Women in Pakistan well represented politically’

[LahoreEstate]

* Information minister says political parties fail to respond to significant barriers encountered by women vying for parliament

OXFORD: Information Minister Sherry Rehman highlighted the political progress of women in Pakistan, saying their representation in politics was higher than in some developed democracies.

Sherry was addressing the Oxford Union Society on Friday evening during a conference on the under representation of women in politics – ‘Where are all the women?’ She said although the electoral politics in Pakistan had not matured to western level, Pakistan was a good example of being the first Islamic nation to have a woman as prime minister, referring to late Benazir Bhutto.

She said Benazir, as a student at Oxford, broke new grounds in 1977 when she became the union’s first Asian female president. “It was in this bastion of democracy, as described by Benazir, where she was first introduced to great ideals of political freedom, intellectual courage and personal commitment that later shaped her mind, character and life, “ she said.

Sherry said the issue of ‘women in politics’ was very close to the martyred leader’s heart, for which she had made great contributions through her own political struggle, and eventually, her own life. Among the audience present at the occasion was Benazir’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, currently an undergraduate student at the institute. The minister said her country ranked 45th in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) list of women in national parliaments and stood ahead of several developed democracies, including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. “The political representation of women in Pakistan is higher than other South Asian countries like India, Sri Lanka and Iran ranking,” Sherry said. She said Pakistan was also one of the 30 countries in the world to have a female as parliament’s speaker.

She mentioned the political and electoral violence experienced by female candidates, particularly in developing countries, saying the starkest and most recent example was that of Benazir’s assassination. Sherry also mentioned Burmese political leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who continued her struggle for democracy and human rights in her country. “Clearly, governments still need to do a lot to find and implement effective means of addressing election violence and other forms of intimidation targeting female politicians,” she said. Sherry said there were more women in government today than ever before, but their numbers were not enough to change the public policy and resource allocation patterns, which were instrumental in bringing real benefits to the women.

Barriers: Quoting the UK-based Fawcett Society, she said political parties often failed to adequately respond to significant barriers encountered by women vying for parliament. “These barriers have been summed up as the four C’s - confidence, culture, childcare and cash. Women’s access to political parties, unsurprisingly, is often circumscribed by gender role expectations. This is especially true with respect to leadership positions, affecting women’s ability to influence or shape party platforms. They are often ghettoised as women’s vote mobilisers or women’s wing leaders,” the minister said. Stressing that women needed opportunity and mentoring, Sherry said, inclusive politics in the 21st century needed governance reforms that create incentives, skills, information and procedures for public institutions to respond to women’s needs.

She spoke of a world confronted with a number of challenges, including the spread of violent extremism, economic disparity, food and energy insecurity, and environmental stress. app

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg7_9