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Asian Center for Democratic Governance >> Strengthening Democratic Governance
A Report by the Asian Center for Democratic Governance 17 - 18 March 2002 Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Session IV - Elevating the Role of Women in Public LifeModerator: Abida HusseinYASMEEN MURSHED South Asia has had more women heads of government than any other region. Bangladesh is unique, in that women head both of our major political parties. However, unique as it may be, we are simply following the broader South Asian pattern whereby our female political leadership inherits its position from a dead male relative. So, although it may appear as if the situation for women is changing, that is not the case. The paradox for women in South Asia is that some women-those born into privileged circumstances with access to education and economic and family support-do rise to high positions in public life, in politics, commerce, the executive, education, medicine, etc. But largely, representation of women in positions of decision-making remains extremely low in proportion to their population. If we look at world averages, we see that with the exception of Nordic countries, where women form an average of 39 percent of the lower houses, the average representation of women in parliaments ranges from a low of 5 percent for women in Arab states, to 15 percent in Europe and 16 percent in the Americas. Asia is only slightly behind with 14 percent. In Bangladesh, we had an average of 11-12 percent when there were reserved seats for women. Now that reserved seats have gone, the figure has fallen extremely low. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, we have not had success with the experience of reserved seats. The provision of reserved seats for women was made in 1973 to give women access to national-level political experience, to help them develop into leaders in their own right. However, because these seats were elected by the other representatives, that is, there was indirect election to these seats, the women who did gain these seats were essentially nominated or appointed by their parties. Ultimately, these nominations were made for considerations other than their political experience. In very few cases, if any, did any of these women representatives go on to stand for election and win on their own merit. The provision of reserved seats for women lapsed in April of last year. Since then, the subject of women's quotas has been much debated. There is disagreement as to whether quotas do in fact help to bring about a greater degree of participation and representation. However women find it difficult to compete on the same terms as men because of the social and cultural context and constraints. Also, we spoke yesterday of how politics, particularly campaigning, is being increasingly dominated by the three M's-mafia, money, and mastaans. So it is becoming even more difficult for women to compete in the political environment. Where we have had notable success is at the local level of participation. And here, NGOs, grassroots organizations, and women activists have played the greatest role. There has been a significant change in the political awareness among women in Bangladesh, which has been borne out by the large numbers of women voters at elections. But the next step must be from participation in elections to participation in politics. This must be done by ensuring that women work their way up from the local or entry levels of politics, where there is greater participation, so that they may have the experience and confidence in the political arena to avoid the pitfalls of tokenism. Laws must be made nondiscriminatory for all groups of women in all areas of life. Government must facilitate women's entry into public life by providing adequate working conditions, training, and support services. The role of the political parties is undeniable, and one of the main problems is the lack of democracy within the parties. In the ultimate analysis, the representation of women in public life is a question of democracy. The lack of adequate women's representation therefore raises serious doubt about the legitimacy and validity of the decision-making process in our countries. MANEL ABEYSEKERA Before we consider the question of elevating the role of women in public life, we need to ask ourselves three basic questions:
The role of men versus women is attributed by society. Men and women are expected to behave in certain ways and perform particular roles through sex-role stereotyping. However, each culture and age describes men and women differently. The vast disparity between men and women in public life implies injustice to more than half the world's population, and this is incompatible with good governance. Men and women are equal as human beings; they must enjoy equal human rights and equal benefits and participation in decision-making. Though we talk of governance and public life, we must also look at private life. In South Asia, we have the issue of the girl-child: The discrimination she faces begins in the home, and continues in school and then in society as a whole. So to address gender disparity, we must address both public and private life. There has been debate about corruption already, and it was suggested that more women in public life would lead to a decrease in corruption. A World Bank study supports this. While in South Asia we have experience to the contrary with some of our women leaders, it is hard to judge effectively, as we do not have a situation, that is, a critical mass of women in politics, for comparison. Conflict is the other area of focus for this conference. Women are most affected in times of conflict. Many women are directly involved in conflict: In Sri Lanka, at present, we have female suicide bombers; we have women in the military in South Asia. Women also demand peace in times of conflict, yet they are never involved in the peace process or conflict resolution. Finally, we all know very well what the problems are. The challenge is to formulate time-bound, targeted action plans to achieve new paradigms of governance nationally, regionally, and globally. For this we must learn to think about women's participation and leadership in public life in a holistic manner. Narrow parameters of definition-of conflict, corruption, and public life-lead to the marginalization of women's issues. But there is no such thing: All issues are gender issues and vice versa; all rights are women's rights, which in turn