BEVERLY HILLS, September 03, (THEWILL) – The National Democratic Institute (NDI) Thursday announced the appointment of Nigerian actress, Ini Edo, as its Ambassador for women’s empowerment.
During her unveiling in Abuja, the 38-year-old actress said she would continue to advocate for increased women involvement in electoral and democratic processes.
Edo said: “It is a critical time for women in our country, and I am very excited to be here and to formally take on the role of the NDI Ambassador for Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria.
“When I first learned from Stephen Snook of NDI’s work in Nigeria, I wanted to help. I believe women should dare to do great things. NDI is addressing two issues that are very important to me.
“The first of these is the low percentage of women who serve in public office. On average, in all the parliaments of the world, only one seat out of four is held by a woman. This isn’t enough.
“Further, only 16 percent of parliamentarians are under the age of 40 — and the larger percentage of these are also men. Women make up fifty percent of the population in every country.
“We’re underrepresented in eligible age groups. In Nigeria, I’m sorry to say the number of women in elected offices is worse than the world average, even worse than some of our neighbours.
“And so l am joining the cause of improving women’s chances of running successfully for elected office. I won’t be alone. There are many who will be helping prominent Nigerians.
“We will be united in the cause of amending laws and addressing other barriers, to level the playing field so women can compete successfully for elected office in our country.”
Stephen Snook, the country director of NDI, said Ini is a perfect choice as an ambassador of the institute because of her personality.
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“To comprehensively address the barriers to women’s qua participation, we need strong advocates who will not back down from the challenge.
“We are proud to welcome Ini Edo as an Ambassador to our program, we will raise awareness and support women’s political participation all across Nigeria.”
