Real Reasons Women In Purdah Were Disenfranchised In The Presidential Elections

The Human Rights Initiative, a civil rights organization, has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria regarding the disenfranchisement of Muslim women in Purdah during the February presidential and legislative elections.

According to the group’s Director-General, Sulaymon A. Tadese, numerous women were not allowed to vote in Osun State because their facial and bio-data could not be recognized by the INEC BVAS devices.

The group alleged that the failure of the BVAS device to recognize the fingerprints of the women in question required their facial capturing, which was not possible as there were no female officials of the commission on the ground in the said local government.

Women in Purdah are not permitted to have contact with people of the opposite sex under Islamic faith, and therefore, the absence of female officials at polling units throughout Iwo Local Government of Osun State prevented them from exercising their voting rights.

The Human Rights Initiative has demanded that INEC make provision for enough and adequate female officials for the State House of Assembly elections, which are scheduled to hold on March 11, 2023.

The organization emphasized that women in Purdah are recognized citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who enjoy the right to freedom of religion as enshrined in the constitution.

The group believes that granting their demand will not only score INEC high in fair and credible elections but will also project it in the best image in the Muslim community and the international parlance. The INEC is yet to respond to the petition.