Constitutional Law and Gender Equality: An Assessment of Legal Barriers to Women’s Political Participation in Borno State, North East Nigeria

Women's political participation in Nigerian governance is constitutionally guaranteed under Chapter II and reinforced by Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution's prohibition of gender discrimination, yet women remain severely underrepresented in elected and appointed political positions across all geopolitical zones, with the North East zone recording the lowest representation rates nationally. This study assesses the legal barriers to women's political participation in Borno State from a constitutional law perspective, examining formal legal restrictions, customary law exclusions, and electoral system features that collectively limit women's access to political office. A doctrinal methodology is adopted, reviewing the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, Borno State Electoral Laws, customary law norms, and INEC gender representation data from the 2019 and 2023 general elections. The study evaluates whether existing constitutional equality provisions, without affirmative legislative measures, are adequate to achieve substantive gender equality in political participation. Available gender and constitutional law literature from North East Nigeria identifies patriarchal customary norms, security threats to women candidates, and party financing barriers as the dominant structural impediments. The CEDAW Framework and the African Union 50 percent women in governance target provide international normative comparators. Recommendations address constitutional amendment for mandatory gender quotas, party law reform, and security protection for women candidates. Keywords: gender equality, political participation, women's rights, Borno State, constitutional law.