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WOMEN IN POLITICS DANISH INSTITUTE FOR PARTIES AND DEMOCRACY PAGE 1

DANISH INSTITUTE FORPARTIES AND DEMOCRACY

A CHRISTIANSBORG SEMINAR 2012 BACKGROUND PAPER

WOMEN IN POLITICSDIVERSITY AND EQUALITY FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE

The vision of the Danish Institute for Parties and

Democracy is to contribute to the development of well functioning political parties

and multiparty systems in a democratic culture, in support of the aspirations for freedom and human

development of citizens in developing countries.


DANISH INSTITUTE FOR PARTIES AND DEMOCRACY

WOMEN IN POLITICSDIVERSITY AND EQUALITY

FOR A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE

A CHRISTIANSBORG SEMINAR BACKGROUND PAPER

ABOUT THE COVER PHOTOWomen actively participate in a sweep campaign before local elections in Bihar state of India. Organized

by UN Women’s partner, The Hunger Project, the campaigns motivate other women to fearlessly stand for elections despite the risk of violence or oppositions. These campaigns also educate them

about rules and procedures to file candidatures.(Photo: UN Women/Ashutosh Negi)


DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY MATTERS!Searching for ideas and practices that can inspire change

This background document is not about the statistics on women in politics, because

we already know the situation too well. As stated in the Millennium Development

Goals Report 2011 from the United Nations:

“Despite growing numbers of women parliamentarians, the target of equal partici-

pation of women and men in politics is still far off.”

Progress is clearly slow, indeed frustratingly slow. Only 26 countries worldwide

have managed to achieve the 30 per cent target for women in decision-making posi-

tions set by the Beijing Platform adopted in 1995. Globally we have still not been able

to climb above 20 per cent. When we dig deeper into the different dimensions like

top leadership positions in parties and cabinets at national level, ministerial posts, or

heads of municipal councils, the picture just gets even more depressing.

So despite some progress, the reality we live in continues to be one of discrimina-

tion against women, in law as well as in practice, resulting in both equality and diver-

sity suffering.

Denmark is doing better than most countries in this area. As suggested in the last

article of the background document, maybe the secret is that sustainable equal status

development has been rooted in a combination of top-down and bottom-up politics.

The state pushed equality through legislation, but making it a living and vibrant rea-

lity required the hard and persistent work of various civil society organisations, as well

as strong individuals.

In a sense this is not a new recognition, but rather a general recipe for change or

development. But it is nevertheless important to remember when we search for ideas

and practices that can inspire change. Both sides are important; each side needs the

other.

This is different from stating that every country should now copy what Denmark

has done. We know that this is not possible. While recognising that principles of diver-

sity and equality are important dimensions of a democratic culture, we must accept

and understand that they have to be managed and practiced in different cultural, reli-

gious, social and political settings.

The Christiansborg Seminar is therefore not driven by a search for the ‘one-size-fits-

all’ magic bullet, but rather for ideas and experiences from our global village, which can

inspire all of us in our different localities.


Of course this search will also build on all the wealth of knowledge others have al-

ready accumulated. The journey we have travelled so far indicates that many different

areas need to be dealt with in a strategic manner to ensure progress: Equal constitu-

tional rights for women and men need to be included; different electoral systems can

offer different avenues; the use of quotas or reserved seats for women can be conside-

red; the role of party rules for recruitment procedures should not be underestimated;

capacity development to strengthen skills and resources of women is needed; and re-

form of the rules and internal procedures within parliament may also be helpful.

Changes in institutional structures and regulations are often possible in the short-

term. But history tells us – including the successful Danish history – that egalitarian

attitudes towards women and men, improvements in human development, and soci-

etal modernisation are long-term undertakings. After all, it took Denmark around 150

years to reach the present 40 per cent level of women parliamentarians and see the

first woman become Prime Minister! Maybe other countries can reach this level more

quickly.

At the end of the Christiansborg Seminar 2012, we hope to be able to adopt a state-

ment on principles, ideas and practices that can inspire our work on support for women

in politics.

This will of course not be a legal document, but rather a commitment by the Da-

nish Institute for Parties and Democracy to follow these principles when we engage

with our partners, both in the area of party-to-party partnerships and in the area of

multi-party partnerships. At the general level this is already codified in our strategy

for 2011-2013 “Political Parties in a Democratic Culture”, but we hope that the ideas and

practices presented in the seminar will make it possible for us to deliver more effec-

tively than is the case today.

We believe that this is important and necessary as an end in itself. But it is also im-

portant and necessary because the empowerment of young women in politics, women

engaging in politics at the local level, as well as women in politics in countries under-

going some form of transition contribute to the overall strengthening of democracy.

Bjørn Førde, Director


9 Young women in politics FROM HOUSEHOLD LEVEL TO NATIONAL POLITICS

23 Women in local level politics SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

37 Women in transition countries STRUGGLING FOR THEIR FAIR SHARE OF OPPORTUNITIES

45 Gender and democracy DANISH DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN A GENDER PERSPECTIVE

57 Networks and toolkits SOME RESOURCES THAN CAN INSPIRE YOUR WORK

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE PHOTOA woman in traditional dress peaks out from behind a Bolivian flag while listening to Bolivian

Presidential Candidate Evo Morales speak at a rally December 13, 2005 in the capital La Paz(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images).


YOUNG WOMEN IN POLITICSFrom household level to national politicsBY MARYSE HELBERT, AUSTRALIA

The aim of this background paper is to offer recommendations as to how to increase the participation of young women in politics through party assistance, based on an analysis of positive and negative experi-ences from around the world.

They will show how these experiences attempt to answer the tri-ple challenge that political parties are facing in engaging more young women in politics.

Indeed, there is an overall decline in political participation and en-gagement among voters and members in political parties generally. Additionally, women overall have experienced difficulty in fully par-ticipating in politics due to structural constraints. And lastly, research shows that young people tend to be more interested in informal politi-cal action rather than formal political participation.

Getting more young women into politics can only be achieved if ac-tion is being taken from the household level right through to national politics.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maryse Helbert has been an advocate for, and researcher on, women’s participation in politics and decision-making for over a decade. After completing a Master’s thesis on the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the French and Finnish political systems in encouraging and increa-sing women’s political participation, she became actively involved in the movement to institute the so-called ‘Parity Law’ in France (1999-2000). She has since broadened her research to include women’s involvement in decision-making processes related to development, specifically in the context of resource exploitation and climate change, where evidence shows that women are being sidelined.

ABOUT THE PHOTO

Excited supporters of the Peace, Unity and Development Party (KULMIYE) during an election rally in the city of Hargeisa, Somaliland. (Photo by Petterik Wiggers/Panos Pictures).

WOMEN IN POLITICS DANISH INSTITUTE FOR PARTIES AND DEMOCRACY PAGE 11WOMEN IN POLITICS DANISH INSTITUTE FOR PARTIES AND DEMOCRACY PAGE 10

INTRODUCTIONDefining young women is the first task. Typically, being young falls within the ages of

0 and 30. However, when talking about the right to vote, it is generally at the age of 18

that young people attain that right. A third pertinent point may be put forward when

talking about an interest in politics. While it is from 18 years of age that most countries

allow the right to vote, politics can be a subject of interest for those who have yet to

reach the legal voting age.

In the current political scene, political parties play a central role in the governance

of modern democracies as they are the bridge between civil society and government.

As such, any decline in their voluntary base can be seen as a source of weakening the

weight of civil society in the democratic debate. So the recruit of members is in some

ways a way to promote a healthy democracy.

Additionally, if political parties are bridges between citizens and the state, the

more diverse the citizens are within political parties, the more strength the democ-

racy has. To be diverse, political parties need to reach out to young women. If political

parties are the gatekeepers to women’s advancement to power, and as the UN Conven-

tion of the Rights of the Child recognises the right of children and young people to be

involved in decision-making (1989), this is a strong case for political parties to reach

out and promote more young women to be actively involved in politics.

This paper will first review the triple challenge that political parties have to grasp

in order to get more young women into politics; positive and negative experiences

will highlight how political parties answer the triple challenge; and lastly, recommen-

dations will be made.

