Parliaments & Representatives
MEXICO CITY (AP) — In a U.S. electoral campaign punctuated by jibes about “childless cat ladies,” some might wish there were rules against mocking candidates based on their gender. Mexico — which just elected its first female president — has such a law but, surprise, it’s not that easy.
The debate centers around a hard-fought race between two female candidates for a Mexico City borough presidency. An electoral court overturned an opposition candidate’s victory, ruling that she had committed “gender-based political violence” against the losing, ruling-party candidate.
Outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador suggested Monday the ruling could create a dangerous precedent, even though the losing candidate belonged to his own Morena party.
“We should be careful about this,” López Obrador said. “When insults, real or imagined, can be cause, or could be a cause, for overturning or nullifying a victory, that is something else altogether.”
The dispute arose after opposition candidate Alessandra Rojo won a narrow victory over Morena’s Caty Monreal in the race for the borough that includes downtown Mexico City. During the campaign, Rojo brought up the fact that Monreal’s father, Ricardo Monreal, is a leading Morena party politician, suggesting she may have been the candidate because of her dad’s influence.
Read here the full article published by the Associated Press on 3 September 2024.
Image credits: Associated Press
Sri Lankan women make up over 51% of the population as well as the number of registered voters; they contribute immensely to state revenue through tea and garment trades and inward foreign remittances; manage family budgets; and run homes, but in the political arena they remain but a footnote.
“The men in politics haven’t done anything meaningful for women in this country,” says 26-year-old primary school teacher from Colombo, Mariam Sadique. She is among several women that the SundayTimes spoke to on what women expect from political leaders.
Ms. Sadique said that it’s frustrating to see the same faces making empty promises, knowing that once they’re in power, they won’t lift a finger to help women. “My biggest concern is that women’s voices will continue to be ignored and our struggles will just get worse,” she said, adding that the current lot of politicians are more focused on finding ways to line their pockets than addressing real issues like reforming the MMDA (the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act), which has been controversial for its oppressive laws against women or the scrapping of period tax.
“I have had to reprioritise what essentials mean to me in this economy. I grew up wanting to be a teacher, and I’ve achieved that dream of mine, but I’ve had to cut down on so many things, since the teacher’s salary is not that great in Sri Lanka,” she said.
Read here the full article published by The Sunday Times on 1 September 2024.
Image credits: The Sunday Times
Despite a consistent presence in Iraq's political arena for nearly two decades, Iraqi women have yet to achieve substantial influence in shaping the nation's laws and policies, analysts say.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, women have maintained a presence in Iraq's Parliament through five consecutive electoral cycles. Their participation has also included earlier governing bodies like the Governing Council and the interim and transitional governments. However, women have struggled to gain significant decision-making power or enact meaningful legislative changes despite this sustained involvement.
As the current parliamentary term nears its end, analysts' concerns about the lack of tangible progress for women in Iraqi politics persist.
International Frameworks and Women's Political Participation in Iraq
Global efforts to address the historical exclusion of women from political life have been grounded in international conventions and declarations that emphasize equality and the elimination of violence and discrimination against women. In its preamble, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights underscores the importance of "faith in fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person, and the equal rights of men and women." Several key international instruments, such as Article 25 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, explicitly affirm the right to equality between men and women in political and public life.
Read here the full article published by Shafaq News on 27 August 2024.
Image by Shafaq News
Trends in political preferences in Finland increasingly follow those in other western countries, where many men seem to prefer traditional economically right-wing or radical right forces, and women tend to opt for greener options to the left.
That's according to a new study out on Tuesday from the Kalevi Sorsa foundation.
The biggest gender gaps were recorded among younger age cohorts.
"Young men are more conservative than women, and women regard themselves as more liberal," said Hanna Wass, a Vice-Dean at the University of Helsinki's Social Science faculty who was one of the study's authors.
"This liberal-conservative axis divides young men and women the most. It is worth noting that on political policy questions the gender differences are smaller than when you ask about people's political identities."
The results of the survey suggest some implications for political parties as they pursue new voters, according to Wass.
Read here the full article published by Yle on 20 August 2024.
Image by Yle
In Ghana, the recent push for a gender equality bill is a crucial step toward enhancing women’s political representation. However, its effectiveness hinges on overcoming entrenched gender biases and ensuring robust implementation to truly transform the political landscape.
On 30 July, Ghana’s parliament passed the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill, ending a process that began in 1998. Despite women constituting the majority of Ghana’s population, they hold less than 15 percent of parliamentary seats and remain underrepresented in managerial roles, even though they represent a majority in the service sector. The passage of the bill represents remarkable progress towards enhancing gender equality and inclusivity in the country and thus rightfully deserves all the attention it has garnered.
