IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA IN THE MOBILISATION OF RURAL WOMEN FOR EQUITABLE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION IN THE THREE SENATORIAL DISTRICTS OF KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

An active participation and equitable representation of women in political activities is essential to building and sustaining a strong, egalitarian and vibrant democratic society for sustainable development. Similarly, the meaningful participation and representation of women in national, state and community leadership roles have become an important focus on gender studies and global development policy. There is no gainsaying the fact that women’s active political participation and equitable representation is capable of promoting and advancing dividends of democracy including a greater responsiveness to citizen’s needs, increased cooperation across party lines, ethno-religious barriers and a more meaningful growth and sustainable development. What more, women’s active participation and representation in politics advance gender equality and affect both the range of policy issues that get considered in line with the types of solutions that are proferred and implemented. But be that as it may, the level of women participation and equitable representation in the political arena in Nigeria’s democratic process has been adjudged by some studies and scholars as grossly inadequate when compared to their male counterparts. This research work therefore examined the “Impact of Mass Media in the Mobilisation of Rural Women for Equitable Political Participation and Representation in the Three Senatorial Districts of Kwara State Nigeria”. The study explored some chosen communities of certain local government areas in the three senatorial districts of Kwara State in an attempt to identify some of the factors militating against the active participation and equitable representation of rural women in the Nigeria political terrain. The study was conducted using the descriptive survey method with two hundred adult women in each of the two chosen under developed local government areas of the three senatorial districts of Kwara Central, Kwara South and Kwara North of Kwara State Nigeria making a total of one thousand two hundred adult rural women. The study revealed that though the mass media through various programmes create the avenues for the mobilisation of rural women for political participation but various factors militate against their equitable representation in democratic process and governance. Some of these identified factors ranged from illiteracy, cultural and traditional practices, religion, attitudes and gender stereotypes, lack of access to adequate health care system, domestic responsibilities and the disproportionate effects of poverty and wealth distribution.