Women, Religion, and the Discourses of Legal Ideology in Niger Republic

For the implementation othe Quota Bill to be demo-cratically experienced asa success, the coalition oNigerien emale parliamen-tarians and other politicalassociations must workoutside the patriarchalsecularist ramework andintegrate ideological, politi-cal, and judicial diversity,which would advance anequitable gender balance.

Women, Religion, nd he Discoursesof Legl Ideology in Niger Republic

Oa Ao a Haaa Ao

There is an international movement that advocates the estab-

lishment of quotas for women, especially in political and

governmental positions. Partly as a result of its initiatives andefforts, countries have introduced legislation that endorses its

spirit. These efforts have been important in addressing the gender gap; however, the means of articulating these legisla-tive measures and implementing them vary from country to

another. This article focuses on the textual formulation of the

Quota Bill (2001) in Niger and how secularist and Islamist political elite women responded to it during the debate that led to its legal adoption.

Inroducion

The opening up o political space in Niger Republic since the 1990s hasresulted in many initiatives—in education, politics, and the perormingarts—intended to ensure the eective participation o women, who consti-

tute 50.3 percent o the population, in key governmental and nongovernment

positions that had historically been dened and predominantly mapped asmale spaces and prerogatives (Alidou 2005; Djibo 2001). One o these initia-

tives, the Quota Bill, was proposed in the National Assembly o the Republic

o Niger on 7 June 2000 and signed into law by President Mamadou Tanjaon 28 February 2001, eectively becoming the Quota Act. Examination othe textual and contextual eatures o this law constitutes the ocus o thisarticle, which analyzes the interplay o women, religion, and competingpolitical ideologies.This legal development toward greater representation o women hastaken place against the backdrop o a society that is constitutionally “secu-lar” but overwhelmingly Islamic—95 percent Muslim, with the remainingpopulation being ollowers o indigenous aiths (4 percent) or Christianity(1 percent) (Alidou 2005:11). The Nigérien state embraces secularism while

courting—privately or publicly—Islamic religious organizations in addressing

critical sociopolitical and economic national matters (Sounaye 2005).

W Ome n ,R e l i g i On ,A n d t H e d i s c O u R s e s Of l e g A l i d e Ol O g y i n n i g e R R e p u b l i c

2 2

af r i c a

t o Da y 5 4 ( 3 )

Within this political context, the provisions o and the discourse poli-

tics around the Quota Act betray its limitations in scope and eect that arise

rom our interrelated actors. First are disparities in the orms and levels o

literacy among those that the document is intended to benet. Second is howpower relations are determined by a conjuncture o vectors, including access

and patronage o the state, socioeconomic stratication, and religion andits opposition to secularity. Third is the confict o legal ideologies, both associetal perspectives on the nature, roles, and unctions o law and its insti-tutional setups, and as how the law is mobilized in the interest o particularideological agendas. Fourth, there is the language o the Quota Act itsel.Using discourse analysis, this article explores how, in response to themomentum or political pluralism and the orces o patriarchy, the women’smovements in Niger continue to be challenged by constraints precipitatedby the conjuncture o the above dynamics as implicated specically in thepolitics o the Quota Act. The women’s movements in Niger comprised a

diversity o ideological trends, which include competing secularist, religious,

proessional, and social articulations, all under the umbrella o the Coned-eration o Women’s Associations o Niger (CONGAFEN). The contestationbetween some o these voices, and especially between secularist and dis-sident Islamist voices, was clearly demonstrated during a women’s meeting

sponsored by emale parliamentarians and CONGAFEN to discuss the Quota

Bill that took place on 3–4 March 2002 at Seyni Kountché Stadium. Thediscourse(s) arising rom this event constitute the primary object o analysiso this article. What emerges rom this analysis is that in “politics” there

are no permanent allies: positions and alliances shit on the basis o politicalinterests, and because o the history o women’s marginalization rom public

political leadership, women are more susceptible to political relocation inthe male-dominated network o political allegiances.

the Quo ac: a Bckground

The undamental provisions o the new act—in ull consideration o the con-

stitution o the country; the 1948 Universal Declaration o Human Rights;the 1952 Convention on Civic Women’s Rights; the 1979 convention on the

elimination o all orms o discrimination against women; and other relevant

ordinances o the state—are to maintain:

(a) A minimum o 10 percent o candidates o one and the other

sex in all electoral positions; and(b) A minimum o 25 percent o appointees o one and theother sex in executive government and state positions andpromotions.