Quotas

Despite some gains, female politicians face an uphill battle in reaching the country’s 30% quota.

Women’s participation in Somali politics has traditionally been low, and a controversial topic in the country. Somali society typically ascribes to more conservative notions of a woman’s role in family and community life, rarely envisioning a position of political leadership in a male-dominated system. This has been changing, but there’s a long road ahead.

Gender quotas should be introduced next year for the local elections, the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) has said.

Just 21 per cent of local councillors are women and it would take another 200 years to achieve gender parity at the current rate, NWCI director Orla O’Connor told the Parnell Summer School in Avondale, Co Wicklow.

“When a woman enters politics, it changes her. When many women do, it is politics that changes.” So said Florentina Gómez Miranda, a former Argentine congresswoman. Despite its macho reputation, or perhaps because of it, Latin America is unusually keen on quotas for female political candidates. In 1991 Argentina became the world’s first country to require parties to nominate women in a minimum fraction of races. Today, of the 18 Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking countries in the Americas, 17 have a version of this policy.

There is a real risk by political parties to undermine the spirit behind the women's quota system which is provided for in the Constitution aimed at empowering women by reserving 60 National Assembly seats for them.

Political parties should be required to publish details of their election candidates by gender to highlight the "shameful" gap in numbers between men and women, campaigners are arguing.

The Centenary Action Group, which wants equal representation in Parliament, said a lack of information meant it was harder to hold parties to account.

They say ministers are able to force compliance under the 2010 Equality Act.

As African countries push for respect and promotion of gender equality, political will is key to accelerate attainment of gender equality on the continent.

The remarks were made Thursday by Donatille Mukabalisa, the Speaker of Parliament, while officiating at a gender conference in Kigali held under the theme, "Changing dynamics and accelerating Progress". It brought together over 200 delegates from across the continent.