are all human rights. CHITRA LEKHA YADAV There is a saying: If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. So why have we not entrusted women with public responsibility? Like the speakers before me, I do not include our women leaders, because my question is why do we not have equal participation of women in public life? After all, as citizens of a democracy, we are each of us the rulers and the ruled, the lawgivers and the law-abiders. In public or in private life, the good citizen is responsible for supporting democratic governance. Yet women's equality continues to be recognized only in theory, not in practice. Furthermore, efforts are directed only to increasing women's participation quantitively in public and political institutions, rather than increasing the qualitative aspects of their overall empowerment. For example, I come from a very rigid and backward-looking community in Nepal. As a girl, there was a very rigid demarcation line regarding where I could go, what I could do, who I could talk to, etc. This governed both my private life in the home and community as well as my public life in the larger society. I was a good student, better than my brothers, yet my grandmother would always tell me I must get married, against my own wishes. In the end, I had to prove myself better than any male; I had to come top in examinations in the whole country and attend university while having two children at the same time, in order to be in the position I am in today. My point is, that even today in Nepal, thousands of girls fail to attend school, are unable to overcome the obstacles, and are not given the chance to participate in public life. It is opportunity that makes the difference in people's lives. I am lucky that my own father was so far-sighted. However, in general, throughout the country there is democratic blindness. Let me tell you about Hindu mythology. In heaven, three main portfolios or ministries were given to women: finance ministry to goddess Laxmi, education ministry to Sarawati, and defense to Kali. That is why heaven is heaven. Do we have the courage to do the same? Can we make heaven on earth by giving these important portfolios to women? DISCUSSION » The women present felt that the conference itself was divided along gender lines. There were no women speakers talking about democracy in the first session, and only one female speaker throughout Sessions II and III. Conversely, there were no male speakers in the session about elevating women's roles. As women speaking to other women, they felt they were talking to the converted. Some felt they were being given the "soft topic" in the conference. » The organizers replied that in fact seven more women from three countries were invited to participate, at least one of them could have been in the first session, but they were unable to attend. And they stressed their belief that Session IV was certainly not a soft topic, and indeed was central to the overall aim of the conference-that is, strengthening democratic governance. » The idea of "soft ministries" was also challenged. The so-called "soft-ministries" of education and health are in fact two of the ministries most crucial to development in any part of the world. A third, very significant ministry in developing nations is that of family planning. » The region's women leaders have had little if any positive impact on the women of their countries. Millions of South Asian women live in sub-human conditions and are so far from participating in public life they are almost beyond reach of any form of governance structure. » It was felt that while political and social empowerment of women had been discussed at great length, economic empowerment had hardly been touched upon. Without this there can be no sustainable political empowerment. » Grameen Bank was mentioned as an example: 2.4 million women have borrowed Taka 15 billion, repaid Taka 14 billion, and saved Taka 9 billion. Their children are attending primary school (2.5 million), secondary school (200,000), and university (1,500). Thus, the paradigm shift that was mentioned earlier is occurring. The success of Grameen's programs has been proven to be due to the involvement of women rather than men. » The most serious problem in South Asia-poverty-can only be addressed successfully through the direct involvement of women. » However, it was noted that while micro-credit had been an enormous success in Bangladesh, by comparison, small scale enterprise and similar initiatives for women have failed in India. » The next step for these women, who have proven their credit-worthiness as institutional borrowers, is to move up-market from micro-credit to the macro-market. » Women are either associated with or directly responsible for the success of the two major economic initiatives in Bangladesh today: Grameen Bank, the largest corporate bank in the country; and the ready-made garment sector, the most dynamic industry in the country. However, this is not reflected in their political empowerment. The best way is to guarantee them directly contested elections, for example, with the permanent introduction of 150 new seats, to reflect the growth of the population. These should be reserved, for the next ten years, exclusively for women to contest (in addition to freely contesting the existing 300 seats). » The situation in India was briefly touched upon: an average of 8 percent representation of women in parliament; currently, 30 seats out of 543. Reservation was seen as a solution for representing minorities; therefore, it was also applied for women. However, they are now being seen as problematic in India. There are too many reserved seats, some argue. They result in ghettoization or tokenism, and are ultimately retrograde and anti-democratic. The political parties must make room for women by guaranteeing more party nominations. » There was further debate about reservations. They should be provided at the local entry level but not at the national level. Related to this, it was suggested that some women in the region want the position without going through the process. This mentality deters the progress of women in politics. » Finally, it was noted that religion had hardly been mentioned. But we cannot talk about women's participation in public life in South Asia without talking about the mistreatment of women in the name of religion, the misogynistic and patriarchal culture it engenders, and the obstacle it presents for women in public and private life. |
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