Project profile — ADVANCE: Women’s Political Participation in Nigeria

• Nigeria (100.00%)

• Democratic participation and civil society:
Democratic participation and civil society (15150) (65.00%)
Legislatures and political parties (15152) (25.00%)
Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (10.00%)

• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (principal objective)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)

This project aims to increase women’s participation, election, and appointment in the 2023 electoral cycle and in subsequent years, specifically for young women in Nigeria. The project seeks to achieve this by improving gender-responsive laws and policies, supporting women to engage directly in politics and enhancing coordination among key stakeholders. Project activities include: (1) working with key stakeholders, including legislators and political parties to promote gender-responsive reforms such as gender quotas in national and state level legislatures; (2) building the capacity, leadership skills and networks of women candidates running for political office in 2023; and (3) engaging men champions, traditional leaders and communities to contribute to a more supportive environment for women’s political representation, including by preventing and responding to violence against women in politics. The project aims to directly benefit 235,000 people (of whom 200,750 are women) and indirectly benefit 5 million people (of whom 3.9 million are women) across Nigeria.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) an improved gender-responsive legal environment, including through the implementation of gender-responsive policies by political/democratic institutions at state and federal levels in Nigeria; (2) increased women’s participation in political processes and leadership in elective and appointive positions at ward and federal levels in Nigeria; and (3) enhanced coordination between women’s political empowerment partners and key stakeholder groups in project communities to strengthen collaboration and partnerships promoting women’s political leadership.

Results achieved as of December 2022 include: (1) supported the drafting process of the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill in Kaduna State, ensuring women’s equal access to opportunities and rights in political and public life; (2) supported 30,611 young women of voting age to register online as first-time voters during the Continuous Voter Registration process of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Nigeria; (3) provided technical support to 228 female candidates across 22 states from the six geopolitical zones in running effective campaigns ahead of the 2023 general elections; and (4) trained 517 electoral officials across Borno, Kaduna, Kwara, and Plateau states on what constituted Violence Against Women in Elections and how to respond.

• Proactive disclosure