agbaji said the consultations revealed that women entering politics are sometimes subjected to derogatory labels and judged by assumptions about their sexuality rather than their competence or integrity.

She described the sexualisation and moral stigmatisation of women politicians as one of the most disturbing themes emerging from the exercise.

“Political ambition should not be treated as evidence of a woman’s lack of morality,” she said.

Women also reported sexual harassment and inappropriate demands in political spaces, while limited access to campaign finance was identified as a major barrier to running competitive campaigns.

Agbaji said women often lack the resources required to mobilise supporters, travel, communicate with constituents and navigate party structures.

“Economic inequality therefore becomes political inequality,” she said.

Political gatekeeping is another obstacle, with women reportedly struggling to gain access to influential political networks that often determine who gets political opportunities.

The findings also challenged the familiar claim that women do not support women.

Although women form a significant voting bloc, participants observed that female voters sometimes mobilise behind male candidates while female candidates receive less support.

Agbaji said the challenge is to turn “women supporting women” from a slogan into practical political solidarity involving voters, women’s organisations, community leaders and political actors.

The listening tour also uncovered limited grassroots awareness of the proposed Reserved/Special Seats Bill.

Agbaji said some communities had never heard about the proposal, making civic education critical.

She described special seats as a potential “game changer” but argued that affirmative action must start before election day.

Political parties, she said, should introduce measurable targets and designated opportunities for women at the party level, before primary elections.

“Women can be excluded long before the general election,” she said.

BVPRI is therefore recommending stronger affirmative action within political parties, increased access to campaign finance, mechanisms for reporting and sanctioning sexual harassment, measures to dismantle political gatekeeping and stronger networks for supporting credible female candidates.

It is also calling for traditional and religious leaders to become champions of positive norms around women’s leadership and for increased investment in young women through mentorship, civic education and grassroots mobilisation.

Men, Agbaji stressed, must also be part of the solution.

“Women’s political inclusion is a governance issue, not merely a women’s issue,” she said, describing it also as a democracy and human rights issue.

She argued that women, who constitute roughly half of society, must have meaningful representation at the decision-making table.

Inter-Party Advisory Chairman, Mika’il Ibrahim, supported the call for stronger participation, urging women to become active in political parties from the ward level to national leadership.

He said participation in party structures would give women the experience and political foundation needed to contest elective positions.

Ibrahim also called for political parties to reconsider late-night meetings, saying such schedules can create family tensions and discourage women from participating.

Earlier, BVPRI Executive Director Shinkut Sheyin said the Women’s Political Inclusion Project is designed to translate grassroots evidence into advocacy and public awareness.

The three-month project, which began on June 30 and ends on September 29, 2026, covers six communities across six local government areas of Kaduna State.

Its strategy combines stakeholder engagement and advocacy, community listening and dialogue, capacity building, research and documentation, and media awareness campaigns.

Sheyin urged the media to amplify the experiences gathered from the communities and help change public perceptions about women’s political participation.

Agbaji challenged journalists to go beyond simply reporting the number of women contesting elections.

They should investigate the barriers, expose gatekeeping, examine access to campaign finance, report harassment and challenge stereotypes that keep women out of political leadership.

“The women we listened to are not asking for charity,” she said.

“They are asking for fairness, safety, opportunity and representation.”

And that leaves Nigeria with a simple but uncomfortable question ahead of 2027:

Women can lead. But will Nigeria let them?