Parliaments & Representatives
At the Bakadaji Hotel in Bijilo yesterday, November 13, the Centre’s Executive Director Sait Matty Jaw presented a study report that sheds light on the deep-rooted cultural norms and societal pressures that hinder women’s participation in public and political life, alongside significant challenges facing youth.
In his presentation, Mr Jaw highlighted that societal expectations often limit women to traditional domestic roles, discouraging them from entering political spheres.
Many women pursuing leadership face resistance from their families and communities, who see political involvement as clashing with conventional gender roles, he reports, saying interviews from the study emphasised that these expectations hinder women’s ability to actively engage in politics.
Additionally, the report shows that more than half of Gambian citizens (58%) disagree with the stereotype that women lack leadership abilities, although 41% believe that men often impede women’s political ambitions. Similarly, youth face obstacles to National Assembly elections that mirror the challenges women encounter.
Read here the full article published by The Point on 14 November 2024.
Image by The Point
Women and gender-equality advocates in Indonesia are crying foul about male dominance in President Prabowo Subianto’s jumbo-sized cabinet.
There are only 14 women in the newly inducted leader’s cabinet of 104 ministers and deputy ministers. That equals 13.46%, although women make up about 49% of Indonesia’s population of close to 280 million people.
While veteran Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was able to retain her influential post, critics view the under-representation of women in politics as emblematic of persistent challenges for gender equality in Indonesia.
By contrast, women were better represented during the first term of Prabowo’s immediate predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who was seen as a progressive when he was first elected president. From 2014 to 2019, there were eight women in Jokowi’s 34-member cabinet.
Among them was Retno Marsudi, the globe-trotting foreign minister during Jokowi’s two terms, who was replaced by Prabowo with a man.
Read here the full article published by Benar News on 6 November 2024.
Image by Benar News
DESPITE Tanzania’s progress toward gender equality in politics, women continue to be significantly underrepresented in leadership roles. This gap is exacerbated by the rise of online harassment targeting women in politics, creating a hostile environment that discourages their participation. Laws such as the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, the Electronic and Postal Communications Act of 2010 (EPOCA), and the National Electoral Act of 2024 mandate gender balance in candidate nominations.
However, female politicians in Tanzania still face substantial challenges, including online abuse that undermines their electoral participation. This reveals that much more needs to be done to ensure women’s equal representation. One of the most pervasive issues faced by women in politics is harassment on digital platforms like social media, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
These attacks often involve the spread of false information, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and threatening messages. At political rallies, such abuse is strategically used to intimidate women and discredit them, reinforcing the idea that women do not belong in political spaces.
Read here the full article published by The Guardian on 6 November 2024.
Image by The Guardian
The deliberate spread of harmful and false content aimed at women is a current threat to their safety, job performance, mental health, as well as to the institutions they represent, weakening not only women’s active life in the public but also the democratic system.
Our research indicates that there is a need for codes of conduct in various areas of government: considering the multiple elections happening in the Latin America Region, a window of opportunity has been identified to develop and implement mechanisms to safeguard women in Parliament.
The implementation of Codes of Conduct in Parliaments creates a better decision-making process, significantly reducing possible aggressions between peers. In politics the existence of a code of conduct can place the issue of online gender violence on the agenda, making visible and enabling effective action against.
This research focuses on the experience of Latin American countries to outline recommendations for possible actions and best practices to help prevent digital political violence against women in Parliaments. A comprehensive desk review was carried out on countries with existing legislation in the Region reviewing the existence of protocols, legislative work, draft bills and bills, and analyzing current European Codes of Conducts to compare. Understanding and addressing this phenomenon is essential to ensuring gender equality in politics and promoting a violence-free parliamentary environment for all individuals.
In addition, the methodology implemented reveals significant barriers to recognizing political aggressions as a form of violence, despite the prevalent use of the term "violence" in the outcome of the research. This underscores the urgent need for a clear typification of online gender-based violence against women parliamentarians. Additionally, there is notable skepticism regarding the effectiveness of existing codes and regulations in safeguarding women from such violence. Our analysis shows diverse narratives explaining the roots of political violence and discrimination against women in public life. Emphasizing the connection between these findings is imperative to address these gaps through the development of robust codes.