AN OVERALL DECLINE OF ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION AND PARTY PARTICIPATIONInternational literature on political participation shows that there is an overall de-

cline in electoral participation and also in the participation in political parties. Over-

all, since the mid-1980s, there is a notable decline in voter turnout except in countries

that enjoy some form of compulsory voting. Five of the top seven countries with the

highest voter turnout – Australia, Nauru, Singapore, Belgium, and Liechtenstein – en-

force compulsory voting laws.

The voter turnout decline runs parallel with the membership of political parties.

Whiteley sees in the decline the increasingly closer relationship between political par-

ties and the state. This, in turn, has converted active members into ‘unpaid state bu-

reaucrats’ due to increased regulation and control.

The increasingly close relationship between political parties and the state means

that there is ‘little incentive to recruit or retain members for financial reasons’ as po-

“We know that the guys have their own networks, even in equal societies, there are

associations that have existed for hundreds of years and they still do not let us women in. We need to have

our own networks supporting each other.”

ASTRID THORS

MP OF THE PARLIAMENT OF FINLAND AND FORMER MINISTER OF IMMIGRATION AND EUROPEAN AFFAIRS


litical parties ‘rely on the state to fund their activities’.1 In other words, it could be said

that while there is an overall decline in political engagement, there is also an overall

lack of interest in engaging new, active members in political parties.

THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING MORE WOMEN INTO POLITICSThe challenge of the overall decline of membership numbers is reinforced by the his-

torical challenges women have had in getting a fair share of the political scene. Young

women may be facing the same daunting challenges. Any move in getting more young

women into political parties will need to have an understanding of these challenges.

Only since the beginning of the 20th century did women start to have the right to

vote. For some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, women will have the right to vote and

to run for municipal election only in 2015. Switzerland gave women the right to vote

in the 1990s.

Explanations justifying not giving women the right to vote include: Women were

not interested in politics; it is impossible to find women who want to run for elec-

tions; and women would vote as their priest directed. In some countries active politi-

cal policies had to be put in place in order to promote the greater inclusion of women

in decision-making positions.

Nowadays, few countries have reached equality in political representation and

while quotas have been implemented in political parties or for decision-making posi-

tions, ‘its significant effect in having the inclusion of women on candidate lists ulti-

mately depends on the political will of the parties and effective enforcement of the

law’.2

Overall, women still constitute only 19.6 per cent of the members of parliament

around the world. Men have historically dominated parties despite women making

great strides in recent decades. For the most part, the structural constraints women

have to face if they wish for a political career are the same within political parties. And

while there may be many women at the base, there are very few at the top. As power

increases, the number of women decreases.

In the seven countries for which data was available, 51 per cent of active party

members were women, of which generally only 16 per cent of party presidents or

secretaries were women. Men commonly hold the most senior or powerful positions

(president, secretary general, economic secretary, programming secretary, etc.). Wom-

en tend to occupy less influential positions such as minutes secretary, archivist, or

director of training or culture.

This lack of political representation within political parties is due to its ‘highly

gendered institutions that incorporated women on a different basis from men and

in ways that impeded their access to leadership positions’. 3 So it is a challenging and

daunting task facing young women indeed.

THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING MORE YOUNG PEOPLE INTO POLITICSAs for women in politics, the challenges for young people in politics are just as harsh.

For example, while 65% of the African population are under 35, the parliament of the

different countries of the whole continent do not meet the challenges in matters of

political representation of such a young population. Political parties have historically

ignored young people and young people’s interests despite being, on a world scale,

half of the population. And while it is hard for young men to attain real opportunities

to reach decision-making positions within political organisations, it is even harder for

young women.

1 Whiteley, 2011, 22

2 International IDEA, 2012, 11-12

3 International IDEA, 2005, 115


There are two opposite trends regarding young people and political parties. One

is that the academic world has not considered young people and politics as a key re-

search topic, and political parties have not considered young people as an issue of con-

cern within their party. On the other hand, it seems that young people have different

interests in politics than their elders.

There is an overall understanding that there is a dramatic decline in the political

involvement of younger generations, and decreasing levels of youth participation in

elections, political parties and traditional social organisations. Research shows that

generally, young people conceptualise politics differently, ‘seeing it as an arena for the

older generation, and not linked directly to their own lives’.4

They also have a broad mistrust of political parties. Research also shows that, over-

all, young people who are not involved in politics have the feeling that political parties

are not addressing their interests and they feel powerless in relation to the political

system. They simply believe that they can’t have an impact. And even if they are mem-

bers of political parties, they cannot see themselves playing important roles or being

leaders in these parties.

In some countries, a two-party system seems to deter the political interests of

young people as they feel they have a lack of alternatives. It is worth noting that one

of the reasons the Greens party overall attracts more young members than the tra-

ditional political parties is that the Greens party agenda tends to be much closer to

young people’s political concerns.

There are two voices in conceptualising the decline of young people’s political

interests. Some see the decline in interest in politics as a reflection of the increased

individualism within the population. Indeed, some argue that the lack of interest in a

formal model of political engagement is due to the new era of neoliberal discourse to

which young people have been submitted.

The neoliberal discourse has in some ways shifted interest from society to the

individual. Members of the younger generation would be primarily interested only in

themselves. Ward suggests that the new form of political engagement could be con-

ceptualised as political consumerism, whereby citizens would consume politics as

consumers would consume goods.

While the pessimistic voices see the increased individualism of society and the

consumption of politics as a threat to the future of democracy, the optimistic voices

look rather at the wide variety of political actions, formal and informal, which have

emerged over the last two decades and point the finger at the political parties not be-

4 Ann and Shuib, 2011, 175

“We are not going to be able to solve the gender problem in our political parties without the

support of men within the women’s committee. We have been missing that kind of strategy

as women in Kenya.”

MRS PENINAH MWASHEWA

NATIONAL LABOUR PARTY, KENYA


ing able to keep up with and ‘being disconnected from young people’. 5

Indeed, the optimistic voices do not see any threat to the future of democracy but

rather a revival and a renewal of democracy due to the diversity of political action that

the political parties have to grapple with. These informal political actions create new

modes of expression and participation that seem to appeal to young people. The new

modes would be elite challenging forms of participation. They would, for instance,

focus on single issues or what Norris calls a ‘cause-oriented style of politics’ 6, or what

Giddens calls lifestyle politics. Others mention other forms such as the rise of net-

works, issue associations and lifestyle coalitions.

Overall, the combined optimistic and pessimistic voices would point to an inad-

equacy of traditional democratic arrangements for contemporary youth.

Beyond the two voices conceptualising young people’s attitudes and behaviours

towards politics there are factors that determine their engagement. Major research

in the USA shows that those who get involved in the new/informal forms of political

engagement are those who are also more likely to get involved in formal forms of po-

litical engagement. In other words, young people who show political apathy in getting

involved in formal political actions are also impossible to reach through other means

of political action.

Indeed, factors which determine political engagement are linked to education and

overall social status and social economic background. The higher the education, the

higher the political involvement of the parents, and the higher the social econom-

ic background of the parents, the more likely young people will engage in politics,

whether formal or informal.

Other factors would be the multiple challenges young people have to face nowa-

days which may have an impact on their political attitudes and behaviour. Young peo-

ple ‘have to cope with dynamic social conditions during their transition to adulthood,

which confront them with increasing demands for flexibility on the labour market,

with self-reliance concerning welfare security, and with demands for increasing activ-

ity with respect to participation in the democratic process’. 7

Although the political engagement of young women is not weaker than that of

men, it is nonetheless different. Young women tend to be less involved in formal pol-

itics and more involved in the informal ‘civic form of engagement’, such as social-

movement-oriented activities, that are for instance voluntary work, collecting money,

and collecting signatures, and it seems also that ‘youth participation in politics using

the new technology continues to be structured by gender’ in the same way. 8

There are varying factors to explain the difference. Due to the burden of duties

such as caring commitments, household domestic duties, but also the requirement

of the full participation in the workplace which involves working long hours, young

women would lack opportunities and resources to fully engage in formal politics. In

fact, a parallel could be made between women having a late entrance in professional

careers due to their other domestic/caring commitments and women entering the

political scene late for the same reasons. However, they are nonetheless a huge politi-

cal force.

