AUTHOR=Eniola Bolanle Oluwakemi 

TITLE=Gender Parity in Parliament: A Panacea for the Promotion and Protection of Women's Rights in Nigeria

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sociology

VOLUME=Volume 3 - 2018

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sociology/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2018.00034

DOI=10.3389/fsoc.2018.00034

ISSN=2297-7775

ABSTRACT=Women’s rights are part of the fundamental human rights that are recognised in international human rights treaties. While Nigeria has acceded to a number of international instruments on the promotion and protection of women’s rights, women in this country have yet to realise their rights. 
The Nigerian Constitution requires that international treaties be domesticated before they apply in the country. Most of the international instruments on the promotion and protection of women’s rights have not been domesticated. One of the reasons for non domestication of international human rights treaties accentuating women’s rights in Nigeria is the lack of adequate representation of women in the country’s parliament. This is despite the fact that the right of women to participate in decision making process at all levels is guaranteed in both international and domestic instruments. 
This paper examined why Nigerian women are not adequately represented in parliament and the implications for the promotion and protection of women’s rights. It concluded that gender parity in the legislative houses is essential to agitate for and promote women’s rights in this country.