In a candid recount of her 2019 political campaign, disability rights advocate Lois Auta has shed light on the numerous barriers women with disabilities face in Nigeria’s electoral process. Auta, who contested for the House of Representatives seat in AMAC Bwari, Abuja, shared her experiences, emphasizing the systemic discrimination, attitudinal biases, and financial constraints that hinder women like her from achieving political success.
Speaking on KAPITAL FM 92.9 Abuja on Thursday during the Electoral Reform Hour organized by PAACA_NG, the founder and CEO of Cedar Seeds Foundation described the logistical difficulties she encountered due to her disability. “My campaign manager often had to meet with constituents on my behalf because of accessibility issues. This created a huge barrier for me,” she explained.
Beyond physical barriers, she faced deep-rooted societal prejudices. “People did not believe in me. They said that even women without disabilities had contested before and failed to win, so why would I succeed? I remember a live radio program where a listener bluntly told me to go home and sleep because they did not believe in me, unlike my male opponents,” she recounted.
Auta also highlighted the severe financial challenges that further hindered her campaign. “I could not fund all my campaign activities. While I received technical support, training, and capacity building from some civil society organizations, financial backing was insufficient. My campaign team had to rely on alternative fundraising initiatives, which left me at a disadvantage compared to my male counterparts.”
Among the 23 candidates who contested House of Representatives seats in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2019, Auta was the only woman with a physical disability. She identified multiple challenges that affected her candidacy, including ethnic and religious biases, gender discrimination, and inadequate funding.
Her experience highlights the broader challenges of inclusion and equity in Nigeria’s political landscape. Auta’s testimony serves as a call for systemic reforms to support women with disabilities in politics, ensuring a more inclusive and fair democratic process.
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