Another factor that could contribute to explaining the difference of interest in

politics is women’s socialisation. Women’s political socialisation is ‘understood here

as the process whereby they internalise the view that politics is a man’s world’.9 A study

of junior high school students found a significant gender gap in political interest in

the United States. Boys had more interest in politics and boys and girls did perceive

politics as something that held greater interest for boys. Except for Finland where

5 Carnegie UK Trust, 2008b, 14

6 in, Odegard and Berglund, 2008, 594

7 Gaiser and Rijke, 2008, 542

8 Cicognani et al., 2012, 562

9 Gidengil et al., 2010, 335


adolescent girls envisioned themselves as being more politically active as adults and

more skilled about politics than the boys, research shows that young women tend to

silence their engagement and knowledge in politics.

The perception that politics is a man’s world can be mitigated however if there is

the presence of female role models. Role models outside and inside the family circle

increase the likelihood of political activity. Additionally, if one parent is involved in a

political party, it is more likely that the offspring will also be. And, last but not least,

having a mother actively politically involved has a particular impact on their daugh-

ters’ political involvement.

Researchers of young women’s political involvement emphasise the mother role

model effect and say that it is not confined to the elite level. The internal functioning

and culture of political parties would also be another constraint to women’s com-

mitment. Internal functioning, such as the way meetings are organised, the deci-

sion-making process, the formality of the decision-making process, the formality of

speaking in front of other members, deter young women’s full engagement in poli-

tics.

INCREASING YOUNG PEOPLE’S POLITICAL INTERESTS: THE CASE OF NEW ZEALAND 10

In research undertaken on how to reach out to young people, the advice is as follows:

Keep it simple, keep it positive, keep it relevant, keep it real, leave the script at home,

hold onto your values and ask young people to participate.

In the face of an overall decline of young people’s political engagement and in-

terest, and the overall perception as being powerless to promote their particular in-

terests, the Auckland City Youth Council initiative is very interesting.

Created in 1984, the Auckland City Youth Council ‘enables young people to learn

about their community, their city and their local government’. It was made up of

up to 25 young people, aged between 12 and 24 years, whose role was to advocate

on behalf of young people. It was an advisory board. Youth council members were

self-nominating and were accepted provided they attended the induction. As New

Zealand overall and Auckland in particular are characterised by a young population

which is diverse in culture, identity and experiences. Despite principles at the heart

of a youth council promoting youth participation which needed to be meaningful,

connected to wider decision-making and occurring in ways that young people have

control over’, the first stage of the youth council showed that having a youth coun-

cil did not guarantee youth participation, voice and power in decision-making pro-

cesses.

After 15 years of existence, the youth council achievement was a source of disap-

pointment. There was an overall perception that high achieving young people were

overrepresented on the youth council. Additionally, the formal structure of the com-

mittee meetings, such as speaking through a microphone, making formal resolu-

tions and requesting to speak through the chairperson, seems to deter young people

from voicing their issues or engaging in robust discussion and debate.

Following a thorough review and structural changes, in 2010, a new structure

had achieved a better representation of its local communities. Not only were issues

debated in a better environment within the council but also with young people out-

side the council. The youth council had also increased its capacity to run effective

projects, such as implementing a regional youth council.

The success of the Auckland Youth Council in 2010 is due to the quality of the re-

lationships that have been built between the council, the community and the wider

10 Finlay, 2010, 53-59


youth population. Overall, it could be concluded that the success of this initiative is

linked to enabling young people to have a strong voice that leads to action and to

provide a space for young people to be heard in civic affairs and in informing policy

development.

What is critical to its success is that young people have been put ‘at the centre of

a process created for them that allows flexibility and ownership over their participa-

tion’ in civic affairs. Following the initiative in Auckland, it can be shown that political

parties have to find a more fertile strategy to reach young people and one way to do

that is to build bridges between such youth councils and their own structure.

ENHANCING YOUNG PEOPLE’S POLITICAL INTEREST: AGORA DEMOCRATICA11

Another initiative to try to reach out to young people is happening in Ecuador and

Columbia. Organised with the cooperation of International IDEA and NIMD, this ini-

tiative aims at reaching young people in order to enhance their political engagement.

The first phase of its program is a series of 12 workshops that take place on the

regional level in Ecuador and that aim to raise the consciousness among young people

of their rights and of being aware of the barriers that prevent them from participating

in politics.

This initiative is associated with an interactive website called ‘activate’, where

young people can interact and learn about Ecuador’s state institutions and ways to

participate. The last phase of the initiative is to offer training, especially for young

talented political representatives in political marketing. Part of this initiative specifi-

cally targets young women.

REACHING YOUNG PEOPLE WHERE THEY AREAs a move to reach out to young people, and especially young women, in 2012 the

South Australia government gave a grant to a young women’s group. This grant will

be used for further developing the group’s website, connecting to other social groups,

training members to manage and update their website and to instruct others on how

to set up a website. This initiative, which has not yet been evaluated, is a really good

attempt to reach young people where they are and through tools which are of interest

to young people.

While attempts to reach young women are always welcome, particular attention

has to be paid to the message and the content. In 1999 the Greens party in the town

of Fremantle in the state of Western Australia put in place a new initiative particu-

larly targeting young women. The local women’s wing put into place a political man-

date and used its network to reach out to local young women who wanted to run for

election. Criticism, such as the complexity of the message and the lack of ownership

regarding the content of the political mandate, was raised in explanation as to the

failure of the initiative.

11 Source: Lizzie Beekman, political advisor, NIMD

“Having a youth council does not guarantee youth participation, voice and

power in decision-making.”


WOMEN’S ORGANISATION UNITS IN PARTIESWhile many political parties claim to have institutionalised structures for women in

their party rules and procedures, most of them do not get support from their parties

and they are merely used as a symbolic function as they do not have a clear man-

date or resources for action. In these units, women’s political participation is limited

to support tasks, mobilisation and logistics. A specific mandate of the women’s unit

must be promoted in order to be used as an active arm of the political party, mobilis-

ing women voters and providing logistical support – especially during campaigns.

Two major papers, one by the UN and the other by International IDEA, have set up

the groundwork on what has to be done within political parties in order to make them

more women friendly.

The first one, Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties, and the second,

Gender and Political Parties: Far from Parity, develop the basic principles at every

stage of political party life to meaningfully include young women. It is a good practice

guide with recommendations. It talks about the internal party organisation and what

to do before, during and after the electoral period.

The women’s units’ role should be promoting gender equality and monitoring

party commitments to gender equality, advising the party on gender policies and edu-

cating party members on the importance of these issues, and organising women polit-

ically from the standpoint of equal rights and opportunities that should be extended

to promote young women and young women’s interests and specific situations.

POLITICAL PARTY STRUCTURE AND YOUNG PEOPLE 12

A report conducted by the NIMD shows how the organisation of political parties is

crucial in integrating young people. In this report Gideon compares the organisation

of political parties in Ghana and Kenya.

He finds out that overall, while all political parties had a youth wing, the political

culture of the Kenyan political parties impedes opportunities for young people as it

was based to a large extent on network patronage. For young people who are less reli-

ant on networks, it means they have to make their way in the political party outside

the traditional system of party patronage, which makes it very difficult.

Cooperation between young people in the Netherlands and Mali shows how cru-

cial the commitment of the (older) political establishment is to ensure young peo-

ple stand a fair chance in being elected to representative bodies. Sharing experiences,

ideas and best practices was useful in order to pinpoint common gridlocks in getting

actively involved in political parties.

THE JOINT YOUTH AND STUDENTS’ PLATFORM13

DemoFinland carried out a small-scale study on women’s role in Nepalese youth

politics and in the Joint Youth and Students’ Platform. The Joint Youth and Students’

Platform aims at enhancing young people’s political empowerment and constructive

12 http://www.nimd.org/news/1775/gideon-chitanga-on-youth-participation-in-ghana-and-kenya

13 DemoFinland/Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, 2007.

“A male political culture created barriers to women’s advancement

towards high positions.”


dialogue across party lines. It also brings together nineteen political youth and stu-

dent organisations from different backgrounds. It aims, among other things, to enable

capacity building of the youth and student wings of political parties.

