Parliaments & Representatives
The Speaker of the House Papalii Lio Masipau made a bold statement about why he thinks gender inequality exists in politics. He views the matai system and customs as prohibiting women from traditional governance impacting their chances to run for office.
Papalii just returned from touring the parliament in New South Wales, Australia. It was an eye-opening experience for him to see more women involved in politics and at a policy level. He must have thought hard before making this bold statement.
He may not be off the target. He is right in saying that the village setting is proving to be a difficult hurdle faced by women wanting to enter the political arena.
“Our matai system should treat women equally as men so that we don’t need to have the 10 per cent requirement…there is no equality in our matai system and some village setups don’t allow our mothers to participate or sit in village councils,” Papalii said.
According to the Speaker, the Legislative Assembly is made up of 51 representatives from the districts and the reason for extra seats is to meet gender equality in the House.
He added the constitutional requirement to have 10 per cent women representation in the House would not be needed if mothers were treated equally within villages.
Read here the full article published by Samoa Observer on 22 July 2024.
Image by Samoa Observer
The underrepresentation of Nigerian women in governance and politics has been a longstanding issue in political discourse.
Currently, women occupy only a small fraction of the seats in Nigeria’s National Assembly, with 3 out of 109 senators and 15 out of 360 members of the House of Representatives being female while, there are five appointed women ministers out of 45. Since gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria is yet to have a female president.
On the 9th of July the House of Representatives advanced a bill to its second reading, aiming to create 74 seats for women in the National Assembly.
The bill, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and 12 others, proposes amendments to Sections 48, 49, 71, and 117 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to establish “Special seat reserved exclusively for women in the Senate and House of Representatives for each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”
The news stirred mixed emotions as the 9th National Assembly dismissed all 5 gender bills, leaving women perplexed about the obstacles they face in achieving equal representation to contribute their share to national development, akin to their male counterparts.
Read here the full article published by Radio Nigeria on 19 July 2024.
Image by Radio Nigeria
Tamika Davis is a first-term MP from Jamaica, part of the historic high of 29% of incoming women MPs in the House of Representatives and the first woman to be elected in her constituency. The CIP team spoke with Ms Davis about her views on digital technologies.
MPs have become digital content creators, as well as legislators
Campaigning for the next election, expected to be in September 2025, is already underway. Ms. Davis spoke of how MPs need to be present on different social media channels, such as Facebook and TikTok, to engage with constituents. Even if they have lots of in-person interactions, MPs also need to be on social media, since “If you are not out there you are not visible”, she said.
Ms. Davis showed examples of digital content posted by MPs, including videos, highlighting the need for MPs to be creative and to have access to content creation skills. In her own case, she has a two-person team helping her to produce digital content. She feels that with the current mobile apps, there are no excuses for not creating good-looking content.
Disinformation and online abuse take their toll on MPs
Deepfakes, disinformation and online abuse, particularly against women MPs, has entered the digital space of Jamaican politics, Ms. Davis says. She wants more action to deal with online attacks and abuse against women MPs, noting the mental health issues that can arise from this.
Ms. Davis showed the CIP a very recent video, where an opposition MP is purported to be having a fictional (and ridiculing) telephone call with a member of her party. However, the MP’s voice had been sampled from a recording in another context several years ago. She also highlighted the example of another female MP who suffered a breakdown due to similar attacks and temporarily withdrew from politics. Ms. Davis is glad that this issue is becoming more recognized locally and globally, and called for more action to better protect and resource women MPs.
Read here the full article published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 22 July 2024.
In my journey as a Member of Parliament (MP), I’ve faced firsthand the multifaceted challenges that women in politics encounter — challenges that extend well beyond legislative duties and reveal entrenched societal perceptions and biases. There have been instances where my presence was seen as symbolic rather than substantive. Men would often direct their conversations to my husband instead of engaging with me, assuming he held more authority in discussions — an assumption based solely on his gender.
During interviews, I’ve encountered condescending questions about balancing political responsibilities with being a wife, questions rarely posed to male counterparts. Such experiences highlight the persistent double standards that ambitious women in politics navigate. Navigating societal attitudes towards marriage has been another hurdle, exemplified by being labeled as “nakli Dalit” due to my inter-caste marriage. This label underscores how deeply ingrained stereotypes about women’s social identities can overshadow their individual achievements and capabilities.
Read here the full article published by The Indian Express on 20 July 2024.
