CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: SITUATION ANALYSIS OF CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS IN NIGERIA FROM 1999 – PRESENT
ABOUT THE ORGANISATIONS
Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) is a human right, feminist
organisation with a mission to ensure gender justice for women and girls in Nigeria. Our work
is framed by our commitments to promote the rights of women and girls from any forms of
discrimination and violence; sexual and reproductive rights, right to health and human dignity,
right to economic justice, life and security, right to participate, and right to participate in
decision making. WARDC since its establishment in 2000, has built the capacity of women in
governance to play more active and quality role in politics and decision making to redress
gender imbalance in the development strides of the nation. WARDC launched the women in
parliament summit in conjunction with the Women in Parliament Committee, supported the
publication of Gender Audit of Elections and uses research to improve governance situation.
Over the years, WARDC worked with Women in Governance and mentored several women in
leadership. WARDC also supported the participation of women in constitution and policy
reforms.
Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative, (WRAPA) is a leading women’s
right organization that has contributed immensely to Women in governance and access to
justice of women in Nigeria. Since its establishment in 1999, WRAPA has supported women
at the grassroots and national levels to amplify their voices and demand accountability.
WRAPA ensures policies and legislations are responsive to the rights of women and other
marginalized groups.
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
Democratization continues to be a necessary precondition for sustainable economic and social
development. To reap and sustain the gains of democracy, deliberate actions must be taken to
contribute to the inclusion of women, youths and other marginalized groups. In Nigeria,
ensuring the qualitative and sustained participation of these marginalized groups entails
deliberate responses to gender equality and social inclusion concerns in Nigeria’s ongoing
constitutional and electoral review processes.
Corruption, lack of transparency, gaps in election processes, and opaque party cultures
undermine the Nigeria democratic system. Therefore, it is important to mobilize women and
other marginalized groups to constructively engage and demand changes from political parties
and election management bodies, as well as set policy and practice benchmarks for these
stakeholders.
It is also imperative that alterations, social and legal shifts evidence the removal of barriers to
women’s inclusion and participation, while also reducing the cost of corruption in governance
and service delivery for women and marginalized populations. Achieving this involves
organizing and facilitating critical masses of women at local, state, and national governance
levels to demand accountability, reduce corruption impunity, and stimulate GESI-based
inclusion in electoral processes, governance and the anti-corruption campaign in Nigeria.
Against this backdrop, WARDC in partnership with WRAPA is implementing the project
Improving Electoral Integrity and Accountability, with the support of MacArthur Foundation.
The project supports engagement with election management institutions and political parties
during and after the ongoing electoral and constitutional reform processes. WARDC is leading
the cluster on Affirmative Action and Constitutional Review and will work with National
Coalition for Affirmative Action (NCAA), Gender and Constitution Reform Network
(GECORN), the Feminist Womanifesto Platform (FWP) and Gender Technical Unit (GTU) in
conjunction with the supply-side actors to achieve constitutional and
electoral reforms responsive to qualitative participation of women in elections.
To this end, WARDC is seeking a consultant to undertake situation analysis of contributions
of women in parliament in Nigeria for improved electoral integrity and accountability.
OBJECTIVES
• Develop a ‘counter narrative’ on the value of additional seats in parliament for women
• To show concrete evidence on the value women bring to governance
• Develop holistic narrative on the consequence of women’s exclusion and argument for
qualitative and quantitative participation of women
• Support advocacy for the Women Special Seats Bill in the National Assembly
SCOPE OF WORK:
- Conduct research on the current status of women in parliament
- Stakeholder mapping of key groups and individuals involved in promoting or inhibiting
women’s engagement in politics and passage of gender responsive legislations - Consultation with key women’s group, CSOs and individuals
- Desk research
- Produce a report summarising the status of women in parliament from 1999-till date
(e.g. number of women of parliament,bills passed by women, performance at
constituency level)
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Overall, the consultants will be responsible for undertaking a situation analysis on the role,
achievements, challenges of women in parliament.
Specifically, the consultants will be responsible for the following tasks: - Development of a consultancy work plan
- Design a methodological approach for data collection.
- Undertake review of background documents on the motions women have raised in the
parliament, bills sponsored, and role played in ensuring transparency and accountability
and challenges. - Present the analysis and collect feedback.
- Finalise the situational report with concrete action plans and practical recommendations
for a roadmap. - Prepare the final report incorporating feedback, suggestions and submission of the final
report (a complete version of the report – both hard copy and electronic version in word
format) by the date given.
Outputs/deliverables
The deliverables expected under this consultancy are as follows. - Desk research for relevant literature on women’s contribution in parliament
- Research on performances of female parliamentarians in their constituencies
- Submission of first draft of research findings
- Present research findings and proposed roadmap meeting with women in
governance and women’s movement.
REQUIRED EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Education:
An advanced university degree or equivalent in Economics, Law, Gender Studies,
Sociology, Development Studies, or relevant Social Science fields.
Experience:
• At least 10 years of professional experience in gender analysis, development work and
gender mainstreaming in parliament.
• Experience in conducting analysis and synthesizing information into concise, analytical
written documents.
• Ability to carry out gender focused research and analysis that are able to contribute to
the formulation of policies, procedures, guidelines and programmes.
• Demonstrated ability to produce well written, well researched and high-quality reports
is essential.
• Knowledge and experience of women rights instruments.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong motivation to promote women’s issues.
• Ability to work with parliamentarians and women’s movement.
DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT
The assignment will be undertaken for the period of 20 working days
Application procedure:
Please submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) on/before 5pm West African Time on
9th November 2021. EOIs must include:
• A cover letter highlighting suitability for the assignment
• Detailed curriculum vitae, including a description of main achievements and skill sets;
• Samples of previous work on similar assignments
• Full contact information of 2 references
APPLICATION INFORMATION:
Interested applicants should send their applications/proposals indicating clearly in the subject
line of the email the position being applied for (in Caps E.g CONSULTANT FOR
SITUATION ANALYSIS) to: womenadvocate@yahoo.com