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.
SPEAKER Wade Mark yesterday called for the enforcement of legislation to curb instances of violence against women.
New legislation supporting gender equality in the workplace has passed through the both houses of Federal Parliament.
Malaysian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a ban on sexist remarks in parliament after a number of cases in which male MPs in the mostly Muslim country have drawn anger with their comments on the floor.
Democracy can legitimize itself in the true sense of the word and spirit only through equal political representation of women.
n next month's general election, politicians — nearly all of them men — will make promises on what they will do to fix the economic morass, but very few of them will mention the role of women in the workforce.
There must be more women in the Knesset, the cabinet, and near the top of the Likud’s Knesset list, Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat said on Thursday, three days ahead of Likud’s primary.
Papua New Guinea’s three women MPs have ruled out supporting legislation for reserved seats for women.
And a prominent supporter of the legislation says the debate over women’s seats may have served its purpose.
Megan Whelan has more.
A gender parity advocate group, Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), has mounted a vigorous campaign for women parliamentary aspirants in the Central Region, urging the electorate in the area to vote massively for women to represent them in Parliament.