Women representation in parliaments in Africa is unlikely to increase as per the international requirements, former Ugandan minister for ethics and integrity Miria Matembe said on Wednesday.
Addressing a regional dialogue on women political leadership in Nairobi, Matembe said most governments are busy opening space for women but ends up ensuring that women of their choice that helps them maintain status quo are elected.
“It is pointless to have high percentage of women in parliament if they are unable to represent the views of women in rural areas simply because they collude with male political leaders,” he added.
Rwanda leads African countries with percentage of women representation in parliament with 56 percent, while South Africa at 44 percent, Tanzania has 36 percent, Uganda 35 percent, Burundi at 30.5 percent and Ethiopia at 27.8 percent.
Kenya, which is the leading economic powerhouse in the region with a national budget of 12 billion U.S. dollars, lags behind at 9.9 percent. Out of the 222 elected parliamentarians, 22 are women.
Read more at Coast Week, published 17-23 August 2012.
Women representation in parliaments in Africa is unlikely to increase as per the international requirements, former Ugandan minister for ethics and integrity Miria Matembe said on Wednesday.
Addressing a regional dialogue on women political leadership in Nairobi, Matembe said most governments are busy opening space for women but ends up ensuring that women of their choice that helps them maintain status quo are elected.
“It is pointless to have high percentage of women in parliament if they are unable to represent the views of women in rural areas simply because they collude with male political leaders,” he added.
Rwanda leads African countries with percentage of women representation in parliament with 56 percent, while South Africa at 44 percent, Tanzania has 36 percent, Uganda 35 percent, Burundi at 30.5 percent and Ethiopia at 27.8 percent.
Kenya, which is the leading economic powerhouse in the region with a national budget of 12 billion U.S. dollars, lags behind at 9.9 percent. Out of the 222 elected parliamentarians, 22 are women.
Read more at Coast Week, published 17-23 August 2012.