Parliaments & Representatives
A quilting metaphor, unique to our nakshi kantha, aptly describes Bangladesh's politics today. The intricate needlework that underpins the beauty of our nightly wrap-on continues to be a revered tradition, often ignoring the actual individuals who recycle worn-out cloths to infuse it with new vitality. The presence/absence of the women weaver's story in this tapestry is telling of our gendered reality. In theory, half the country is female. They lift trophies in football and cricket, they climb mountains, and they outperform their male peers in classrooms, laboratories, clinics, marketplaces, and factories. Yet, when the time comes to claim spaces of real political power, their role starts becoming scarce. The submission of candidatures by 110 women for the forthcoming election is one such example.
Iraq’s Council of Representatives published a list of 81 candidates for the country’s presidency on Monday after nominations closed, including four women, as Kurdish parties put forward nominees for the largely ceremonial post.
Under Iraq’s power-sharing system, in place since the first multiparty elections in 2005, two years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s rule, the premiership, the most powerful executive post, is held by a Shiite politician, while the speakership of parliament goes to a Sunni and the presidency is occupied by a Kurdish politician.
New research from the University of St Andrews has found that increases in women’s parliamentary representation within a country are related to enhanced public trust in the national parliament.
Published in the Routledge Handbook of Gender and Corruption, researchers from the University of St Andrews Business School analysed data on trust in parliament from the Integrated Values Surveys, a uniquely comprehensive dataset covering 107 countries from 1990 to 2022 and more than 492,000 individual responses.
The results show a link between greater women’s representation and trust in parliament within countries. This relationship is statistically significant and takes account of variation in corruption levels, democratic quality, electoral systems, economic development, and key individual characteristics such as sex, age, education, and employment status.
The Women’s Parliamentary Rights Act became law on 29 October 1919, allowing women to stand for election to the House of Representatives. This was just in time for the general election on 16 - 17 December 1919.
Three women stood for election – Rosetta Baume in Parnell, Aileen Cooke in Thames, and Ellen Melville in Grey Lynn. None were successful, though Ellen Melville came second in Grey Lynn.
Melville stood in a total of seven elections – polling well, but never winning a seat. She often faced discrimination because of her gender, even from her own party. She firmly believed that ‘women would get nothing done for them in legislation unless they had women in parliament.’
Melville did have success in becoming the first women in NZ elected to a city council however – sitting on the Auckland City Council from 1913 to 1946.
Ten more women candidates were also unsuccessful before Elizabeth McCombs finally became New Zealand’s first female MP in a by-election in 1933.
Appointment to the Legislative Council was not open to women until 1941, and the first two were admitted in 1946. The Legislative Council was abolished in 1950.
By 1980 only 16 women had succeeded in parliamentary elections, but from then onwards women began to have more success. At the first MMP election in 1996, 19 of the new MPs were women. Today we have 49 women MPs, making up 40.8% of the New Zealand Parliament.
The Commons women and equalities committee has decided to stop using X after the social media site’s AI tool began generating thousands of digitally altered images of women and children with their clothes removed.
The move by the cross-party committee places renewed pressure on ministers to take decisive action after the site was flooded with images including sexualised and unclothed pictures of children generated by its AI tool, Grok.
Sarah Owen, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said that given preventing violence against women and girls was among its key policy areas, “it has become increasingly clear that X is not an appropriate platform to be using for our communications”.
In January, three women new to local politics will take leadership positions on Whatcom County Council and at the Port of Bellingham. Each has their own ideas for what they bring to the table. All agree stepping into leadership has been like standing in front of a firehose of information, but said they’re excited to learn.
“It’s pretty humbling,” said Whatcom County Council member-elect Jessica Rienstra.
Cascadia Daily News spoke with Elizabeth Boyle, Carly James and Rienstra about their hopes for their first year in office, the challenges they may face and how they view women in leadership.
These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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Why Women’s Political Participation and Representation Matters
Women’s equal participation and representation in political life is fundamental to inclusive democracy, responsive governance, and sustainable development. Despite global commitments and some progress, women across South Asia remain significantly underrepresented in decision-making roles particularly in legislative leadership, executive office, and youth political spaces.
At the current pace, gender parity in national legislatures will not be achieved before 2063, and parity among Heads of Government may take until 21501.
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Key Facts & Regional Snapshot
Global & South Asia Overview
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Women in national parliaments (global): 27.2%
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South Asia average:
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Lower/Unicameral Houses: 14.7%
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Upper Houses: 19.9%
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South Asian countries with women in top government leadership: India, Sri Lanka
Key Takeaway
Advancing women’s political participation and representation in South Asia requires more than quotas. Sustainable change depends on transforming social norms that fundamentally define the role of women in the politics. Only through transformative gender social norms can we address critical issues like violence against women in politics, and create an inclusive political space for all, contributing to a strong democratic system.
Full snapshot available here.
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UN Commission on the Status of Women 65th Session on Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls: agreed conclusions E/CN.6/2021/3
Introduction
In the lead-up to the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls took center stage as a critical priority. The review of SDG 5 provided a timely opportunity to accelerate efforts to address deeply entrenched structural inequalities and to highlight the urgency of ensuring inclusive leadership worldwide.
With particular attention to target 5.5, which calls for women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making, the webinars underscored both progress and persistent gaps.
Despite notable advances, women remained underrepresented in political leadership, executive positions, and decision-making bodies globally. Discussions emphasized that achieving gender parity required integrated, evidence-based policies to dismantle legal, institutional, and cultural barriers, supported by governance and accountability mechanisms that move commitments from symbolic gestures to structural realities.
