Policy advocates and cultural leaders have called for greater representation of women in water governance and budgetary decisions in Nigeria.
They urged institutions to move beyond token participation to give women meaningful decision-making power.
The call was made at the UNFPA Office in Copenhagen during a multimedia exhibition titled ‘Stories of a Broken Water Cycle’, organised by the Lokoja Dialogues Climate Initiative.
Featuring creative expressions, panel sessions and community perspectives from regions including Argungu, the exhibition highlighted how failing water infrastructure disproportionately affects women’s health, privacy, menstrual hygiene and economic mobility.
The summit was attended by prominent figures, including the Head of the UN Women Nordic Liaison Office, Sarah Brun; UNFPA Nordic Representative, Ulla E. Muller; Nigeria’s Ambassador to Denmark, Sweden and Finland, Lola Akande; Polly Alakija and Adwoa Edun, both co-founders of Lokoja Dialogues Climate.
Speaking during a panel session on gender and governance, advocate Patricia Emmanuel said women must be included in decisions on water management.
“We cannot fix the broken water cycle with half the population excluded from the solution. We must move women from water carriers to water governance,” she said.
Panellists criticised development models that treat women as passive participants in consultative workshops rather than as leaders capable of managing resources and influencing budget allocations.
“When we talk about inclusion, women are often just invited to participate in a roundtable, conference, or workshop, and at the end, it stops there,” speaker Flora Asieri said, calling for institutional reforms beyond superficial representation.
Sarah Brun of UN Women also stressed the connection between visibility, political influence and budgetary allocations.
“What remains invisible remains unfunded. The real question for us here is whether our institutions are prepared to listen to them, but also to share our power,” Brun said.
In her opening remarks, Polly Alakija, Trustee and CEO of Lokoja Dialogues, observed that equitable access to water in Nigeria had worsened over the past 37 years since she first arrived in the country.
She emphasised that women’s daily experiences of water insecurity should directly inform government spending and utility management.
By bringing community perspectives into discussions with policymakers, the Copenhagen exhibition seeks to promote women’s participation in shaping water policies and improving national water security.
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