Parliaments & Representatives

Stakeholders have raised concerns about the critical state of women’s political participation in Nigeria.

They noted that the country ranks near the bottom in terms of women’s parliamentary representation, placing 184th of 193 countries globally.

At a one-day media capacity-building workshop in Lagos, managing partner at WGC Co, Dunsin Olusanya, underscored Nigeria’s dismally low female representation, with women holding only seven per cent of leadership roles and parliamentary seats.

This gender gap extends to federal appointments, where women make up just eight of 48 ministerial positions, further reflecting the gender disparity across state and federal levels.

Historically, Nigerian women have faced setbacks in political roles post-independence, with cultural, economic, and institutional barriers limiting opportunities for active involvement in government positions.

To address this issue, ARDA Development Communication, in partnership with UN Women, organised a training session titled “Advance Women in Political Participation.” The initiative aimed to equip journalists with skills to effectively report on women’s political engagement, thereby fostering societal growth and equal representation.

Read here the full article published by Leadership Nigeria on 17 November 2024.

Image by Leadership Nigeria

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.