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.
The key issues of women's access to parliament and to internal parliamentary structures kicked off an engaged and lively debate at the 7th IPU Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament in New Delhi on 3rd October.
Women speakers of parliament from around the world have committed to doing more to increase women’s representation in parliament and its formal decision-making bodies.
How to Effect Change for Women in Parliament – Women Speakers Meet in Delhi –Women speakers of parliament from around the world wil
“Democracy is not perfect, but it is the best system so far,” said Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese activist, member of parliament and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate at a Sept. 19 dinner co-hosted by NDI and the International Republican Institute (IRI).
While this horrifying scene may resemble what happened in that football stadium 13 years ago, in fact, much has changed. Within hours of Najiba's horrible death being broadcast worldwide, women in Afghanistan poured into the streets, seeking justice.
The government is urging Members of Parliament to support a Bill that backs party nominations to fill special seats in Parliament and the Senate, to meet the gender representation rule.
PRIME Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo prefers women entering Parliament through the normal electoral process and not by special consideration.
The Hungarian parliament has changed course on a bill that introduces domestic violence to the Hungarian penal code.
India is far below these countries with 11 per cent women in the Lower House.
“Despite frequent attempts to introduce a similar policy of reserved seats for the Lower House (Lok Sabha) of the national Parliament , these initiatives have repeatedly failed.