Patriarchy and Women’s Political Representation in Africa: A Comparative Study of Federal Structures of Nigeria and Ethiopia

Abstract

Nigeria’s rich legacy of women’s political leaders from Queen Amina of Zazzau to Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, and Hajia Gambo Sawaba, today stand in sharp opposite to the country’s contemporary political reality today, where women’s representation remains very low even has women in the country have had visible gains in education and civic awareness. With Ethopia’s 41.5% women representation and Nigeria a measry 6.7%, this study examines the persistence of women’s political exclusion in Nigeria’s federal structure, using Ethiopia as a comparative case, to interrogate the relationship between federal structures and women’s political representation. The study employs Vickers’ (2013) gender-federalism approach to situate women’s representation within broader debates around justice, rights and democratic participation. The comparative analysis demonstrates how federalism can fragment attempts of organized women’s political participation by dispersing them across jurisdictions, but also create multiple arenas for innovation in representation and rights claims. The study’s methodology purely on qualitative document analysis, historical accounts, policy reviews, and secondary literature on the subject matter. While Ethiopia has made tremendous institutional strides by at least any global indices, Nigeria has demonstrated a lacklustre posture towards genuine policies reforms, even with the clamour for "special seats" for women in parliament. This paper argues that policies like the special seat alone, will be insufficient without reimagining what social transformation is. By integrating gender-federalism into the comparative study of Nigeria and Ethiopia, the article contributes to feminist federalism and calls for the reconceptualization of representation. The study concludes that patriarchy in it's elements must be dismantled with deliberate political will, gender-responsive institutions, and sustained advocacy to reclaim women’s historical role as central actors in governance and democratic development. 

Keywords: Patriarchy, Women’s political representation, Gender, Political participation, Nigeria, Ethiopia, federalism

DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/fujpam.2026.v5i01.015

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author/Isah Ibn-Mohammed

journal/FUJPAM Vol. 5, No. 1