Paper short abstract:

There is a link between education and political participation in society. The realization of this fact amongst women is under threat given a high level of female dropouts in Nigeria. This study explores the effects of female dropouts and political participation in Nigeria. VAR model shall be adopted in the estimations using data (1970-2017). Women’s Political Empowerment Index (WPEI), female drop-out rates, enrolment rates are principal variables in the study and shall be drawn from UNESCO and V-med databases.

Paper long abstract:

Education is a weapon of man to waged war against destructive elements in society. The realization of this fact amongst women is under threat given a high level of female dropouts in Nigeria. Existing statistics show that Nigeria is the world’s capital of out-of-school children UNESCO (2017). Failure to complete basic education does not only limit the career chances of women but also leaves them with feelings of anxiety, inferiority complex, and deprivation in political participation. There is a link between education and political participation (Ogiri 2016). In Nigeria, women form bulk of the registered voters but their number is abysmally low in both elected and appointed positions in government (INEC 2018). Nigeria is a signatory to the Beijing Declaration of 1995 especially the affirmative action of 36% political positions for women. Sadly, Nigeria has not made appreciable progress in the political empowerment of women. This is largely attributed to illiteracy on the part of women. This study is designed to: (1) examine the relationship and effects of female drop-outs on the political participation of women in Nigeria. (2) Compare political participation outcomes of female drop-outs and their non-drop outs counterparts. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) Model shall be adopted in the estimations using data covering 1970-2017. Women’s Political Empowerment Index (WPEI), female drop-out rates, enrolment rates are principal variables and shall be drawn from UNESCO and V-med databases. The descriptive analysis shall also be applied to give insight as regards patterns of female drop-out and women in government in Nigeria.