Additionally, this legislative milestone is especially significant for a country that has consistently ranked low on the Global Gender Gap Index in recent times. For example, in 2021, Ghana ranked 117 out of 156 countries; in 2022, 108 out of 146 countries; and in 2023, 100 out of 146 countries. What are the potential challenges that could impede the successful implementation of the bill (when it becomes law), and what are the prospects for this legislation in advancing gender equality and inclusivity in Ghana?
Read here the full article published by the Australian Institute of International Affairs on 20 August 2024.
Image by Australian Institute of International Affairs
The Deputy Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Mrs Lara Edeko has urged women to participate in politics in order to contribute towards good leadership and nation building.
Edeko made the call in Benin, the state capital while speaking at the University of Benin Inaugural Women’s Leadership Conference.
The deputy speaker, a panelist on the topic: “Women Leading the Way: Stories of Resilience and Success” said that women participation in politics would address the issue of under-representation.
She said that female elite and professionals should join active politics in order to gain access into leadership positions in the country.
“Many of the women in politics are illiterates, this is making it difficult for them to aspire for leadership positions,” she said.
Sharing the story of her journey from being a classroom teacher to a lawmaker, Edeko, said that women lacked genuine interest in politics.
“As women, we must come out to take our rightful place in governance and leadership. We must make a difference.
“Leadership is not just about occupying positions, it is about leaving lasting legacies.
Read here the full article published by Voice of Nigeria on 19 August 2024.
Image by Voice of Nigeria
In this report, UNDP explores a long standing and important focus area - strengthening women’s political participation and gender equality in governance. This report aims to highlight the ways in which UNDP supports women's political participation across the globe. To understand the scale, scope, and range of UNDP's support to women's political participation, the mapping considered 73 current and recently closed projects and programmes.
The mapping and analysis cover key action areas like electoral assistance; parliamentary strengthening; civic engagement and women’s participation in the public administration. It also covers strategic priority areas in UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy and global programme on governance, projects that address violence against women in politics including online violence; promoting gender quotas to advance women’s public participation; and projects that focus on transforming gender norms.
Click here to read the full report published by UNDP on 19 June 2023.
Women MPs are exposed to daily online harassment, and social media platforms provide unlimited scope for anonymous, hostile and aggressive behaviour to be targeted at them. As the unprecedented cyber abuse of female MPs is known to be detrimental to their personal and professional lives, today’s toxic virtual environment poses a real risk to the future of women in politics, argues Christina Julios.
Online abuse of Members of Parliament is nothing new. An occupational hazard for any public figure, elected representatives have long been targets of attacks and derision from the public. With the advent of mainstream social media, however, there has been an exponential growth of cyber abuse, which has also become more extreme and normalised.
Click here to read the full article published by The London School of Economics on 17 May 2023.
Representation of women in the field of legislative politics is remarkably small and the absence of women has wide-ranging ramifications. In Fall 2019, we surveyed 361 women that we identified as studying legislative politics within political science to understand why women’s representation in legislative studies is so low and what we can do about it. We found that many women study legislatures, but they do not always identify as scholars of legislative studies, often do not join the Legislative Studies Section, and tend to prioritize other journals over Legislative Studies Quarterly, the official journal of the section. In this article, we discuss several solutions to the problem of women’s underrepresentation in legislative studies, including the new Women in Legislative Studies initiative.
Click here read the article by Cambridge University Press on 15 May 2023.
In both politics and public life in the UK, women have historically been underrepresented. In recent years women’s representation has increased, although in most cases men remain overrepresented, especially in more senior positions.
This briefing presents statistics on a range of positions in UK politics and public life held by women. Data on the demographic characteristics of different workforces tends to be limited, so it is not always possible to include intersectional analysis, for example, on disabled women or women from minority ethnic groups.
Click here to access the report.
Despite progress towards gender equality, women’s representation in Canadian politics continues to fall short. With only 30 per cent of seats in the House of Commons held by women, there is still a long way to go for Parliament to capture the diversity of the population it represents.
There are several factors that contribute to the persistent gender disparities in the political process. Research on women in politics has identified multiple obstacles that hinder women’s representation, with three factors emerging as the most prominent explanations.
Three obstacles to women in politics
The first is that voters might have gender bias. This is the idea that, for various reasons, voters might prefer a man over a woman candidate.
The second is that women may not be interested to run as candidates. This is the idea that women might be more risk-averse when it comes to campaigns and elections, or that women may lack self-confidence and have lower levels of political ambition compared to men.
Click here to read the full article published by the Conversation on 10 March 2023.
This paper provides an overview of Lebanese women’s participation in political decision- making through a case study of women’s participation in the parliamentary elections of 2022 from a gender perspective. The paper asks, why are the vital voices of Lebanese women still missing in politics? What progress has been made? Who are the gatekeepers? How can we accelerate equality and improve women’s political participation?
Source: Lebanese American University