With the unwavering support of the MacArthur Foundation, the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) is igniting a nationwide movement for inclusive electoral reform, accountability, and the meaningful participation of women and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
Through community engagements, sensitization dialogues, and market outreaches, WRAPA is creating spaces where citizens can speak openly about their experiences, share challenges, and explore practical solutions to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy. In one such dialogue, Mr. Francis Onahor, Programs Manager at CLP, shared insights from other countries’ electoral reform journeys, showing how systemic changes have enhanced the inclusion of women and PWDs in governance.
Participants recounted deeply personal stories, some of exclusion, others of determination. One speech-impaired participant revealed the indignities faced at polling stations:
“When people like me try to vote, INEC officials or others in line tell us to go home. They say, ‘What is an incomplete person doing here?’”
For those who are visually impaired, the reality can be even harsher, with reports of votes being changed by aides or corrupt officials. And when PWDs aspire to political office, they are often told to “manage their incomplete body at home.”
These experiences underline WRAPA belief that electoral reform must go beyond legislative changes, it must challenge discriminatory attitudes and build systems that uphold inclusion, dignity, and the rights of all citizens.
Across its engagements, WRAPA has introduced advocacy frameworks such as the Uwais Electoral Reform Report and the National Gender Policy, equipping communities with practical tools to drive reform. Sensitization materials, including flyers, have been distributed to ensure the message extends beyond meeting rooms and into daily interactions in homes, workplaces, and marketplaces.
Each gathering has ended with strong commitments from participants, pledges to amplify the call for reform, to educate others, and to use their spheres of influence to push for a political system that welcomes and empowers women, PWDs, and all marginalized voices.
This growing movement is clear in its demand: Nigeria’s democracy must reflect the diversity, dignity, and potential of all its people.
