We at Purple Women Foundation (PWF) are deeply disturbed and outraged by the deplorable treatment of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The recent incident, where Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was ordered to be removed from the chamber, is not just an attack on her as an individual but a glaring reflection of the entrenched misogyny in Nigerian politics.

The way the few women in the National Assembly are treated is unacceptable. The issue with Natasha is not new, it is part of the daily business of a male-dominated political system that thrives on disregarding, infantilising, and silencing women. Is it any wonder that there are only three female senators (out of 109 seats) eight female deputy governors (out of 36), and just 17 women in the House of Representatives (out of 360 seats) The exclusion of women is not accidental; it is deliberate.

This is not an isolated incident. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has repeatedly faced intimidation, condescension, and outright hostility from the Senate President, an attitude that extends towards the other two female senators. The remarks made by Mfon Patrick, reportedly an aide to Senator Akpabio, dismissing her response as “bottled-up anger” and making sexist, misogynistic comments about her appearance, are appalling and wholly unacceptable.

As a democratically elected representative of her constituency, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan deserves to be treated with the utmost respect and dignity, equal to that of her male counterparts. It is wholly condemnable that she, and other women in the Senate, are daily subjected to such segregationism, impertinence and chauvinism. If this is how they treat women in the highest echelons of power, one can only shudder to think how they treat women behind closed doors.

Purple Women Foundation stands in unwavering solidarity with Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.

We demand that the Senate President and the National Assembly take immediate steps to address the toxic, exclusionary, and misogynistic culture that has become synonymous with the 10th Assembly. We call on all Nigerians to condemn this pattern of behaviour and to advocate for a political system that is truly inclusive, respectful, and gender-balanced.

Women in leadership, especially in Nigerian politics, must be granted the same honour, dignity, and respect as their male counterparts. Anything less is an affront to justice and democracy.

Dignity, equity, and justice are not gendered words it's time we demand that our leaders uphold them for all. Stand up, speak out, and insist on a political system that respects and values women.

#RespectForWomen #SolidarityWithNatasha #PWFStandsWithWomen

Signed:

Adegbite Adenike

PWF Secretariat