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 IPU grew in 2023 with the accession of the parliaments of Liberia and the Bahamas, its 179th and 180th Members respectively, as well as many observers and partners signing up to join or rejoin our global parliamentary community.
“For me, a better democracy is a democracy where women do not only have the right to vote and to elect but to be elected.”
Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile.
A record number of women candidates are expected to run in June's local elections.
So far, 649 women have been selected or declared for the contests.
“If you want to know how civilized a culture is, look at how they treat its women.” - Bacha Khan
It’s no secret that women have made unprecedented strides in seeking and attaining elected office over the last decade.
Gendered disinformation is being used across Africa as a tactic to silence critics and exclude women from online civic discourses, new research shows.
March 8, 1857 witnessed the uprising of female needle factory workers in New York City, who marched in defiance of perilous working conditions, meagre pay, and gruelling 12-hour shifts.
The objective behind the move in 1972 to have reserved seats for women in parliament was to increase women's representation in the legislative body.
