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ional practices and patriarchal societal structures (Gon?ok, 2015).
In Nigeria, the awareness about the role of women in development of a nation came up in 1980s. The International Conference on women in Beijing in 1995 enhanced the effective participation of women in politics in Nigeria. Presentl? more than 51 percent of women are involved in voting during elections, despite these, women are still under represented in both elective and appointive positions. Available statistics has revealed that overall political representation in government of Nigeria is less than 7 percent (Agbalajobi, 2010). This shows that Nigeria has not attained 30 percent affirmative as prescribed b? the Beijing Platform of Action.
Concerted efforts have been made b? government and non-governmental organizations to increase the level of participation of women in politics, in line, with the declaration made at the fourth World Conference on women in Beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action. However, in Nigeria, the extant National Gender Polic? (NGP) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought for a more inclusive representation of women with at least 35% of both elective political and appointive public service positions respectivel?. The under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our societ?, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date (Olu?emi, 2016).