Press conference on women in parliament

 

An analysis of the number of women in parliament revealed that it was the developing countries, particularly those that had emerged from conflict, that were integrating more women than the older, established democracies, correspondents heard today at a Headquarters press conference upon the release by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of the latest statistics on women parliamentarians.

A look at the list of the 20 or so countries with the highest number of women parliamentarians revealed that, of those, just 10 were in Europe, the Union’s Secretary-General, Anders B. Johnsson, said.  Of those 10, nine were in northern Europe, with the only exception being Spain.  Of the remaining 10, five were in Africa, and of those five, almost without exception, all were countries that had emerged from conflict.  The remaining five included Iraq and several countries in Latin America.  There were lots of countries that prided themselves on being the old, established democracies, which, when analysed from a gender perspective, “were not democratic at all”.  For example, the United Kingdom ranked number 50, the United States, number 69, France was 85, and Italy was number 89.

Mr. Johnsson was joined by Immaculée Nahayo, Speaker of the National Assembly of Burundi, and Ingrida Udre, Speaker of the Parliament of Latvia.

Established in 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union is the global organization of Parliaments of sovereign States.  It is the focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue working for peace and cooperation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy.  Towards that goal, it fosters contacts and the exchange of experience among parliaments and parliamentarians of all countries.  Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Inter-Parliamentary Union has 149 members and is financed by its members through public funds.  One main area of activity is its “Democracy through Partnership between Men and Women”.

Mr. Johnsson said the latest statistics on women parliamentarians were usually timed to coincide with the opening of the session of the Commission on the Status of Women, whose fiftieth session began this morning in New York.  On balance, there was some good news and some-not-so-good news.  Women’s participation in political life and in parliament continued to increase.  By the end of last year, 16.3 per cent of all members of parliament were women.  That was a new record, up by almost a percentage point from the previous year.  In 2005, one out of every five persons elected to parliament was a woman.  In other words, out of all parliamentarians elected last year, 20 per cent were women.

In another record, in 20 parliaments the proportion of women was now in excess of 30 per cent, which was the target set by the Beijing Women’s Conference in 1995, he said.  Last year also saw tremendous progress in countries emerging from conflict, such as in Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq and Liberia, where women had previously been excluded or marginalized from public life.  In a historical victory last year, women were finally granted the right to vote and be elected in Kuwait.  That was a good report card, of course, but that also showed how much remained to be done to achieve true equality between men and women in politics.

He said that women accounted for roughly half the world’s population, yet they remained dramatically underrepresented in politics throughout all levels of government.  The Nordic countries remained in lead, with 40 per cent of women parliamentarians, while the Arab States were at the other end of the extreme at around 8 per cent.  Although the latter figure was rather low, it represented an incredible improvement over the couple of percentage points of women parliamentarians of just a few years ago.  The gains tended to be among a small number of high performers, and there were still places in the world where women were regarded as second class citizens, not intended to hold office.

Overall, however, there was a growing awareness and growing public debate, along with an increasing political will, he noted.  Quotas and several other proactive measures had been introduced in many countries, and momentum was also building around an international awareness.  That was being seen most significantly in countries emerging from conflict where the international community had been involved in building peace and stabilizing societies, where the international presence had helped ensure that the gender issue was on the agenda.

Drawing attention to a meeting today of women speakers of parliaments organized by Inter-Parliamentary Union on the occasion of the opening of the Women’s Commission, Mrs. Udre said the discussion would focus on gender equality in the legislative agenda and women’s role in parliament.  The first of two issues would be equality between women and men in decision-making, with a focus on how the quota system influenced women’s participation in politics.  The second session would be how women were transforming parliaments through their contributions.  It would concentrate on how the increased percentage of women in politics influenced decision-making.

In Burundi, Ms. Nahayo said, women’s traditional role had been limited to the home.  They had had no decision-making power, either within the family or in the public sphere.  The rate of women’s participation in decision-making organizations was approximately 10 per cent, but with the transitional institutions now in place, an effort had been made to strengthen women’s active participation.  Women’s participation in the legislative branch had improved slightly since 2002, both in the National Assembly and the Senate.  She, herself, was Speaker of the National Assembly, and there were two women Deputy Speakers in the Senate.  Thirty-five percent of the governors of the provinces were women, and women also headed neighbourhoods and districts.  There was still a long way to go, but Burundian women today held a special place of honour, she said.

She added that those in power had come to understand that there could be no sustainable development without taking women’s role into account.  Many women firmly wished to become involved in political life, in order to contribute to the processes of peace, security, national reconciliation and reconstruction.  They were showing courage and mobilizing their “sisters” to vote and be elected.  Burundian women also had the support of the international community, which was creating awareness through workshops and conferences to ensure that the gender perspective was taken into account.  She thanked the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations for motivating that process.  Positive work had also been done by the media and civil society, all of which had led to change in women’s status in her country.

Replying to a question, Mrs. Udre could not say exactly how many Russian women were in parliament in Latvia, but approximately 16 per cent of the parliament overall was Russian.  Russian-speaking minorities in Latvia were not just Russians but people who spoke the Russian language in their daily lives.  So, 25 per cent of the representatives were elected mainly by Russian-speaking people, and in that political group, they had not managed to elect a single woman, although women were represented in Latvia’s parliament, she explained.

The situation was pretty much the same in Estonia and Lithuania, she replied to a follow-up question.

As an institution, Mr. Johnsson explained, the Inter-Parliamentary Union was active in all parts of the world, and that included in the Gulf States, he replied to another question.  For example, the Union was presently organizing a training seminar for women in Bahrain, which would take place later this year.  And, it was talking with the Kuwaiti authorities to organize something similar there in April.  He expected to assist the candidates in a practical way there as well, he added.

Asked why women were least represented in the Arab States and the Pacific island States -- two totally different regions -- he said that in several Pacific island countries, it was a “very male society” in which women were not permitted to take part in running the country, or business and so forth.  That had to do with the countries’ traditions and customs.  That was also true in the Gulf States, due to different cultures and traditions and histories.  In Saudi Arabia, for example, the Inter-Parliamentary Union had promoted the view that women should have a much more prominent part in politics and parliaments.  For a few years, it had been holding hearings with parliamentary delegations from countries where women were not entitled to stand for elections or vote.  It had held such hearings in Kuwait, where members of parliament had been able to support institutional change.  The Inter-Parliamentary Union was seeking to establish a timetable where the inevitable change would have to take place.

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For information media • not an official record