The small-scale study on women’s role in Nepalese youth politics and in the work

of the platform clearly showed that Nepalese society still relies strongly on patriarchal

values and these were reflected in the political parties overall and in the scheduling of

youth activities particularly. Political parties were dominated by a male political cul-

ture and it created barriers to women’s advancement towards high positions.

In the interviews, young females felt that gender quotas had substantially im-

proved their political participation even in the Joint Youth and Students’ Platform. A

common wish was that the quotas would be extended to the decision-making level so

that women could be involved on the top level. DemoFinland has also organised a suc-

cessful exchange about experiences between women’s units in Ghana and Tanzania.

Similarly, NIMD has organised discussions between youth units of different coun-

tries, regions and political parties in order to share knowledge about difficulties for

young people in being meaningfully included in political parties. Initiatives such as

Suriname and The Netherlands youth wing, the Bolivian partner program (FBDN), The

Youth Commission of the Permanent Forum of Political Parties in Guatemala, were

implemented to increase knowledge among young people.

THE AUSTRALIAN ‘NEXT GENERATION’ INITIATIVE14

Following a call from its members to increase young women’s political en-gagement

in decision-making positions, the Labor Party in Australia has put in place the ‘Next

Generation’ initiative. This initiative aims at giving real-life experiences of political

action to young women. The program consists of two streams: a residential program

and placement in a campaign.

The residential program aims at placing young women with women who hold a

decision-making position, such as a high position in a political office, a union or a non-

government organisation. The second part of the program is to place young women in

a political campaign. As such, young women will follow a candidate that is running for

election and learn first hand the ‘unwritten rules’ of a political campaign.

These two programs are associated with workshops: one is called ‘Empowering

Women’s Professional Development Program’ and the other is speed date mentoring.

The first workshop aims at ‘providing political skills training, including campaign

planning, government lobbying, affirmative action strategies and social change ad-

vocacy’. Speed date mentoring is aimed at providing a platform for women to support

women, such as Networking Events. These events are tailored for young women. The

women’s wing of the Labor Party is using a wide range of mediums that include Face-

book, Twitter, the political party base and university political groups to reach out to

young women via this program.

After running it for two years, an evaluation of the ‘Next Generation’ initiative has

shown real enthusiasm as members asked to retain it.

THE COMMITTEE TO PROMOTE WOMEN IN POLITICS IN CAMBODIA A grant was made by the UNIFEM/UNDEF program to promote women in politics in

Cambodia. This was used to improve public support for women politicians. It included

strategies to achieve objectives such as training, advocacy, dialogue, civic education

and the development of a peer support network. This project was put into place in 12

of the 24 provinces of Cambodia.

14 A special thanks to Hutch Hussein, EMILY’s List Australia National Co-Convenor who was interviewed to share information about this initiative.


It is believed that the work of this program tripled the number of women com-

mune councillors in two provinces in 2007, doubled the number nationally by 2008,

doubled the number of women in the top ranks of national party lists and raised the

percentage of women in parliament from 19% to 22%, despite the short timeframe

to implement it.

Beyond the numbers, this initiative increased women’s skills as politi-cians and

reinforced the links between women at the local and national levels. It increased

awareness and support for women politicians by political leaders and voters.

Specifically, the program put into place eleven courses for existing women com-

mune councillors to strengthen their effectiveness in office and each woman coun-

cillor was individually helped through monitoring to ‘work through scenarios faced

in council meetings’. Additionally, within political parties in Cambodia, women were

provided with some basic items, including clothing appropriate to wear while cam-

paigning and a bicycle for moving around.

AFRICAN REGIONAL PROGRAM TO INCREASE WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 15

This initiative was aimed at sharing experiences and knowledge about women’s po-

litical participation in the different countries of the African continent.

For instance, in the documentary produced around this program, Alice Nzo-

mukunda, Member of the Democratic Alliance for Renewal in Burundi, travelled

with other women members of political parties in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and

Zambia in order to understand what kind of challenges other women are facing in

other political parties: ‘What they are going through and how they have been able

to overcome challenges’, as Peris Tobiko from the Orange Democratic Movement in

Kenya stated.

In other words, the aim of this program is for women to share positive experi-

ences and knowledge about women’s political participation. While this kind of co-

operation consisting of cross-party or cross-country exchange is being praised as a

key tool in understanding the challenges women are facing to get into positions of

power, the participants of this initiative also emphasised the crucial role of grass-

roots activism as a way to increase political engagement.

THE SWISS MENTORING PROJECT: ‘FROM WOMAN TO WOMAN’ 16

Started in 2000, the National Youth Council of Switzerland (NYCS) has been running

a mentoring program in politics for young women called ‘From woman to woman’.

The NYCS decided to run this program in 2009 when it became aware that there were

only a few women in the higher positions of organisational bodies of the NYCS as well

as in the overall political participation of young women in Switzerland in general.

15 http://nimd.org/document/1916/increasing-womens-participation-in-decision-making

16 Neruda, 2005

“Participants emphasised the crucial role of grassroots activism as a way to

increase political engagement.”


The program was broadly understood as aiming to promote more women in

the political sphere, including encompassing political parties. Each year there are

around 25 mentoring couples participating. Usually, a young woman member of the

NYCS – the mentee – is associated with a woman occupying a position in politics

or another high position in the public sphere (NGO, union, political party) as the

mentor. The idea is for the mentee to exchange ideas and gain experience from the

mentor.

This mentoring program is associated with ‘additional training sessions on is-

sues such as gender politics, media work, international politics, a visit to the Federal

Office for Women’s Issues and a meeting with a female minister’.17 The mentee/men-

tor is expected to fulfil a number of goals set up by the mentee, such as face-to-face

meetings to talk about personal issues, and discussions on how to organise and man-

age the work-life balance with job, family and politics.

After three years of evaluation, the results have shown that overall, the mentees

reported a better career and future planning, broader networks and more self-con-

fidence in delivering public speeches. They also mentioned being more interested

in political issues in general, in political organisations such as parties and in gender

equality. The program helped them improve their knowledge and practice in project

management, the planning of their further education in the area of political issues

and their media performance.

It is also worth noting that this program resulted in really good media coverage

in bringing the under-representation of women to the forefront of political issues.

Another effect was the multiplication of the program at different levels, such as the

European level in Austria, Estonia, Portugal and Malta.

More has to be done by setting realistic expectations about the mentoring re-

lationship, increasing the range of activities to increase experience, and expanding

the time to be invested between the mentee and the mentor in order to extend posi-

tive outcomes. It is worth noting that some mentees were disillusioned about the

reality of political life.

THE WOMEN CAN DO IT PROGRAM IN THE BALKANS 18

Originating in the Norwegian Labour Party Women’s Movement, it was then imple-

mented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Kosovo province, Macedonia, Mon-

tenegro and Serbia. It aims at ‘raising awareness about gender inequality and creat-

ing the capacity to change the situation’. It is essential for women and young women

who are already involved or who could potentially become active in public life. They

can also be women coming from NGOs and local political parties, from the health

and social sector, schools and local administration.

It is sustained by a training program to increase ‘political skills and motivation

among women to take on responsibilities and decision-making positions in public

and political life’. It encompasses four steps: The Training-for trainers – two-day lo-

cal seminars where the participants learn about gender equality status in their own

countries; a training workshop to deliver speeches, cope with domineering tech-

niques, solve problems in a creative way, manage stress and defeat, campaign and

network; then the participants plan a local action to practise the new skills; and

following that there is an evaluation seminar. Local partners (women’s group) have

been the main actors within the program, carrying the main responsibility for the

seminars.

Overall, the evaluation of the seminars is appreciated by the participants, espe-

17 Neruda, 2005, 2

18 NORAD, 2005


cially their down-to-earth and practical skills. Thanks to this program, a substantial

number of women have been involved and the activities have ‘strengthened wom-

en’s organisations and underpinned the work done for gender equality in general’.

RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE GENERAL LEVEL INCLUDE 19

´ working through grass-roots campaigns, school programs (mock elec-tions), en-tertainment events and other methods of communication to reach out to young people and to engage them politically;

´ participating in the creation of young people’s spaces to meaningfully voice their concerns, issues, interests and ideas;

´ promoting structures in these young people’s spaces which meaningfully facilitate young people’s voices to make them feel they can have an impact and to ensure diversity of representation;

´ facilitating cooperation between youth councils (at any level) or youth organisa-tions across party, ideology, regions and countries to share ideas, experiences and knowledge about how to improve young people’s and especially young women’s voices to be better heard and included in political agendas at every level;

´ participating actively in cause-oriented political action as a way of reaching out to young people;

´ promoting young women’s political action, initiative and method of communica-tion by offering support including financial support and web support.

RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE POLITICAL PARTY LEVEL´ modifying the structure of the political party organisation to be more ‘young wom-

en friendly’;´ have a legal framework and governing documents which are gender sensitive;´ have a youth and women’s organisation;´ have measures taken to promote young women’s participation in governing boards

and decision-making structures;´ establish party consensus to promote young women’s electoral positions and to

place them in winnable positions on party lists with real financial assistance;´ give a real voice to young women by including their interests and agenda in the

overall political party mandate.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE TO YOUNG WOMEN´ mentoring: residential program and placement in campaigns; organise workshops to share knowledge and experiences about the party rules and

unwritten rules, and how to make their way through the political party structure;´ offering workshops to increase political skills and motivation among women to

take on responsibilities and decision-making positions in public and political life;´ promote cooperation between youth and women’s units of political parties across

ideologies, regions and countries to share information and knowledge.

19 Carnegie UK Trust, 2008b, 14


BIBLIOGRAPHYAnn, Teo Sue and Shuib, Rashidah (2011), ‘Young People’s Perceptions of Roles and Responsibilities as Political Party Members in Malaysia’, International Conference on Social Science and Humanity (IPEDR 5; Singapore: IACSIT Press).

Institute of Politics: John F. Kennedy School of Government, A Guide to Reaching Young Voters, Anon-ymous, Harvard, 2004.

DemoFinland/Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Political Youth Organisations: Strengthening the Voice of Yout in Politics: The Finnish Experience, Anonymous, Helsinki, 2007.

UNIFEM-UNDEF, Democracy with Women, for Women: Seven Grants that Helped Change the Face of Governance, Anonymous, New York, 2008a.

Carnegie UK Trust, Empowering Young People: The Final Report of the Carnegie Young People Initia-tive, Anonymous, London, 2008b.

UNDP/NDI, Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide to Promote Women’s Political Participation, Anonymous, New York City, 2011.

NDI/UNDP, Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide to Promote Women Political Participation, Ballington, Julie, New York City, 2011.

International IDEA, Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, Ballington, Julie and Karam, Azza, Stockholm, 2005.

Briggs, Jacqueline Ellen, ‘Young Women and Politics: An Oxymoron?’, Journal of Youth Studies, 11, 6, 579-92, 2008.

Cicognani, Elvira, et al., ‘Gender Differences in Youths’ Political Engagement and Participation. The Role of Parents and of Adolescents’ Social and Civic Participation’, Journal of Adolescence, 35, 561-76, 2012.

Finlay, Sarah, ‘Carving out Meaningful Spaces for Youth Participation and Engagement in Decision-Making’, Youth Studies Australia, 29, 4, 53-59, 2010.

Council of Europe, Revisiting Youth Political Participation: Challenges for Research and Democratic Practice in Europe, Forbrig, Joerg, Strasbourg, Council of Europe Publishing, 2005.

Gaiser, Wolfgang and Rijke, Johann de, ‘Political Participation of Youth. Young Germans in the Euro-pean Context’, Asia Europe Journal, 5, 541-55, 2008.

Gidengil, Elisabeth, O’Neill, Brenda, and Young, Lisa, ‘Her Mother’s Daughter? The Influence of Child-hood Socialization on Women’s Political Engagement’, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 31, 334-55, 2010.

National Youth Council of Switzerland, Mentoring as a Means to Empower Young Women in Politics: Conclusions of the Swiss Mentoring Project “From Woman to Woman”, Neruda, Veronika, Bern, 2005.

International IDEA, Gender and Political Parties: Far From Parity, Rosa, Vivian, Beatriz, Llanos, and Garzon de la Roza, Gisela, Stockholm, 2012.

Sloam, James, ‘Rebooting Democracy: Youth Participation in Politics in the UK’, Parliamentary Af-fairs, 60, 4, 548-67, 2007.

Whiteley, Paul F, ‘Is the Party Over? The Decline of Party Activism and Membership Across the Demo-cratic World’, Party Politics, 17, 21, 21-44, 2011.


WOMEN IN LOCAL LEVEL POLITICSSocial accountability and public participationBY SUMONA DASGUPTA, INDIA

Involvement of women in local politics is critical for their political and economic empowerment.

Yet across the world there are several impediments to this process. Patriarchies cut through cultures and institutions across the world, sometimes in more open forms, at other times in a more subtle hid-den manner even as it may differ in the degree in which it can affect women’s participation in politics.

This paper will begin with examining the term “local politics” and critically discuss the factors that both enable and inhibit women from entering this space.

It will also analyse what difference women can or have made as elected representatives at the local level both in rural and urban spac-es drawing from examples and case studies across the world.

Finally it will explore some of the best practices of advocacy strate-gies that promote the role of women in local politics.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sumona DasGupta is a Political Scientist and independent research consultant based in New Delhi. She is currently senior research consultant with Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA). Her research and publications focus on issues of governance and democratic dialogue, conflict and peace building, and South Asian politics. Gender is a cross cutting issue that informs all of her work. Her book ”Citizen Initiatives and Democratic Engagements: Experiences from In-dia” from 2012 looks at issues concerning women’s political leadership in local governance as one of the issues covered.

ABOUT THE PHOTO

A villager casts her vote in a polling booth in Nungmaikhong village, Manipur, India. About 62 per-cent of the 802,000 registered voters voted in an incident-free second phase of Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) elections for the Inner Manipur parliamentary constituency on April 22nd 2009. (Photo by Sanjit Das/Panos Pictures).


INTRODUCTIONThe growing discourse on deepening democracy around the world is increasingly be-

ing anchored around democratic decentralisation and meaningful local governance

which is also being linked to greater social accountability and public participation. Gov-

ernance is not just about government, but is now seen as a much wider process that

involves how the idea of “public good” is both framed and contested – a process that

involves both private sector and civil society actors.1

The idea of local politics rather than local government provides space to examine

how multiple actors – among them political parties – connect and contest for power

in the formal and informal local spaces in a scenario where local governments have to

increasingly live up to the expectation that they can indeed be responsive, accountable

and participatory.

If being participatory is one of the principles informing the call to decentralize it

follows that inclusion of women in local politics has to be ensured and actively encour-

aged – through political parties, organisations, social movements, etc. Involvement of

women in local politics is critical for their political and economic empowerment.

LOCAL POLITICSLocal politics is intrinsically linked to the idea of the local community2 whether in rural

or urban areas, which is increasingly being invested with some degree of local autono-

my across the world through a process of local self government. The local community

so empowered with the right of self government is then in a position to perform a series

of functions related to planning, development, service delivery, maintenance of local

assets such as schools, houses and streets et al.

In performing these functions it engages in decision making and governance for

promoting public good in the local area. Since what constitutes ‘public good’ is itself a

matter of contestation, the business of local government also becomes an arena where

local politics is played out, under the overarching principle of democracy. Like at the

national level, various aspects of a political process are in evidence at the level of lo-

cal politics such as local elections with or without direct party activity, and rise of and

changes in political participation by the local population.

There are different political phenomena around local autonomy and it can be noted

that local politics within local communities, the relationship between national politics

and local politics and the conflict and cooperation between central governments and

local governments are all significant points of departure for the study of local politics.3

Though the question of autonomy is lined with local politics and it may be analyti-

cally possible to study this as an isolated political space it is still necessary to pay at-

tention to the manner and extent to which local politics and government is guided by

the interventions of national politics and governments. The central-local relationship

theory or the inter-governmental relationship theory is the theoretical frameworks

that have developed these viewpoints systematically.4

1 Tandon and Mohanty (2002).

2 Encyclopaedia of Life Support Systems.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

“ The importance of women’s informal community work also amounts to their

involvement in local politics.”


