Women worldwide want more parliament seats

(October 08, 2012) The annual meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament held in the Indian capital last week resolved to work towards increasing women’s representation in legislatures and other elected bodies around the world. The two-day meeting of the world’s female parliamentary speakers in New Delhi, which ended on Thursday, focused on “Gender Sensitive Parliaments.” Speakers from six African nations were among 12 women presiding officers in the 7th Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament, which was also attended by Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, the United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women and girls. The resulting “New Delhi Declaration” adopted pledged to ensure “supportive electoral laws and temporary special measures” such as reservation initiatives taking place in India to encourage more participation of women in elected bodies. India is proposing a 33 percent allocation for women in the national parliament and state legislatures. It has already introduced quotas on village councils. This and the move towards quotas at national level was praised by Bachelet in her speech at the opening session. She said village quotas had brought a sharp increase in local women leaders and that the “world was awaiting” what will happen at national level. The Women Reservation Bill for parliament and state legislatures was passed in 2010 by India’s Upper House but has yet to pass through the Lower House. “Quotas have spurred one of the greatest successes globally in women’s empowerment and grassroots democracy in India,” Bachelet noted.
Globally, there is only one woman lawmaker for every four men according to the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), one of the chief organizers of the meeting. “There has been a sea change in the last 15 years both for India and across the globe. However, it is not up to the mark,” IPU secretary-general Anders B. Johnsson said. Currently, only 37 women preside over one of the houses of the world’s 190 parliaments.