Sawt Falasteen - Court strikes suspension for Nigerian senator who complained of sexism

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in February accused the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, of making unwanted advances towards her.

Days after she made the comments during an interview with a Nigerian television station, she was suspended from the Senate for six months on an apparently unrelated charge.

The suspension was handed out for what the Senate majority leader called "gross misconduct and unruly behaviour" during an argument that erupted in the chamber over her seating arrangement -- though the case galvanised Nigerian feminists who saw the move as an obvious retaliation.

A court in the capital Abuja on Friday ordered Akpoti-Uduaghan, commonly known as Senator Natasha, to be recalled to the Senate, ruling that the six-month punishment was excessive.

The court also found Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of contempt for violating a gag order on the case, fining her five million naira ($3,250).

When she first detailed the alleged sexual harassment, Akpoti-Uduaghan said the Senate president -- who denies the accusations -- repeatedly blocked a motion she tried to advance and then tied its moving forward to sexual favours.

Speaking to broadcaster Arise TV, the senator said Akpabio told her that the motion could go through if she "took care" of him.

Amid the political fallout, Akpoti-Uduaghan faces another trial for spreading false information after she alleged that Akpabio and former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello sought to have her assassinated.

- Pushback from other women -

While some women's groups rallied around Akpoti-Uduaghan, her sexual harassment allegations were notably met with resistance from other prominent Nigerian women.

Former senator Oluremi Tinubu, who is also Nigeria's First Lady, said in the aftermath that the Senate had acted correctly and that, as a woman, "people compliment you all the time".

Tinubu is a member of Akpabio's governing party, whereas Akpoti-Uduaghan is part of the opposition.

At the time of Akpoti-Uduaghan's suspension in March, women held just 17 seats in the House of Representatives, out of 360. With Akpoti-Uduaghan’s ouster, the Senate dropped down to three women, out of 109 seats.

Nigeria has not implemented gender quotas for its National Assembly, a method that some African countries have successfully used to increase women's representation.

The few women in Nigerian politics often come from powerful families and are in many cases the wives, daughters or sisters of politicians -- giving fuel to the stereotype that women are not qualified for office.

The upper chamber itself is rife with sexism, one former National Assembly employee told AFP shortly after the suspension, asking to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the topic.

O.Farraj--SF-PST