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.
Three Saudi women running as candidates for the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (MCCI) board of directors only managed to garner a
With no strict provisions on female representation, legislation often overlooks the rights of women, according to expert witnesses at a judicial review of the 2012 Legislative Elect
Latin American culture is usually associated with being a chauvinistic society (known as machismo), particularly when it comes to how male individuals have historically bee
An infographic of women's engagement in politics in Macedonia.
(We invit eour users to access the resource here)
An infographic of women's engagement in politics in Macedonia.
(We invit eour users to access the resource here)
Women in Pakistan like their counterparts elsewhere in the world have been victims of the double oppression of class and gender.
Women in Pakistan like their counterparts elsewhere in the world have been victims of the double oppression of class and gender.
Women leaders in Parliament have called on female MPs to influence decisions on the adoption of tough policy measures to curb gender-based violence.
Before Yemen's unification and the bloody civil war that followed, women in the southern port city of Aden say they were educated professionals with rights not experienced by those in the conservative north.