Applicability and Impact of International and Regional Gender Mainstreaming Instruments in Nigeria

Abstract

Gender mainstreaming has taken centre stage in the modern global and regional governance systems as a main tool of promoting gender equality. Notwithstanding an extensive constellation of international and regional undertakings, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the African Union Gender Policy, numerous states, Nigeria among them, persist in exhibiting marked implementation disparities. These differences can be explained by the longstanding lack of harmony between these multilateral instruments and systematic integration into national laws, policies, and institutional framework. This analysis aims to critically assess the main international and regional instruments that form the basis of gender mainstreaming and to determine their applicability, dynamics of their operation and impacts in the Nigerian context. In order to attain this goal, it takes a doctrinal approach to research. The results indicate an extreme discordance between the progressive legislation that Nigeria has enacted, including the National Gender Policy, and its relatively weak enforcement capabilities. The combination of socio-cultural resistance, lack of political will and inadequate institutional resources are some of the obstacles to effective implementation. This article therefore proposes a number of policy suggestions: the strengthening of the legislative and administrative enforcement tools, the improvement of the intersectoral coordination, and the launching of the public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing the cultural barriers. The integration of a coherent approach that aligns domestic initiatives to the current international and regional gender systems is essential to the achievement of substantive gender equality in Nigeria.