While contesting the post of an elected representative (as urban councillors and

mayors in towns and cities or as representatives in countries and villages) is the most

visible form of participation in local politics this is not the only means of involve-

ment. There is a considerable amount of literature that indicates the importance of

women’s informal community work that also amounts to their involvement in local

politics.

Drawing on experiences from Africa, Chabal (1999) has indicated the porous bor-

ders between the personal and the political and the importance of unravelling this

in order to understand the political process. If this is so then informal dynamics at

the community level possibly work in conjunction with formal democratic processes

to enable women to access leadership positions. The by now well-known feminist

articulation that the personal is in fact the political logically led to such a distinction

between formal and informal spaces of politics and the importance of the latter for

women’s political agency.

For instance drawing on case studies from South Asia and West Africa, Purkayas-

tha and Subramanium (2004) point to a large number of informal networks that fore-

ground women’s agency – and this would clearly also include political agency – in the

developing world. They point to how local networks from the state of Karnataka in

India have formed informal groups at the periphery and become recipients of de-

velopment assistance preventing such resources from being captured completely by

local elites. The participation of women in new social movements across the world,

most of them centred on local issues related to life and livelihoods, has also become

an important instrument of political transformation.

However taking a slightly different line of argument, some scholars have rejected

what they see as the artificial dichotomy between the formal and informal spaces

and modes of local politics pointing instead to the commonality of the underlying

political processes of both. For instance Brownhill and Halford (2004) draw on exam-

ples of women’s community action in London’s docklands and local government’s

women’s committees to indicate there are theoretical and empirical interconnec-

tions rather than disconnects between these two forms of action rendering this di-

chotomy between formal and informal politics meaningless in any substantive way.

Having identified the spaces for local politics we now turn our attention to the

reasons that are advanced for women’s inclusion in local politics.

WHY WOMEN IN LOCAL POLITICS There is a substantive body of literature on why it is necessary and desirable to have

women involved in local politics. The economic conditions of men and women differ

and women must have the opportunity to allocate scarce resources to also benefit

women and bring their perspective to the decision making table. The democratic

component of the system will be strengthened by inclusion of women, and the legiti-

macy of decisions taken will increase as women gain equal access to a system largely

dominated by men.

It is also possible to argue as Siddiq and Allen (2011) have done that women coun-

cillors can make a difference for the women they represent, and could introduce a

feminized view to local governance more broadly, something that has the potential

to aid all constituents. That is not to say that women should have to help women in

order to ‘earn’ their place on the council, but that the presence of higher numbers

of women in local politics will make this feminization process more likely to occur.”

Acknowledging this, the role of women in decision making at the local level was

specifically addressed by landmark international agreements and conventions no-

tably CEDAW and Beijing Platform for Action (1995). The International Union of Lo-

cal Authorities Worldwide Declaration on Women in Local Government 1998; Item 9

says:


“The problem and challenges facing humanity are global but occur and have

to be dealt with at the local level. Women have the equal right to freedom from

poverty, discrimination, environmental degradation and insecurity. To fight these

problems and to meet the challenges of sustainable human development, it is cru-

cial that women be empowered and involved in local government as decision mak-

ers, planners and managers.”

While the participation of women in local politics has been poorly documented

till specific studies were commissioned such as the UNESCO study of 2000 to docu-

ment and increase awareness of the issue in Asia Pacific and the study conducted by

the Council of European municipalities and regions of 2008, it appears that despite

being under represented in positions of power worldwide, women across the world are

better represented in local politics and government as compared to the national one.

We now examine why this is so more closely.

ENABLING FACTORS The basic factor that has enabled women to access local politics more felicitously as

compared to national politics is because participation in local government is probably

easier for women to accommodate in their daily lives along with their multiple roles

in the family, household and employment. Local government is also seen as more ac-

cessible in terms of the number of positions available and perceived to be less threat-

ening as it is an extension of the work they already do in the community.

Once the process of women being elected at the local level gained momentum

the environment became more open for them, and to women’s issues being on the

agenda. Of course much of this culture of acceptance in the last two decades has been

prompted by an active women’s movement and by statutory requirements for quotas

of women.5

The report ‘Comparative study Women in Local Government in Asia and the Pa-

cific’ has identified some key factors that create an enabling environment for women

to enter local politics. These are:

Positive laws, practices and initiatives that ensure participation including statuto-

ry provisions guaranteeing women the right to participate, signing of CEDAW; nation-

al policies and programme such as specific women’s departments and plans; partici-

patory local government structures even if these are not specifically gender specific;

participation of NGOs in encouraging women to participate; training to participate;

regional and international conferences that provide support, training and initiatives

that increase the number of women; encouragement by women within local govern-

ment to other women to participate and support them and collection of data that en-

hances the visibility of women.

5 Comparative study of Women in Local Government in Asia and the Pacific.

“ Women councillors can make a difference for the women they represent, and could introduce a feminized view to local governance more broadly,

something that has the potential to aid all constituents.”


In fact training and capacity building are seen as crucial interventions that would

provide an enabling environment for women to enter and assume leadership in local

politics.

In the e-discussion conducted by iKNOWPolitics in 2009 on women in local poli-

tics, women from Burkina and Ivory Coast including an aspirant from the latter wrote

in about the importance of support and capacity building for women to enter local

politics. The aspirant from Ivory Coast wrote:

“Women are not enough confident they are not prepared for the job. Many of

them refuse to run for election. In order to increase women number in election at

the local level the following measure are required: Strengthen women ability to do

politics; promote best practices in local governance; promote women candidacy

thanks to coaching and experience sharing; and the reinforcement of women’s

leadership.”

Women are also more likely to participate in devolved systems of local govern-

ments which have more autonomy, financial freedom, hold regular elections and are

generally more open to change rather than ones strictly controlled by the central gov-

ernment. In fact decentralisation is seen as a key to women’s participation in local

level politics.

Contributors from Senegal and Mali made this point in the e-discussions on wom-

en in local governance in August 2009.

For instance Fatou Diop from Senegal made the case for decentralization as a key

tenet in improving local governance mechanisms by making them accessible to wom-

en.

“The decentralization process is one of the main measures undertaken for im-

proving local governance. In order to have solid local institutions, more women in-

volvement is required. In villages and small towns, women are doing all the work

and they are also the first victims. In order to increase the number of women in

local governance quota is required in the case of Senegal.”

Mariam Diallo makes the point that decentralization can also result in enhancing

the capacity of local communities through knowledge transfer:

“In Mali we have 8 regions, 40 circles, and 287 administrative districts. There is

three level of decentralized authority: Regions are divided into circles, circles into

commune and communes into quarters. The main goal of the decentralization pro-

cess is to share the central power with the local entities. Not only will the power be

conveying but also the skills and knowledge for an effective decentralization.”

A proportional representation system can result in more women being elected

and there also appears to be some evidence that local elections based on the ward sys-

tem create more visibility for women, and give them a better chance to win elections

as well as keeping campaign costs low.

Introduction of quota systems for women in local government in some parts of

the world such including South Asia has resulted in significant increases in the num-

ber of women being elected and employed. However the discussion around the quota

system may need to be qualified a little further.

The summary of the e-discussions on women in local governments in 2009 cites

the example of Jordan as a case in point where the use of quotas in 2007 led to over

300 women being elected as municipal council members. At the time of the discus-

sion in 2009, some 35 countries had quotas at the constitutional level or legislative

quotas at the subnational level, quotas at the party level for electoral candidates (pro-


portional representation in party lists such as in South Africa), and other forms of

electoral reforms that support women’s participation at the local level.

At the same time many discussants pointed out the need for a deeper under-

standing of the existing quota models and their impacts. It was pointed out that in

some countries including Pakistan for instance there appeared to be a bias against

those who were elected through quotas – a fact that would be true for other South

Asian countries as well.

A revealing study from Tanzania titled “Why women succeed in local politics”

conducted by Anne Francis (undated) reinforces that in this case the informal factors

that enable women to succeed to political positions cannot be discussed in isolation

from the formal processes.