To engage diverse audiences and broaden perspectives, a series of three webinars were organized. One in Arabic, one in English and one in Spanish. Each session explored the following key questions:
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What is the High-Level Political Forum, and what was on the agenda for 2025?
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How might the outcomes impact the future of the global gender equality agenda?
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What are the trends in SDG 5, particularly with reference to target 5.5 on leadership and decision-making?
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What lessons have been learned since the adoption of the SDGs?
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How can more diverse voices be brought into global forums?
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How can reporting on indicators be improved at the national level?
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How can policy reflect a holistic and grounded approach to addressing the SDG 5 agenda?
The webinar in English was held on 11/07/2025
Feminist scholars and advocates have long asserted that women’s rights and gender equality are fundamental prerequisites for democratic governance. The close correlation between women’s rights and democracy is becoming increasingly evident, as the erosion of women’s rights often signals early and unmistakable signs of democratic backsliding and the rise of authoritarianism worldwide (Allam 2019; Arat 2022; Chenoweth and Marks 2022). A gendered analysis of state institutions, policymaking, and elections provides crucial insights into the historical fluctuations in women’s rights and, by extension, the overall quality of democracy (Tajali 2022).
An overview of sexist repression in Iran highlights the depth of autocratic entrenchment, as evidenced by increasing gender-based repression and violence. These assaults on women’s fundamental rights are not new but are deeply rooted in the ideologies of Islamic fundamentalism, which have institutionalized patriarchal dominance and systemic gender discrimination (Hoodfar and Sadr 2010; Paidar 1995; Tajali 2024b). This analysis also exposes the contentious relationship between authoritarian elites and feminist advocates, who refuse to remain passive in the face of such attacks.
Feminist movements resisting systemic gender discrimination pose a significant threat to the Iranian regime, resulting in violent crackdowns on women’s rights advocates. A recent example is the regime’s harsh response to the nonviolent “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, triggered by the killing of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Jina Amini in September 2022 while in police custody for allegedly violating Iran’s conservative hijab laws. To reassert control, the conservative-dominated Iranian parliament passed a controversial Hijab and Chastity bill in September 2023. This bill introduces harsher penalties for improper veiling, utilizing enhanced surveillance and artificial intelligence to identify those who defy mandatory hijab laws.
While the bill awaits approval from the unelected Guardian Council, Iranian authorities launched the “Noor (Light) Operation” in April 2024, enforcing the bill’s provisions through violent crackdowns on improperly veiled women and girls.
Global and regional commitments over the last thirty years provide solid support for promoting gender equality in politics. In recent years, the growth of women’s representation has stagnated, and the OSCE region is now witnessing escalating narratives against gender equality, which are having a detrimental effect on women’s political participation. Temporary special measures are being abolished, and no new ones are being introduced. Political polarization is steadily increasing, while sexism and violence against women in politics is pervasive, impacting female politicians’ decisions on whether to run for office, advocate certain policy solutions or leave their elected posts.
In this publication, ODIHR presents a seven-step roadmap for OSCE participating States — their parliaments, governments, political parties and other state agencies — to work towards achieving gender parity. It complements the results of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s 2025 Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians with its visionary approach to parity as parity in numbers, influence and culture. These steps aim to inspire participating States to draft their own, national roadmaps to gender parity, tailored to their specific circumstances and needs.
Extract
The 2024 elections made US history in numerous ways. Vice President Kamala Harris became the first Black and South Asian woman to be nominated by a major party for the presidency. Former president Donald Trump made history by becoming the oldest person and the first convicted felon to become president. 2024 marked the first presidential election following the historic Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022.
The 2024 elections made US history in numerous ways. Vice President Kamala Harris became the first Black and South Asian woman to be nominated by a major party for the presidency. Former president Donald Trump made history by becoming the oldest person and the first convicted felon to become president. 2024 marked the first presidential election following the historic Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022.
We asked leading experts in the field to reflect on the gender and racial dynamics of the 2024 election cycle and consider which aspects of the election are illuminated by gender scholarship. We asked what theories help explain the dynamics of the campaigns, voting behavior, and the outcome, as well as which election aspects were unanticipated. We asked about the larger lessons and challenges for the study of gender, LGBTQ+ identities, race/ethnicity, elections, and politics. As Politics & Gender celebrates its 20th anniversary, we wanted to know what new questions should be addressed and whether new theories about gender and US elections are needed.
Full article available here.
ABSTRACT
While gender quotas in politics have received considerable scholarly debate, much of the focus remains on whether quota-elected women are less qualified due to their pre-election background. Far less attention has been given to their actual parliamentary performance and how it compares to their non-quota peers. This study uses UK parliamentary records between 2005 and 2017 to compare the parliamentary activity of Labour women selected via All-Women Shortlists (AWS) with those selected via the traditional Open-List. Parliamentary activity is measured through contributions in spoken debate, rebellion rates, submission of written questions, and vote attendance, alongside an examination of AWS women’s commitment to women’s substantive representation. The results show that AWS women were equally active in most parliamentary channels, but they were more active in submitting written questions and speaking about women’s issues during debates compared to their Open-List counterparts. Consequently, the findings refute claims that AWS women are less active or underperform in Parliament, demonstrating that they perform as well as, or better than, their Open-List counterparts across all measures. These results should encourage the broader adoption of quotas in other UK political parties.
Full article published by Taylor & Francis here.