A little more than two weeks before Iraq’s provincial elections, there is widening anger that the published version of the election law has only a weak provision to set aside seats for women.
The General Elections Commission said on Monday that now that it has the government’s support, it plans to stand firm on its proposal that a government regulation-in-lieu-of law be issued to ensure that a minimum number of women are elected in the national legislative elections on April 9.
“While the quota is a major step forward, changing the situation of Mauritanian women is still a slow process because their colleagues discourage them from leading on issues,” Aminettou Mint Ely, head of the local non-governmental organisation (NGO) Association of Women (AFCF) told IRIN.
Women MPs have condemned the absence of females from the list of new ambassadors and from a top-level team named to streamline the affairs of the Grand Coalition Government.
Women councilors on Wednesday announced that they would hold a protest in front of the Parliament House on March 8, the World Women Day, to demand increase in their seats in local, provincial and national assemblies.
Veteran politician Aleke Banda has said the country needs to consider changing the present electoral system to adopt a mechanism where 50/50 representation of women and men in decision making positions can be attained.
Candidatures for the "PACE Gender Equality Prize" may now be submitted until 1 June 2009, following extension of the deadline by the Committee.
Women candidates are facing an uphill struggle in Saturday's provincial elections in strongly conservative Muslim Iraq.
Under pressure from the women groups and activists, the Electoral Commission, or KPU, has proposed to issue its own regulation enabling a quota system to ensure that one in every three elected lawmakers — as opposed to candidates — be a woman, since hopes that the government might issue an emerge