Myanmar

Creating women’s wings within political parties allows women greater influence over policymaking

Nang Tin Shwe Oo is a member of the Pa’O National Organization (PNO), an ethnic political party from the Pa’O region in Myanmar’s Shan State. The PNO is one of 41 political parties in the country that has created a women’s wing with support and training through the European Union-funded ‘Support to Electoral Processes and Democracy (STEP Democracy)’ programme in Myanmar.

Across the world, people are making efforts to increase the number of women in government in order to reduce gender disparities and help ensure that the voices and concerns of women are heard.

Daw Saw Yee and Daw Ohn Shwe have many things in common, but until recently their paths had not crossed. Both in their 50s, their communities elected the two women as village tract administrators in January 2018 during the third local elections to take place since Myanmar started its transition to democracy.

Female lawmakers, in a country where women make up 52 percent of the population, account for around 10pc of the overall MPs in both the national and regional legislatures.

By Annamari T. Salonen

Based on a survey of Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Myanmar Hluttaw recognizing the need for more support and more opportunities to learn about the role and functions of the parliament, the Myanmar Hluttaw organized, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), a fiv

It is official. The decades of military-rule dictatorship are over in Myanmar.