Stakeholders have renewed calls for stronger policies, sustained funding and collective action to advance the rights of women and girls in Nigeria.
The call was made at the Beijing +30 Women’s Summit on Tuesday in Abuja, marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Adopted in 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action focuses on women’s empowerment, gender equality and sustainable development, urging global progress on these fronts.
The summit was organized by the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement in collaboration with the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN-Nigeria) and Womanifesto.
Stakeholders noted that systemic barriers, inadequate policies and underfunding have slowed progress toward gender equity. They called for urgent reforms to ensure women can fully participate in national decision-making.
Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Minister of Women Affairs, said Nigerian women possess enormous potential but are held back by disunity, underinvestment and structural barriers.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim emphasized that economic empowerment is a critical pathway to financially stable women, reducing vulnerability, enabling participation in decision-making and supporting children’s education.
“When women have money, they can achieve anything. Financially empowered women are better positioned to resist domestic abuse, support their families, and engage meaningfully in politics,” she said.
On legislative reforms, the minister expressed concern about the proposed reserved-seats bill for women, warning that poor design could create competition among women and undermine progress. She called for strategic consensus-building and intentional negotiation.
“We can get more. Why are we negotiating for less?” she asked, highlighting lessons from China, where intentional investment in women transformed outcomes for millions.
She also decried Nigeria’s absence in major continental and global gender platforms, urging women to show up and work collectively to secure representation.
“Nigeria cannot solve gender challenges without unity, honesty and shared ownership of reforms. The power of teamwork makes the dream work,” she said.
Professor Olabisi Aina of Sociology and Gender Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, in her keynote address, said Nigeria’s gender-equity efforts remain hindered by fragmented coordination, underfunding and data gaps.
Aina stressed the need for the Ministry of Women Affairs to drive gender-responsive policies across health, education, agriculture and planning to ensure government action advances women’s rights and inclusion. She called for a transformative feminist governance model rooted in collaboration, justice, accountability and data.
“Feminist leadership is not about filling seats but reshaping the table and ensuring that women who enter governance understand the issues and can negotiate effectively. When a nation is directed only by the brains of men, can you say it is thinking in totality? Nigeria is lagging behind its African peers on women’s political representation, and this is a shame for a country considered the giant of Africa,” she said.
Aina identified key pillars for progress, including intergenerational mentorship, gender-responsive budgeting, stronger GBV interventions, feminist data governance, and investment in knowledge production.
“How can you change the situation of women when you do not have data? Data is the engine of transformation,” she said.
Prof. Olufolake AbdulRazaq, Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses’ Forum and First Lady of Kwara State, reaffirmed commitment to ending GBV, improving women’s rights, economic empowerment and participation in governance.
Earlier, Mrs Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Co-founder of the Amandla Institute, highlighted the need to tackle Gender-Based Violence, noting progress in some states but the need for nationwide accountability.
“The progress of African women since Beijing has been one step forward and ten steps back. We have had to say the same thing over again to different audiences, or we make gains and our losses keep increasing,” she said, stressing the need for conscientious efforts toward gender equality, women’s rights, ending GBV and shaping the post-Beijing gender agenda.
Other summit activities included panel discussions on “Recalling Beijing 1995 (Looking Back)” and “Intergenerational Dialogue (Marching Forward).”
The summit ended with a shared call for transformative feminist governance to address persistent inequality and accelerate meaningful change for Nigerian women.