Image by The Indian Express
Mongolia's electoral reforms have significantly transformed the political landscape, ushering a record number of women into Parliament. This change follows the May 2023 constitutional amendment, which expanded parliamentary seats from 76 to 126 and introduced a mandatory 30 per cent candidate quota for women. As a result, the number of female MPs has increased dramatically, from 13 to 32.
The elections on 28 June 2023, were the first under this new system; introducing the parallel system in which 48 out of 126 were elected through proportionate representation. Mongolia's political landscape has long been dominated by two major parties, the Mongolian People's Party (MPP) and the Democratic Party (DP), the MPP winning the last two elections by a large margin. Although the MPP retained dominance with 68 seats, the margin was narrower than in previous elections. The DP increased its representation from 11 to 42 seats.
The reform was motivated by an intent to bolster multiparty democracy by allowing easier access for smaller parties into Parliament, preventing any single party from achieving a ‘supermajority’, and enhancing female representation. This goal of including smaller political parties was realized as the other three parties; the National Labour Party (HUN), National Coalition, and Civil Will – Green Party secured seats as well.
Read here the full article published by International IDEA on 11 July 2024.
Only three percent of women are directly engaged in politics, while 11 percent have no interest in involvement at all. This is what the research findings of the "Friedrich Eber" foundation say, which were presented by professor Besa Luzha. At the international conference "Boundaries of freedom of speech", hosted by KosovaPress News Agency, she said that the struggle of women for inclusion in the political and media scene continues.
In the second panel on the topic "Steps of innovation in economic, social and cultural development", Luzha said that the findings about women's willingness to work are worrying.
"It was worrying for us as researchers when we saw a result that about 49 percent of women who declared that they would work only if they were forced, in the sense that they have difficult conditions. This has worried us much more than perhaps the fact that there are still many unemployed women", declared Luzha.
University of Pristina professor, Besa Luzha, at the international conference "Boundaries of freedom of speech", added that the struggle of women to be included in the political scene and in the media is continuing.
"In the beginning, it was a challenge to increase the participation and commitment of women in political life, I believe that it has more or less increased because we have had a commitment, society in general, to ensure once the presence through the quota in the parliament. However, gradually the women who have been engaged have managed to win the votes of the citizens even without a quota even by being present. And this is the scheme that appears when we focus on the political part. It is interesting, the battle still continues because until we see that political scene in the media, the presence is a little bigger than before", she said.
Read here the full interview published by the Kosova Press on 16 July 2024.
Image by Kosova Press
The underrepresentation of Nigerian women in governance and politics has been a longstanding issue in political discourse.
Currently, women occupy only a small fraction of the seats in Nigeria’s National Assembly, with 3 out of 109 senators and 15 out of 360 members of the House of Representatives being female while, there are five appointed women ministers out of 45. Since gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria is yet to have a female president.
On the 9th of July the House of Representatives advanced a bill to its second reading, aiming to create 74 seats for women in the National Assembly.
The bill, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and 12 others, proposes amendments to Sections 48, 49, 71, and 117 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to establish “Special seat reserved exclusively for women in the Senate and House of Representatives for each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”
The news stirred mixed emotions as the 9th National Assembly dismissed all 5 gender bills, leaving women perplexed about the obstacles they face in achieving equal representation to contribute their share to national development, akin to their male counterparts.
Read here the full article published by Radio Nigeria on 19 July 2024.
Image by Radio Nigeria
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, the first woman to lead Japan's capital, clinched a third term on Sunday to extend her time in office running one of the populous cities in the world.
Dozens of candidates were competing to unseat her, with female opposition lawmaker Renho Murata one of the main challengers — a rarity in Japan's male-dominated political scene.
In the country's 47 prefectures, only two governors are women. At the national level, the ratio is similar — only about 11% of members in the lower house of parliament are female. Japan does not currently have mandated gender quotas for politicians.
According to Mikiko Eto, a political science professor at Hosei University, such law would be "the most important point" to address the disbalance.
Have gender quotas worked?
Unlike Japan, many political systems around the world have implemented gender quotas to increase the number of women in politics.
In Taiwan, where there are reserved seats for women and candidate quotas in place, women now make up 41.6% of parliament — the highest percentage of female lawmakers in Asia.
In Indonesia, women's representation in parliament was quite low before the 30% candidate gender quota was introduced. In 1999, fewer than one in 10 lawmakers was female. Two decades later, that number had risen to one in five.
