Encouraging Female Participation in Politics

This speech of introduction at the Promoting Women Conference 2022 discusses the importance of encouraging female participation in politics. It highlights the low representation of women in political positions and emphasizes the need for gender equality and women's full and effective participation in decision-making processes. The speaker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is a renowned author and feminist advocate.

Event: Promoting Women Conference (PWC) 2022
Speech Type: Speech of Introduction
Speech topic: Encouraging female participation in politics
Speaker: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
According to Dolores Huerta (2017), “We do need women in civic life. We do need women to run
for office, to be in political office. We need a feminist to be at the table when decisions are being
made so that the right decisions will be made”
You are all welcome to this year’s edition of Promoting Women Conference, it promises to be
the best. Do you know that if the world was designed to be a permanent all-men affair, God
wouldn’t have created women? Just as two eyes, ears, hands and legs are needed for full
functioning and optimal capability, so are women needed to balance the actions of men. As
argued in the quote above by Huerta, we need women in public offices to guide men and balance
their decision-making efforts. I hereby stand before you as a forerunner to the speaker on this
auspicious occasion on the need to encourage women to participate in politics.
Introduction
Undoubtedly, the state of women participation in politics in the world is low, not encouraging,
and largely in the minority. Despite the importance that women participation holds for
democratic consolidation, fair representation and world development, women are still being
excluded from political positions. This is corroborated by the European Union (2019) that
despite recording an increase in female heads of state/government from 12 to 21 in the last two
decades, women are still largely under-represented in leadership positions. The report further
argues that only approximately one in four members of lower or single houses of parliament
worldwide is a woman.
A.
This topic, therefore, is timely and has great consequences for world political development. It is
particularly interesting given the UN Women’s submission that women's political participation is
a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy and that women
participation in politics is essential for the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). For emphasis, SDG 5 is targeted at ensuring women’s full and effective participation
and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of the decision-making political, economic
and public life (United Nations, 2015).
B.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, born on September 15 1977, hails from Enugu State Nigeria and
was influenced by the works of Chinua Achebe, a literary giant also of Nigerian descent.
Chimamanda gained a scholarship to study in the United States and earned a degree in
communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University with Summa cum
laude. She is the author of several award-winning books and novels such as Purple Hibiscus
(2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013) – among others. She has also
received notable prestigious awards including Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Honorary

Doctorate, Forbes Africa Person of the Year, and Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award –
among others (www.cerep.ulg.ac.be).
C.
Chimamanda’s view on feminism is captured in her book “We Should All Be Feminists”
published in 2014. In the book, she argued that feminism results from the understanding and
acceptance of the notion of sexism. She referred to the equating of the word ‘feminist’ to insult
by her male friend in her home country. She made a case for closing the gap between men and
women and discouraging the strict adherence to gender roles.
Conclusion:
I had the opportunity of listening to Chimamanda’s “We Should All Be Feminists” recorded
speech delivered at a conference in 2012 where she shared interesting ideas on feminism and
promoting women freedom. I can assure you that she is an authority on the subject matters.
Ladies and gentlemen, join me by clapping with enthusiasm as I invite to the stage, Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie, to speak on encouraging female participation in politics.
References
Adichie, C. N. (2014). We should all be feminists. London: Fourth Estate
Dolores Huerta (2017). https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/17/551490281/dolores-
huerta-the-civil-rights-icon-who-showed-farmworkers-si-se-puede
European Union (2019). Women in politics: A global perspective. European Union Briefing.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/635543/EPRS_BRI(2019)635543_
EN.pdf
http://www.cerep.ulg.ac.be/adichie/cnabio.html
United Nations (2015). 17 Sustainable Development Goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals.