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 Prime Minister of the Cook Islands says more women should run for Parliament but need to get there on their own merits.
Henry Puna says he strongly encourages women to take up positions of power in Cook Islands communities.
The Congress party is revamping its frontal organisation, Women Congress, in a bid to empower grassroots level women party workers politically, socially and economically.
Government should support women participation in politics as they can contribute immensely to the development of the country, a senior official with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has said.
A former PDP Women Leader, Dr Kema Chikwe, on Friday in Abuja advised women to work hard to secure positions in the party as the special convention gets underway.
Civil Society Organizations working on women issues yesterday converged at the YWCA old hall in Freetown to validate the Sierra Leone in-Country monitoring of UNSCRs 1325 and 1820 Sierra Leone Report 2013.
Candidates aspiring to join parliament on the women ticket have since Monday campaigned in different districts upcountry. A total of women have hit the campaign trail in the race for the 24 slots reserved for women, in a college vote that will take place on September 18.
Vanuatu’s Parliament has passed legislation providing for reserved seats for women in the country’s Municipal Councils.
Nearly 100 years ago, American women gained the right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. This victory came after a decades-long struggle to amend the U.S. Constitution so that women could never be barred from the polls on the basis of gender.
Nearly 100 years ago, American women gained the right to vote with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. This victory came after a decades-long struggle to amend the U.S. Constitution so that women could never be barred from the polls on the basis of gender.