In Tanzania the local elections are fought on a party basis and in fact the entire

sample of councillors interviewed entered the political arena through the ruling par-

ty. From the research sample it was evident that all the women were long term party

members including the women’s wings. Special seats were considered as a stepping

stone to being a ward councillor, but the study indicated an ambivalence about how

women themselves perceived this affirmative action and whether the special seat

provision in this case was in fact more divisive and disempowering.

Informal factors were also at play with the study indicating that it helped to have

a family member active in a party –however further investigation was needed to re-

veal the extent to which women mobilise these contacts for advice, funds or cam-

paign strategies or simply use them to smoothen the route to power. The study fur-

ther hypothesizes that a number of informal factors could be at play in explaining

why women do succeed in local politics – among them activism/leadership in formal

community groups such as church, women’s groups school board, village commit-

tees or economic and self help groups, supportive family and positive role models.

Interestingly in a very different setting in Norway where women entered the

political process in a big way since World War II including at the local level, there

was at least till 1971 a urban-rural divide with lower participation by women in the

countryside where traditional sex role patterns were more firmly entrenched than

in urban areas. Here too at least in the first three decades after World War II family

engagement in politics and role models were factors that contributed to the women’s

success in local politics.6

As a comparison between women in local politics in South Asia, East Asia and

Pacific regions with that of the south east Asian region indicates women are more

likely to succeed if they have had a longer history of enjoying the right to vote and

participate, enabling political and electoral arrangements including affirmative ac-

tion. Participation at the local level would also be related to the social and economic

circumstances under which women live.

While it may be easier for women to enter local politics as compared to national

politics there are also formidable structural and institutional factors that hinder

their participation. This largely emanates from patriarchy being the organisational

principle at home and in the workplace across the world though in different degrees.

Highly patriarchal societies enforce rules, responsibilities and behaviour for women,

6 Means 1973.

“Decentralisation is seen as a key to women’s participation in local level politics.”


enforcing these norms in ways that affect their self-confidence, limiting their access

to information and skills and reinforcing their lower status. The following section

deals with this.

BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN LOCAL POLITICS Some of the institutional and structural barriers to women’s participation in local

politics can be identified as follows:

Éntrenched sexual division of labour within the households and outside: While in many parts of the world such as South Asia women do enjoy constitutional rights their actual roles are still closely tied to their reproductive and household functions. This makes it difficult for them to find time for politics. Closely tied to these sexual divisions of labour are associated cultural and traditional norms that entrench these even further.

´Low indices on the human development index for women: Demographic statistics in South Asia and Africa for instance indicate low literacy rates, poor health and poverty particularly for women that points to a lack of basic rights to education, health care, safety and employment opportunities.

´Discrimination: Women often face discrimination in practice when standing for office to local government positions even if laws are in their favour. Attitudes that put poli-cies and decision making into the male preserve see women as incapable of manage-ment and governance roles.

Ínstitutional cultures within political institutions at all levels including local ones are not favourable to women as they often have styles and modes of working that are unacceptable to them. The male dominated environment within the institution can limit the extent to which women can bring forward issues relevant for women and ones related to social justice. Some also find that society and colleagues have unrealistic standards and expectations for them.

´The culture: Women are not prepared to be involved in political environments which support an aggressive culture, combative debate and personality conflicts as well as male; colleagues who have difficulty coping with women and so belittle and personally attack them. The increasing corruption in politics is another disincentive.

Ćampaign expenses can be prohibitive for women who are also active in the unpaid care economy and earn less than men in the labour market. Once elected they have to superimpose their new duties on their already existing ones in the home – the lack of child care support and timings of the meetings have also been a problem.

´The provision of quotas for women in local government has not necessarily created a culture open to facilitating the participation of women though it may have facilitated their initial entry into the system. In some cases reserved seats are decided through indirect elections and women have little autonomy. Sometimes women are nominated rather than elected from reserved seats – this creates a system of patronage that can prevent them assuming independent positions of leadership. Even when they are elect-ed from reserved seats and not nominated the reserved seats are seen as having an inferior status. Considerable training and support is needed to assist women to learn the way the political environment works and fulfil their roles.

´Dependence on support through kinship and family: For women without family connec-tions barriers to participation remain and even when they enter the system the pres-


ence of a supportive family has often been cited as the reason for their active participa-tion. This dependence syndrome often means that those who do not have this support system may not be able to enter local politics even if they have the qualities and inclina-tion to do so.

´Absence of support from political parties: Political parties have historically acted as gate-keepers to political participation and there is considerable evidence from South Asia that when it comes to giving tickets to women at any level a clear bias exists in favour of male candidates. Due to the rhetoric around gender equality political parties field some women candidates but often these are more signs of tokenisms. It does not necessarily come out of a change in gender ideology that regards equal participation as a norm.

WHAT DIFFERENCE DO WOMEN MAKE IN LOCAL POLITICS Research appears to indicate that women in local government believe they can make a

difference as women leaders by bringing a different style to local government and ap-

proaching the job in a different way. Drage (2001) indicates that increasing the num-

ber of women in local government will “accelerate the pace of change, promote col-

laborative styles of leadership and decision-making, broaden perspectives and move

communities forward.”

The report on Comparative study of Women in Local Government in Asia and the

Pacific make the following points about the changes that women can bring to local

politics. According to the report women have a greater sense of the social issues and

the well being and welfare of their communities and factor these into the decision-

making process; promote policies and activities which strengthen communities; en-

courage participation; emphasise the importance and the practice of good communi-

cation with the community; have a different approach to the way their local authority

is governed; develop a team approach; set different priorities; bring the mediation

skills that they have developed as mothers, the ability to have clear goals, to juggle

many tasks at once, and to be practical; are dedicated, responsible, practice what they

preach and show a great deal of spirit and stimulate and encourage other women to be

part of development. The study further elaborates:

“Women’s concerns and priorities are more likely than are those of men to

center on people’s needs for safety and clean water supplies and for community

facilities rather than just the traditional roads, rates and rubbish. Women also have

a strong focus on women’s issues and a human rights flavor in their goals for local

government, suggesting that changes in local politics will lead to changes in socie-

ty, less discrimination against women and greater flexibility in work and childcare.

By bringing a grassroots perspective to local government, women make it more

people orientated and closer to the community it serves.”

“The informal factors that enable women to succeed to political positions cannot be discussed in

isolation from the formal processes.”


WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL For women to make a real difference at the local level not only must they enter the

system but must also be prepared to take on the mantle of political leadership. As

Pant and Farrell (2009) point out “the pedagogy for empowering women politically

for leadership roles aims to enhance the capacity of women leaders to understand,

organise and act upon their needs, priorities, and makes demands upon the system

for better service delivery.”

Drawing on the experience of women being elected through three terms of local

rural and urban elections in India they point out that in the first term women got

elected with no precedence or role models and since governance was new to them

women stepped back, allowing the men to provide guidance including male members

of the family.7

In the second term however the community was more accepting of women in

leadership roles with women now using the legitimacy of their elected position to ad-

dress several critical issues such as children’s education, drinking water facilities, fam-

ily planning facilities, hygiene and health, quality of healthcare, roads and electricity

in the village areas. They also took the initiative to bring alcohol abuse and domestic

violence on to the agenda of political campaigns.8

The third term of women’s participation in rural and urban local bodies in India

saw women leaders become more visible as they became more familiar with the pro-

cesses of governance. Despite this change in leadership roles however, women con-

tinued to lack an effective participation base due to gendered identity practices and

institutional inadequacies.

The Indian experience of local elections over the last three decades showed that

while numbers may indicate presence it does not necessarily translate into meaning-

ful inclusion in the political process as women can be deliberately excluded from the

political process through force or covert strategies.

In this connection a recent study indicates that an increase in female representa-

tion in local government in India appears to have induced a significant rise in docu-

mented crimes against them, but argue that this is driven by greater reporting of the

crimes rather than an increase in the crimes per se.9 In another significant finding

they point to the fact that large scale membership of women in local councils also af-

fects crimes against them more than their presence in leadership positions.

