A Minna based woman activist Barrister Miriam Haruna Kolo,has again raised her voice against political intimidation on women in recent All Progressive Congress (APC) primary’s election across the country.
She observed with dismay the way and manner some women indicated their interest to participate and contest for various position in the recent APC primary elections and were coerced from contesting describing the trend “as unacceptable”
“ Some women indicated their desire to vie for the various positions in the recent party Primaries in the state they were coerced not to vie for positions of their choice out of the same intimidation I'm talking about” she stated.
Barrister Miriam Kolo noted that women as nation builders and formidable forces in political dispensation were sidelined by men, describing the trend as unacceptable.
According to the woman activist,women across the country,have made in unprecedented and overwhelming sacrifices in installing the present democracy “ but is quite unfortunate and sad that we have been relegated to back seat in the recent APC Primaries election across the country”
Fielding questions from Journalists in Minna as her Sallah message to women across the Northern states, Barrister Miriam Kolo pointed out that no matter the amount of threat intimidation and any other forces against women by men dominant in politics, would not detered women to continually raising their voice against men dominant in politics.
She posited that during voting across all the polling units ,women presence could best be described as unprecedented as compared to men,noting that when it come for women to contest for an elective position the men will now come out with various forms of charade to sideline women from the race for a selfish reason.
“ Our presence at various polling units during elections is larger than the men. Under the rain and under the sun,our turnout to vote is larger than men.
“ But when it come for us to contest and to be voted for during the election these people will use all forms of threat,and intimidation to deny us from contesting and to be voted for.
“ No matter the blackmail,no matter the threat,and no matter the charade from men, we cannot allow ourselves to be harassed anymore. We will continue to raise our voice and I know for sure we shall one day get to our destination.” she asserted.
She however implored women across the country,particularly the Northern women not to be discouraged from what she described as unhealthy to our democracy.
Miriam Kolo who was a senior Magistrate in the service of the Niger State Judiciary,warned that, if the trends is allowed to continue,it will lead to women boycotting subsequent elections in the country adding that “ with the way things are going,I'm afraid if women will turn out in their usual large numbers in
polling units in 2027”
The women activist urged them not to be deterred by the harassment and threat assuring that it will come to be a history that “ one day we shall all get our destination to take over our rightful space in the political history of the country”
She appealed to men to shelve their way of politics by allowing the women folks to participate noting that women as nation builder, are not for any reasons competing with men” knowing fully well that you people are the head of the family at the same times we are also behind your success in all endeavours” she concluded.
