Parliaments and Representatives

The active involvement of Omani women in political life has witnessed a significant upsurge, particularly in their enthusiastic participation in the election of members for the tenth term of the Majlis Al Shura.

In the election for the tenth term of the Majlis Al Shura, scheduled for Sunday, a notable 738 candidates are vying for seats, of whom 31 are women.

On 21 September, Indian legislators passed the first legislation considered in the country’s new Parliament building: the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023. The bill, which passed both houses of Parliament almost unanimously—with just two votes against—will ensure that women occupy at least 33 per cent of the seats in state legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference senior leader and Women's wing State President Shameema Firdous on Friday said that political accountability to women begins with increasing the number of women in decision-making positions. She said the party has been a pioneer in that direction.

Regional and local leaders across the European Union, non-governmental organisations and researchers attending the European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) conference "Local and regional strategies for closing the gender gap in politics: Roads taken and what´s next?" call on decision-makers to introduce concrete solutions like quotas or parity requirements to achieve gender equality in political representation.

At the last federal elections in 2019, the share of women candidates elected to the 200-seat House of Representatives surged by 10 percentage points to 42%.

This year the proportion slipped back to 38.5% and 77 seats, as the Federal Statistical Office said on Monday following the October 22 election. Final complete results for the 46-seat Senate are due by November 19.