Group seeks gender-responsive approach to access to information

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As the world marks the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), a gender advocacy group has called for access to information to be made more gender-responsive.

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Abiola Afolabi-Akiode, the founding Executive Director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), made the call on Monday at an event convened by the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) in collaboration with the International Press Centre (IPC) in Lagos.

The event was themed, ‘Freedom of Information (FOI) in the Age of Disinformation: Why Transparency Matters More Than Ever.’

The International Day for Universal Access to Information is marked annually on 28 September. It was established in 2015 to promote awareness of the importance of public access to information and transparency.

The 2026 theme is ‘Upholding information integrity in the digital age: The role of access to information in addressing information disorder.’

Women and access to information

Ms Afolabi-Akiode, who was represented by Olaniyi Olaniyan, the organisation’s Media and Communication Officer, said women and girls require targeted access to information to protect and claim their rights.

She identified sexual and reproductive health, maternal mortality prevention, gender-based violence support services, relevant laws and government programmes, justice mechanisms and technology-facilitated violence as areas where access to information is particularly important.

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Speaking on the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the effective use of the Freedom of Information Act, she said they must move beyond creating awareness about the law to monitoring how public institutions respond to information requests.

“I would like to begin by saying that access to information is a fundamental thing that we should have,” she said.

According to Ms Afolabi-Akiode, the Federal Ministry of Justice reported in its 2023 FOI implementation report that up to 90 per cent of public institutions had failed to comply with their statutory reporting obligations since the enactment of the FOI Act.

She identified poor record-keeping, inadequate funding, bureaucracy, limited awareness among public officials and delays beyond the statutory response period as some of the challenges affecting the implementation of the law.

Gender dimensions of FOI

Ayomide Eweje, a Programme Officer at MRA, also called for gender-responsive implementation of the FOI Act, noting that women need to make greater use of the law.

She noted that there was limited national data specifically measuring Nigerian women’s use of the FOI Act.

“Gender-responsive FOI implementation is not about giving women more rights than men. It’s about identifying and addressing factors that may prevent people from exercising an existing right equally,” she said.

Ms Eweje cited an October 2024 all-women roundtable organised by the HumAngle Foundation in Abuja to address what the organisation described as a gender gap in the use of the FOI Act.

She said participants at the meeting recommended increased awareness of the FOI Act, the use of local languages, radio and other accessible media, stronger institutional support and the integration of FOI into existing accountability initiatives.

Ms Eweje said a gender-responsive approach to access to information should consider three questions: whether different gender groups can access the right equitably; whether public information reflects the different needs and experiences of different gender groups; and whether public institutions gather, store and provide information in ways that different groups can access and use.

She stressed that the objective was not to treat women as a separate category of FOI applicants but to identify and address barriers that may prevent them from exercising their existing rights.

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Legal perspective

Similarly, Alimi Adamu, a lawyer, highlighted the legal mechanisms provided by the FOI Act and the role of legal practitioners in enforcing the law.

Mr Adamu described the Nigerian FOI framework as judicial-driven, noting that, unlike countries with information commissioners, Nigeria relies on state and federal high courts to compel compliance with the law.

He said although the Supreme Court had settled disputes concerning the applicability of the Act to state governments and publicly funded private entities, administrative resistance to FOI requests remained a challenge.

Anikeade Funke-Treasure, the Executive Director of Illuminate Nigeria Development Network, also highlighted the role of the FOI Act in combating digital misinformation and safeguarding journalistic integrity in Nigeria.