"In countries where women's descriptive representation is still very low, affirmative actions like gender quotas seem to be the first step to take," Nankyung Choi, a scholar who specializes in women and politics in Southeast Asia, told DW.
Read here the full article published by DW News on 10 July 2024.
Image by DW News
During the same period, it was also found that while women’s representation in top executive positions in government has increased, their presence in local government across Africa has declined. In East Africa, women's representation in local government declined by 11%, alongside a 16% increase in women holding top executive positions. The acknowledgment remains that progress in advancing meaningful political participation for women in Africa is still slow.
The WPP Barometer is a resource tool that demonstrates the status of women's political participation in Africa. It aims to provide evidence, particularly to legislators and policymakers, to advocate for and strengthen women's political participation and leadership.
On 10 July 2024, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), through the Women in Political Participation Project, in collaboration with Gender Links, will mark a milestone by launching the second edition of the WPP Barometer.
The presentation of the WPP Barometer Topline findings follows the publication of the 1st Edition of the WPP Barometer in 2021, providing insights into the status of women's political participation in Africa. This event underscores the achievements of the Women in Political Participation Consortium, which was launched in 2019 with support from the Embassy of Sweden in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through this initiative, the consortium is advancing the project titled "Enhancing the Participation of Women in Political Participation in Africa".
Central to the project's mission is the promotion of women's political participation and representation across Africa. Drawing inspiration from the Maputo Protocol of 2003, sub-regional protocols, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the project aims to amplify the voices of women in political spheres.
To achieve its objectives, International IDEA and its partners engage with a diverse range of stakeholders, including political parties, media organizations, election management bodies, parliaments, and governmental ministries focused on gender and women's issues. By collaborating with policymakers and regional bodies such as the African Union and regional economic communities, the project aims to effect meaningful change throughout the continent. Currently operational in eight African countries—Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe—the Women in Political Participation (WPP) project is making significant strides towards its goals.
Click here to read and download the Women’s Political Participation: Africa Barometer 2024.
This article investigates legislators’ willingness to talk about gender and women during policy making discussions, asking whether it is conditional on their sex or partisanship in environments where party discipline does not constrain their speech. The Canadian Senate offers a case of a legislature with low or absent party discipline. A quantitative content analysis of nearly 1,000 Senate committee meetings confirms that sex is a primary indicator of legislators’ inclination to talk about gender and women. Moreover, women senators who sit on committees with a critical mass of women members (30% or greater) are more likely to talk about gender and women, making the case for the importance of women’s descriptive representation. Partisanship and independence had no significant effect on senators’ propensity to discuss women. The findings suggest that partisanship does not constrain legislators’ representation of women in environments with low party discipline.
Read here the full article published by the Cambridge University Press on 15 May 2024.
Image by Cambridge University Press
Gender equality in politics has faced both notable achievements and enduring obstacles in Pakistan, a nation with a multifaceted sociopolitical environment. It is believed that a democratic society must prioritize gender equality in politics. For many years, women’s rights have been the focus of heated discussion and agitation in Pakistan. Even with notable progress in social and legal systems, Pakistani women still confront formidable obstacles in their pursuit of equality. The need of equalizing women’s participation in politics, the economy, and public life is becoming more and more apparent in developing nations as they want to build their country. With the low representation of women in positions of decision-making, Pakistan still has a long way to go political power remains firmly the domain of men, except a small number of elite women with dynastic political backgrounds.
To eliminate the gender discrimination our nation’s fathers once remarked “Acquire education and participate in politics because you are the architects of the nation’s future” the statement represents the Quaid-e-Azam’s encouragement of women to enter politics; he had progressive ideas on the status of women in politics and society. Similarly, Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s poetry and prose, demonstrate a deep regard for women’s roles in society and their potential contributions to a variety of fields including politics, he said:
“The existence of woman adds color to the picture of the universe It is her lyre that adds passion to the flame of life” “Zarb-e-Kalim” By incorporating these viewpoints, both political figures promote and assist Pakistani women’s active political engagement with men.
Read here the full article published by Pakistan Today on 2 July 2024.
Image by Pakistan Today
As of December 2023, women constituted 61.3 percent of the Rwandan parliament (lower or single house). This makes it the country with the highest share of women in parliament worldwide. Cuba had the second highest share of female MPs with 53.4 percent, followed by Nicaragua. The European country with the highest percentage of women in their parliament was Andorra with 50 percent.
See here the full graphic published by Statista on 4 July 2024.
Image by Statista