340. Strong women’s lobby groups are evident at the federal level, and these have pushed for constitutional reforms regarding women’s rights. They have helped to raise awareness of women’s rights and to integrate women’s issues into national discourses and into the legislative and constitutional reform agenda. However, at the state level, the CRM observed that several women were not as clear on issues that are being discussed at national level, such as affirmative action for women. Given the several strong calls made by women for them to work together at state level, it is clear that, although women face common challenges at all levels, consensus building has yet to emerge as a strategy for women’s empowerment at state level. 341. Stakeholders emphatically emphasised to the CRM that there is complacency among women, who continue to adhere to socially conditioned roles engineered and perpetuated by culture. While women are naturally endowed on an equal basis with men to lead and make decisions in the public sphere, they are wary of public opinion and some are afraid to compete with men for various sociocultural reasons. The result is that women contribute to their exclusion from the public sphere. 342. Over time, women are slowly becoming more accepted and more visibly involved in the public and political life of the state or federal government. Nonetheless, stakeholders noted that politics is widely viewed as a male preserve with a male organisational culture. In many places, elections are often associated with violence and acts of thuggery, all of which have tainted the way politics is perceived. The involvement of women outside certain parameters is viewed as deviant behaviour and is often frowned upon by men and women alike. 343. Some female politicians informed the CRM that they are often branded as wayward and consequently stigmatised, which serves as a deterrent to women who might otherwise wish to join politics. Further, the holding of strategic caucus meetings or campaigns at odd hours of the night or in bars has made it difficult for women wishing to avoid smears on their reputation to participate. 344. The CRM learnt that, within most political party structures, women are excluded from decision-making positions, although not because there is a lack of competent women. In an effort to increase the number of women vying for political positions, an initiative by the PDP to abolish nomination fees for female candidates was undertaken and adopted by several other political parties. However, this has not had the desired effect of increasing women’s participation. This is mainly attributed to the view that politics in Nigeria is inordinately influenced by the ability to mobilise campaign funds and strong lobby networks, both of which women often lack. The financial cost of participating in politics is considered prohibitive for women. 345. Stereotypes concerning the superiority of one gender over the other have manifested themselves in politics, which deters women from exercising their political rights. Two eyewitness accounts given in the public sessions of the CRM testified to the fact that, in at least two states, women vying for primary elections within party structures have been asked to step down in favour of a male candidate, because male candidature is considered more ‘votable’. 121