Parliaments & Representatives
On Monday, President Andrzej Duda swore in the new government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who will have two weeks to secure a vote of confidence. Most of the ministers have been swapped, although some previously served as deputy ministers. Others headed various government agencies. The majority of the cabinet is made up of women, which has been praised by President Duda. Jarosław Kaczyński, the head of the Law and Justice party (PiS), which won the plurality of votes but struggles to find a coalition partner, expressed hopes that a cabinet including more experts and fewer politicians may be more palatable to the parliamentary majority.
Click here to read the full article published by TVP World on 27 November 2023.
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The Indian parliament passed a historic bill that necessitates the lower house of the parliament and the state legislatures to earmark one-third of their seats to women. In terms of women’s representation in politics, India ranks 141 out of 185, marking this reservation bill as a significant reform. Although the landmark legislature makes great strides for women, there are several impediments to the bill that will delay its discernible effects in Indian politics. Thus, the question begs, is this bill merely an empty promise made by the Modi-led government in the lead up to the 2024 general elections?
Women are significantly underrepresented in politics in India. Presently, 15.2% seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women, while it is merely 9% in the state legislatures. Globally, women hold a 26.5% stake in parliamentary office. The gender quota bill has been in the works for over 25 years, held back primarily due to demands for the inclusion of socio-economic factors in women’s reservation. In September 2023, however, it was welcomed almost unanimously by the Indian political scene.
Click here to read the full article published by The Geopolitics on 25 November 2023.
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It has been a spectacular fall from grace for the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman. After being unceremoniously sacked from her position, her divisive reign as one of the highest-ranking ministers in this country has come to an end. She has had her fair share of controversy, to put it mildly. She gained notoriety for commandeering the UK Government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – a plan which has just been ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. She has since compared migrants to a ‘hurricane’, argued that homelessness is a ‘lifestyle choice’, and accused the Metropolitan Police of left-wing bias for allowing a march in support of Palestine to take place on Armistice Weekend.
Click here to read the full article published by the Cherwell on 23 November 2023.
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SENATE President Mabel Chinomona has condemned violence against female legislators saying it erodes trust and confidence that citizens place in their elected representatives.
Chinomona said there was a need to enact and enforce legislation that criminalised and penalised violence against women in politics.
“This legislation should include clear definitions, stringent penalties, and avenues for redress, ensuring a robust and unambiguous deterrent against such malpractices,” Chinomona said.
Click here to read the full article published by NewsDay Zimbabwe on 24 November 2023.
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BRUSSELS — The European Parliament is considering changing its rules to improve the gender balance of its committees.
The measures are designed to address “striking disparities” in the gender balance of committees and delegations across the institution, according to an internal letter, seen by POLITICO, from senior Greek MEP Dimitrios Papadimoulis.
Papadimoulis — a Parliament vice-president who chairs a group of senior MEPs working on gender equality in the institution — sent the letter to the Constitutional Affairs Committee last month requesting its help in changing Parliament’s internal rules.
Click here to read the full article published by Politico on 20 November 2023.
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Only 26.5% of the world’s parliamentarians are women, placing the world on the back foot in achieving gender parity, but Namibia could achieve its 50/50 target by 2025.
Gender equality minister Doreen Sioka is confident that this is achievable.
“To be frank, I am not satisfied with the general representation of women. But Namibia has made strides, and there is political will [to achieve gender parity], and we will achieve it in the near future,” Sioka said in an interview with New Era recently about women’s representation in legislative chambers the world over.
“Before I leave, I will leave you with a 50/50 legacy,” she added confidently.
Click here to read the full article published by the New Era Newspaper on 21 November 2023.
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The addition of identity types to ACLED data on political violence targeting women sheds new light on the threats to women’s participation in political processes, such as running for or holding office, supporting or voting for political candidates, leading human rights campaigns or civil society initiatives, and more. This report analyzes the expanded data to unpack key trends in violence targeting women in politics.
Click here to read the full report.
The present regional study, the second in the series, focuses on parliaments in Africa and was carried out in partnership with the African Parliamentary Union (APU). It is based on confidential interviews conducted with 224 women parliamentarians and members of parliamentary staff from 50 countries and one subregional parliamentary assembly (see methodology of the study on page X). The aim of the study is to enrich the documentation and knowledge available on violence against women in parliaments in Africa, taking into account their voices and realities in the local context of the continent. New data thus obtained can be compared with data from the two previous studies, helping to further fine-tune how we view and understand the problem. It is by improving our knowledge and recognizing these acts of violence that we can prevent and fight against them, while also combating the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators. Listening to women affected by violence and gathering their perspectives are also ways to ensure that the help and services available are appropriate and anchored in reality.
Click here to read the report.
This Handbook aims to serve as a resource for lawmakers from around the world for designing gender-responsive laws. Such law-making should address the strategic needs of women and girls and must encompass the enactment of new laws, amending or repealing laws which are outdated, are inconsistent with constitutions, or discriminate against them. The Handbook was prepared in close consultation with parliamentarians from across different legal systems of the world, combined with a desk review of relevant literature.
Click here to access the report.
Recently, the issue of harassment and intimidation of women in politics in long-established democracies has become a source of concern. Current research emphasizes that while women may be more frequently attacked, not all incidents of abuse against women in politics are of a gendered nature. This finding prompts further questions such as are women more frequently targeted because they are women and does such targeting inhibit women from fully participating in political campaigning? Using data from the Representative Audit of Britain’s survey of candidates contesting the 2019 General Election, this study shows that harassment has a negative electoral effect for women, even while controlling for the visibility of the candidate. This article argues that the harassment of women candidates in the UK is gendered, both in its motives and outcomes as it forces women to modify their campaign activities in ways that diminish their chances of gaining office. Our findings contribute to the theoretical and empirical understanding of violence towards women in politics and gendered political violence.
Click here to read the full article published by Taylor and Francis Online on 23 August 2022.
Political decisions get better the more diverse the people are who make them. That is especially true in deeply divided societies, in countries that want to move from war to peace. Yet, women and marginalised groups are often absent from tables where key decisions are made. The same applies to our own EU and national institutions. Foreign and security policy often remains a closed circle of “people with badges talking to people with badges”. And the higher the level, the “harder” the security, the fewer women. This shouldn’t be news, but it is important to have data on the subject matter to push for real change. And that is why I set out, in 2020, to build the #SHEcurity Index; together with a growing team of supporting organisations and individuals.
This is the 2nd edition of the #SHEcurity Index. The index for the first time gave a comprehensive overview of how far we have come with regards to gender equality in Peace & Security and UN resolution 1325.
Click here to read the full report published by SHEcurity.
Women’s political leadership is important for ensuring that women’s perspectives and experiences are included in political decision-making. Over the past 25 years, the overall percentage of women in parliaments has more than doubled. However, the pace of progress has slowed in the past five years and women still make up less than a quarter of representatives in legislatures worldwide. Whilst theories that explore women’s political recruitment are well developed, we need more research on how women get selected. We need to know more about how they win positions as political representatives and how they adapt to the realities of political life.
This report focuses on women’s experience of candidate selection and elections and their experience of political leadership. It asks:
- How can women political leaders build their profile?
- What factors support and hinder women’s candidate selection and election success?
- How do women cope with, and adapt to, the realities of political leadership?
- How can programmes and policies effectively support women in political leadership roles?
Click here to read the report.