Read here the full report published by Fundación Multitudes on August 2024.
The Transform Digital Threats and Public Participation Landscape Assessment Methodology reflects the collaboration and contribution of many people and organizations engaged in preventing, responding to, and mitigating Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence. All sources have been cited. Contributors of individuals remain unnamed here for their confidentiality and safety.
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) is a global threat to health, safety, and political and economic wellbeing—not just to those who experience it, but to society as a whole. Indeed, the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (2023) highlighted the deep impact of technological change on the empowerment of all women and girls and the ability to achieve gender equality. Nearly 40% of women globally have experienced TFGBV, with research highlighting certain groups of women that are at higher risk of attack, including women in politics, women journalists, women human rights defenders, and women in other public facing roles. This assessment centers women in politics and public life, and the nuanced ways TFGBV threatens and impacts them. TFGBV is an increasingly prominent form of violence against women in politics and public life (VAWPP), which is defined as an “act, or threat, of physical, sexual or psychological violence that prevents women from exercising and realizing their political rights and a range of human rights.” Much like other forms of gender-based violence (GBV), there is clear data to indicate that TFGBV is a universal problem that affects women in all their diversity regardless of socioeconomic class, educational status, religious affiliation, or other social identities. TFGBV reinforces gendered stereotypes and rigid patriarchal social norms and harms the well-being of those who experience as well as witness it. TFGBV also exacerbates other forms of harm directed at women, girls and LGBTQIA+ persons based on racialized ethnicities, caste, [dis]ability and other intersecting identities. However, TFGBV is uniquely able to amplify and persist in perpetrating harm against women and gender diverse individuals with highly visible online presence due to their occupation or activism, resulting in the systematic silencing of women in public spaces such as politics, journalism, and civic activism—a phenomena known informally as the “chilling effect.”
Read here the full report published by the USAID funded Transform Program on September 2024.
In order to achieve true parity, the U.S. needs affirmative actions—gender quotas established by law. This will ensure that women are selected, appointed and supported in politics.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two summers ago, we’ve seen the most significant setback in women’s rights in living memory. The end of Roe was a watershed moment, but the seeds of our current backsliding on women’s rights were planted long before the summer of 2022: State legislatures, dominated by men, had been steadily chipping away at women’s freedoms to make decisions about their bodies, health, and futures, for years. Once the Court, tipped to the hard-right by Trump-appointed justices, gave them the green light, those legislatures went even further, passing yet more laws that repress women and put their lives at risk, particularly women of color.
In this moment, the stakes of unequal gender representation in the halls of power are clearer than ever. The stakes are freedom or repression. Full citizenship or second-class. Life or death.
And the stakes of correcting this imbalance are clear, too. We need bold action to ensure that women finally have a meaningful role in shaping the laws under which we live, work, and make decisions about our own lives.
Read here the full article published by Ms. Magazine on 22 October 2024.
Image by Ms. Magazine
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
As women increasingly participate in political decision-making around the world, the research emphasizes the need to further understand how informal barriers shape women's political participation. At the same time, the persistent stability of hybrid political regimes calls for additional inquiry into the impact of hybrid regimes on gender politics and its actors. Based on the case of Turkey, a hybrid regime, this study explores how women MPs navigate gendered, informal obstacles in parliament and to what extent their navigation strategies reflect the broader implications posed by the hybrid regime context. This exploratory study draws on qualitative, in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight women MPs in the Turkish parliament from government and opposition parties. The findings illustrate that navigating the informal barriers women MPs experience in the Turkish parliament happens both individually and in collective ways. Individually, women MPs choose to navigate the informal barriers of gender norms by either assimilating or contrasting the masculine way of doing politics. Collective navigation strategies of women MPs in the Turkish parliament illustrate their approaches to representing women's interests, seeking women's solidarity across the parliament, and linkages with civil society to empower women, which also reflect the different positionings of government and opposition within the Turkish hybrid regime dynamics. The findings reveal the need to further research the complex, dynamic interplay of how informal practices and hybrid regime tactics target gender politics and its actors, while also giving more attention to women's agency in tackling and countering obstacles to their political power within and beyond political institutions.
Read here the full article published by Frontiers on 1 July 2024.
Image by Frontiers