Kazakh government commits to gender quotas, mandatory 30 percent women in politics
Source: Astana Times
On May 25, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the law titled “Amendments to the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” “Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and the law on “Amendments and Additions to the Law on Political Parties in the Republic of Kazakhstan”. The laws are of particular importance for the county’s political life and will serve to further develop Kazakhstan’s multi-party system. This latest political effort was taken to facilitate the process of creation and registration of new political parties and to lower registration hurdles for their creation. The laws also provide additional opportunities for the youth and and for women to take an active role in politics.
Major steps towards political progressivism that took into account gender aspects were first taken in Kazakhstan in the midst of the severe demographic crisis of the 90s.
The 1998 President’s State of the Union address stressed that one of the most fundamental steps necessary to democratize and liberalize Kazakhstan was to actively promote an agenda aimed at helping women achieve greater participation in the country’s social, economic and political processes. First President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, firmly stated his intentions to increase the role of the Council on Family, Women and Demographic Policy in politics and make it the main adviser on solving acute problems in this area such as increasing the representation of women in positions of power, combating violence against women and state-encouraged promotion of businesses run by women. The policy of promoting gender quotas in politics and society have since then only been strengthened.
The results can be seen in a wide spectrum of issues facing Kazakh society such as the introduction of gender issue questions in national surveys, conducting basic and applied research on said gender issues and annual meetings of the head of state with female activists. The main thrust of this stunning and brave new Kazakh policy is in the area of making room for the representation of women in governmental institutions and politics through affirmative action gender quotas.
Click here to read the full article published by Astana Times on 26 May 2020.
On May 25, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the law titled “Amendments to the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” “Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and the law on “Amendments and Additions to the Law on Political Parties in the Republic of Kazakhstan”. The laws are of particular importance for the county’s political life and will serve to further develop Kazakhstan’s multi-party system. This latest political effort was taken to facilitate the process of creation and registration of new political parties and to lower registration hurdles for their creation. The laws also provide additional opportunities for the youth and and for women to take an active role in politics.
Major steps towards political progressivism that took into account gender aspects were first taken in Kazakhstan in the midst of the severe demographic crisis of the 90s.
The 1998 President’s State of the Union address stressed that one of the most fundamental steps necessary to democratize and liberalize Kazakhstan was to actively promote an agenda aimed at helping women achieve greater participation in the country’s social, economic and political processes. First President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, firmly stated his intentions to increase the role of the Council on Family, Women and Demographic Policy in politics and make it the main adviser on solving acute problems in this area such as increasing the representation of women in positions of power, combating violence against women and state-encouraged promotion of businesses run by women. The policy of promoting gender quotas in politics and society have since then only been strengthened.
The results can be seen in a wide spectrum of issues facing Kazakh society such as the introduction of gender issue questions in national surveys, conducting basic and applied research on said gender issues and annual meetings of the head of state with female activists. The main thrust of this stunning and brave new Kazakh policy is in the area of making room for the representation of women in governmental institutions and politics through affirmative action gender quotas.
Click here to read the full article published by Astana Times on 26 May 2020.