The Roles of Education and Socio-economic factors on women political participation in Chanchaga Local Government area of Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

Women political participation has been a topic of discussion among scholars in several regions globally. It is against this background that the study investigates the roles of education and Socio-economic factors on women political participation in Chanchaga local government area of Niger State, Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive research survey design. A total of Ninety (90) respondents were sampled from total population of four hundred and seventy-eight (478) women politicians. Questionnaires were distributed as a means for data collection. Simple frequency count and percentage were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that educational qualifications do not have much hindrance to women political participation in the local government, and you don’t need higher qualification to be an active politician. The study discovered that finance is one of the major stumbling blocks to women political contest in addition to political violence, cultural and religious barriers. Therefore, the study recommends that there should be equal opportunity in terms of political contest between men and women; by doing so, it will motivate the women political participation in the local government and the State at large. The government should make a law reserving certain political positions for women. Finally, the Political parties should wave or reduce registration fees for any woman contesting under its platform.