The role of women in the fight against corruption
Jan 19th, 2012 by admin
The role of women in our society cannot be over emphasized. Over the years they have played crucial roles in the formation and development of the society. Today, their roles have evolved with visibility in front line issues that affect them and the society, probably due to educational opportunities. With education more women are becoming engaged at all levels of the social stratum both at the local and international levels. This redefining position categorically says the back seat is not the way forward. This nascent awareness reasserts the positive role of women in the fight against corruption which cannot be undermined. It is therefore pertinent to stimulate the role women play in the fight against corruption. The question then arises, does gender influence corruption and is there a connection between women in political positions and corruption?
First, corruption is a global phenomenon cutting across all sectors without limits to individuals or social groups. It has been endemic to our society with Nigeria ranked as one of the most corrupt country in the world. Corruption is usually carried out by men in male dominated areas.Though; it crisscrosses all social sectors affecting persons whether rich or poor and organizations both at the local and international levels. It has been argued that it thrives in any society that is not open and if there is a continuum, others tend to become corrupted and the vice persists. . Again, the prevalence is due to breakdown of moral values, poor living conditions, poor judicial system, low level of education, particularly with stability and acceptance in the system.
With corruption there is blackmail, unwritten agreements, threats, conspiracies and general indifference to the vice. To fight this menace there has to be legality in the system as corruption deprives the polity of values. Nevertheless, awareness of corruption in any society and the need to fight it may rest at the door step of women who raise families because they can bring their abilities as home makers to bare as they produce a generation of people with steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code of conduct. As Author Schlesinger said of America in the 60s, [the] trouble [with Nigeria] is not that our capabilities are inadequate. It is that the priority – which means values are wrong (Howard (ed.) 1982). This reaffirms the position women have in ensuring that they raise children with right values. This also brings to fore the confirmed integrity inherent in their gender as well as their natural tendencies to produce, influence and nurture.
The World Bank’s most recent policy statement on gender equality, Engendering Development asserts a strong relationship between relatively high levels of female involvement in public life and low levels of government corruption. The report concludes that this finding lends “additional support for having more women in politics and in labour force – since they could be be an effective force for good government and business trust” ( World Bank, 2001: 96). As such the number of women involved in public life should be increased.
In politics for instance women have been referred to as political cleaners because of the natural tendency not to commit crimes. A widely circulated fact is women are less corrupt than men because women may not take kickbacks, pay-off, be involved in smuggling, extortion and nepotism. Consider the justification for selecting only women provided by Commander Pedro Montoya, when training an all –female motorcycle brigade of traffic cops in Lima: “the women are more honest and morally firm than the men. It’s undeniable’. Montoya went on to postulate that women are more honest because of their role in the family. He asserted that they have an aversion to taking money from male drivers because they feel this act would resemble prostitution.
In Nigeria, for example, there has been a definite system with the Presidency of Good luck Jonathan in appointing women to top leadership positions, in Lagos, more women have been appointed to the higher bench, as judges. This improves the ability of women to challenge corruption when it occurs rather than be at the receiving end.
A position of influence by women greatly reduces the desire to take bribes because there is the desire for transparency and the need to achieve set developmental goals. Transparency by women becomes significant due to the underrepresentation of women in many social institutions. As the need to prove “what a man can do, a woman can do, if not better” becomes paramount for women occupying these top leadership positions. Three prominent Nigerian women will be used as case study. Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Former Minister of Finance and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ensured a transparency in government , Negotiated debt reduction of $18 billion for Nigeria and built up the country’s Foreign reserve to $ 35 billion at the same achieving repatriation of some of some of the country’s looted assets. Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Former Minister of Solid Minerals and Professor Dora Akinyuli, Director General, National Agency For Food and Drug administration and Control, NAFDAC, reduced the incidence of fake drugs by 90%.
Mrs. Ojo Akijide, a Nigerian business woman reiterates’ the difficult position of women in the fight against corruption but reaffirms the positive contribution of women in the fight against the ugly menace. She clearly states that a key step will be the involvement of more women who are educated, equipped and supported with necessary resources. Besides women are not as materialistic as men, hence the desire to embezzle public funds running into billions of Nigeria currency is difficult.
I really appreciate this post. I have been looking all over for this information! Thank goodness I found it. Women can fight it and they will do anything to ensure the menace is wiped out. more should be elected into public office.
Awesome post and great website thanks for posting and keep up the good work! question though how do i get subscribed to your blog?
I wanted to send you the very small note just to give many thanks once again for your personal striking suggestions you’ve shared on this page. It is simply wonderfully open-handed with you giving openly precisely what most of us might not have thought of . Am sure the problem of corruption will be tackled effectively if more women are involved.
Thank you very a lot for that wonderful information. There’s definately alot to graspas the points are sensible, though it says there is a lot to be done in the country.