Dr.(Mrs.)Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi is an activist of note within and outside Nigeria. The Executive Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre- WARDC, in this interview, among other issues, she suggests the need for a gender struggle that is less elitist and which would easily accommodate the rural women who largely constitute the female population in Nigeria.
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What's your general assessment of women's movement in Nigeria so far?
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Apart from organising seminars and workshops, we need to mobilise the movement in such a way that we'll have one voice. As it is in Nigeria presently, the women's movement seems to lack solidarity.
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For example, while majority of the women's movement were clamouring for a change in the language of the constitution during the call for memoranda on the amendment of the constitution, the National Council of Women Societies-NCWS came up to talk about the need to create an Office of the First Lady.
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Is that a priority for women? But that was made a big issue and was almost over-shadowing every other issue that was supposed to be on the agenda.
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So, we need a more common agenda. If you look at countries like South-Africa, Uganda, etc., you'll find that they have a common agenda and are all aware that they have a five point demand as women.