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Nigerian Senator Biodun Olujimi spent 10 years preparing and amending her draft bill on Gender and Equality. But when it came to be voted on in the parliament's upper house, some male colleagues objected saying they have a problem with the word "equal" because it "does not apply in Islam". The bill was eventually withdrawn. Senator Biodun Olujimi told Focus on Africa she was surprised by the reaction, which had probably less to do with Islam but rather a deep-seated nuance that women can never be on a par to men.