The gender equality bill has been re-drafted and presented to the senate, raising hopes that it could be reconsidered.
Biodun Olujimi presenting the bill at the Senate
According to an exclusive disclosure by TheCable News, the gender equality bill, originally titled: ‘Gender Parity and Prohibition of Violence against Women’, has been re-drafted and presented to the senate, raising hopes that it could be reconsidered.
The senator representing Ekiti south senatorial district, Biodun Olujimi, had presented the bill in March, but some lawmakers led by Senator Sani Yerima from Zamfara state, cited religious and cultural reasons for its rejection.
Speaking with TheCable on Monday, Olujimi said that she believes the bill would be endorsed during its re-introduction, adding that it had already passed first reading. “It has gone for first reading,” she said and added that she believes it will be endorsed.
The 'Gender Equality Bill' seeks to ensure gender parity, equal economic opportunities, and equality in marriage especially in terms of inheritance and land rights.
The senate president, Bukola Saraki, put it to a vote, to which the opposing senators shouted a thunderous “nay”, and subsequently had their way.
The bill was being read a second time when it was rejected, and Saraki, at the time, said the bill could be re-drafted and re-presented to the senate.