Democracy and the equal participation of men and women in the political arena are closely intertwined. No parliament or any decision-making body can claim to be representative without the participation of both men and women. As stated in the Universal Declaration on Democracy adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Member Parliaments in 1997, "The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarity, drawing mutual enrichment from their differences."
Recent years have seen a steady increase in the number of women in parliament, though the world average of less than 22 percent remains far from the goal of parity between women and men. The election of women to the highest positions of state and government in several countries has also contributed to the changing face of politics.
While the road to election is a difficult one, the challenges for women do not stop there. Once women enter parliament or other bodies, they are faced with many new challenges. Parliament is traditionally a male-oriented domain where the rules and practices have been written by men. It is, therefore, an ongoing challenge to transform parliament into a gender-sensitive environment, to ensure that actions are gender-sensitive and to guarantee that gender is mainstreamed throughout the legislature.
Tunisia, despite being the most advanced Arab nation in terms of women's rights, is still fare from adhering fully to the principles enshrined in the January 2014 Constitution and from abiding by the ratification of international treaties in daily life.
By Aarushi Koundal, India being the largest democracy of the world went through one of its most talked about elections few months back. The country saw the downfall of the incumbents from the political arena. Proving all the political priests wrong, Bhartiya Janta Party of the NDA achieved an absolute majority.
By Noran Elashi
Women’s political participation and protection of women’s rights has always been a challenge in the Developing countries. Despite the fact that Pakistan is a developing country with a developing economy yet women have actively been attempting to take part in government, and development of female-oriented civil society.
By Noran Elashi
By Aarushi Koundal, India being the largest democracy of the world went through one of its most talked about elections few months back. The country saw the downfall of the incumbents from the political arena.
By Aarushi Koundal, India being the largest democracy of the world went through one of its most talked about elections few months back. The country saw the downfall of the incumbents from the political arena.
by Sarah Bernolet
by Sarah Bernolet A Presidential election will be held in Tunisia on the 23rd of November 2014, a month after the parliamentary election. If necessary, there will be a second round of voting on the 28th of December.
by Sarah Bernolet A Presidential election will be held in Tunisia on the 23rd of November 2014, a month after the parliamentary election. If necessary, there will be a second round of voting on the 28th of December.