However there is little doubt that violence against women in politics particularly

at the level of local politics has been endemic in not just India but other parts of South

Asia as well. In fact within the community and political parties as well there have been

backlashes for women who exercise their decision making power and the resistance

often from upper caste males can range from threats to attempts of bribery, charges of

7 Pant and Farrell (2009).

8 Nambiar and Bandyopadhyay (2004).

9 Iyer et al. (2011).

“Provision of quotas for women in local government has not necessarily created a culture open to facilitating the participation of women.”


incompetence, spreading false rumors designed at character assassination, and will-

ful use of the power of no confidence.10

Taking into account the violence against women in politics particularly at the lo-

cal level, which is one of the most important barriers to their participation, a South

Asian initiative was launched by South Asia Partnership International that specifically

called for an end to violence against women in politics.

A resolution passed by South Asian citizens in 2008 says:

“There are inherent structural impediments that prevent and dis-courage

women from participating in decision-making processes which consequently per-

petuates violence, both visible and invisible against women….Violence is not just

limited to overt, visible and manifest ac-tions but can also be congealed and invis-

ible and is deeply embedded in the system of the state mechanisms. Such violence is

unacceptable to the men and women of South Asia.”

It goes on to express concern that “women in politics are subject to a range of

violence and intimidation and practices that adversely affect their active participa-

tion in decision-making processes. Such forms of violence include but are not limited

to (honor) killings, actual violence and threat of violence, psycho-social torture, hu-

miliation, degrading treatment, intimidation, character assassination and sexual har-

assment, targeting women, their relatives and supporters. Abuse of religion, culture,

traditions and patriarchal practices subvert and undermine the interest of women

and inhibit and not only prevent the scope of their political participation in decision-

making processes but also negate the overall development of South Asia.”11

CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE WOMEN IN LOCAL POLITICSIn recent years a number of civil society initiatives working in conjunction with the

state have been undertaken in different parts of the world to promote the role of

women in local politics. Two examples – from Turkey and India – are instructive in

understanding how such multi stakeholder initiatives can play an important role in

this regard since this is a job that a government cannot do on its own.

On September 9, 2008, a project on women in local politics was launched in Anka-

ra with broad participation from political parties, women parliamentarians, civil so-

ciety organisations, academics, media representatives and well known international

experts and activists aimed at increasing the number of women elected for the 2009

elections. It involved capacity building activities for present and potential women

candidates and significantly both male and female representatives of local institu-

tions that play a role in increased women participation in local politics and decision

making processes.

At the roundtable and workshops different stakeholders discuss chal-lenges and

lessons learnt on how women can be supported to participate in local level politics

10 Nussbaum et al. (2003); Sisodia (2005); Kalpagam and Arunachalam (2006).

11 http://www.sapint.org/uploads/DECLARATION2.pdf

“By bringing a grassroots perspective to local government, women make it more people orientated

and closer to the community it serves.”


amidst a scenario where only 0.6% were mayors, 1.81% members of provincial coun-

cils, and 2.42% are members of municipal councils. The role of the media as a key opin-

ion maker and its role in increasing awareness on this issue were reiterated.12

In India in the year 1995 a civil society organisation called Society for Participa-

tory research in Asia launched an ambitious and massive civil society campaign ahead

of the elections to institutions of local self government in the rural areas elections

(popularly known as panchayat polls in India). Called Pre Election Voters Awareness

Campaign it involved three important players, namely civil society coalitions, state

election commissions and the media and one of its primary purposes was to launch a

special drive to ensure participation of women both as voters and candidates.

Thus began a process of politicization of women for local elections regardless of

whether they actually contested the local elections or not. Through this campaign

some of them emerged as animators, others as engaged voters. Women candidates

who chose to contest the local elections were supported not only in the constituen-

cies reserved for women but also from unreserved constituencies to drive home the

fact that women need not restrict their political aspirations to reserved constituencies

only.

STRATEGIES FOR CHANGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS While specific strategies to increase meaningful participation by women in politics

can be context specific, drawing up some broad generalizations and guidelines are

possible.13

´The first of these operate at the systemic level. A quota of reserved seats for women in countries where few women have been elected filled with direct open elections with the same status as general seats work better than any form of nomination with its associ-ated culture of patronage. A proportional system of representation and ward system appear to work better for women. It is also important that local elected representatives should be paid at a level that will allow women to participate. Funding for gender and development that emphasizes capacity building, networking and advocacy and finally recruitment by political parties of women are important steps that can be taken in this direction.

´Systemic changes need to be backed by attitudinal changes – the culture of local gov-ernment needs to change to ensure that women are treated fairly and for this gender awareness programmes for both men and women need to be developed. Local govern-ment needs to be more women friendly and consensus style politics and meetings at times that fit into other responsibilities that women have will create a more enabling environment for women in local politics. Most importantly opportunities need to be made for women to understand their roles and functions as soon as they are elected.

´The third set of strategies is meant to increase the number of women in politics and change their subordinate status. Policies on economic and social empowerment are needed to enable women to participate on an equal footing with men. Local government needs to work closely with NGOs civil society and women’s groups to develop communities and services that take care of women’s needs. Women will be able to enter local politics only if they find financial support, childcare support and training opportunities and women’s associations for women councilors need to provide a voice for women’s views and net-working. Funds need to be established to assist women to stand for election and gender disaggregated data needs to be built to increase visibility of women.

12 http://www.undp.org.tr/Gozlem2.aspx?WebSayfaNo=1571

13 Comparative Study of Women in Local Government in Asia and the Pacific, p. 8-19.


Trainings by NGOs, political parties, educational and political institutions are im-

perative in order to secure greater participation of women in local politics to develop

their skills self confidence, gender awareness rights and also for political leadership.

CONCLUSIONWe began by emphasizing the importance of local politics at a time when the discours-

es on deepening democracy are gaining importance including that of deliberative de-

mocracy that celebrates debate and discussion on matters of policy rather than this

being taken up exclusively by elected legislators. If such practices are indeed gaining

ground, the role of women in local politics cannot be overstated.

Since their experiences are different from that of men they bring in new perspec-

tives and new ideas, and to ignore this or bypass it would defeat the very purpose of

such a decentralisation process associated with deepening democracy.

Whether it is in the countries that are held out as exemplars of women’s political

participation such as the Scandinavian countries or states in Africa and South Asia

where the hold of patriarchy is palpably more, the phenomena still exists across the

world. This mindset produces a certain sexual division of labor in the household and

corresponding gendered institutions and ideologies that militate against women par-

ticipating in local politics.

These are the barriers that need to be identified and removed. This is why the

South Asian resolution around the issue of violence against women in politics con-

cludes:

“We, the people of South Asia, both women and men, collectively challenge pa-

triarchy and seek to replace it with a culture that actively supports equal partici-

pation of all. We encourage a South Asian forum that promotes such culture and

values through mass communication.”

This will be as true in different degrees for the rest of the world as it is for South

Asia.

BIBLIOGRAPHYBrownhill, Sue and Susan Halford. “Understanding women’s involvement in local politics.” Political Ge-ography, vol. 9(1990):4, 396-414.

Chabal, Patrick and Jean-Pascal Daloz. Africa Works. Disorder as political instrument. Oxford and Bloomington: James Currey and Indiana University Press, 1999.

“Comparative study Women in Local Government in Asia and the Pacific.” http://www.unescap.org/huset/women/reports/comparative_report.pdf

DasGupta, Sumona. Citizen Initiatives and Democratic Engagement: Experiences from India. New Del-hi and Abingdon : Routledge, 2010.

Drage, Jean. Women in local Government in Asia and the Pacific, Paper presented to the Asia-Pacific Summit of Women Mayors and Councillors, 2001

http://www.unescap.org/huset/women/summit/substantive_overview/jean_drage_speech_text.htmEncyclopaedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS). Niikawa, Tatsuro. “Decentralization and Local Politics.” http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C04/E6-32-03-05.pdf

Farrell, Martha and Mandakini Pant. “Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership: Pedagogical Challenges.” Participation and Governance. vol 2 (July 2009): 42-56.

Francis, Anne. (not dated) “Why women Succeed in local politics.” http://www.snvworld.org/sites/www.snvworld.org/files/publications/snv_series_03_tanzania_women_politics_leadership.pdf

Kalpagam, U. and Jaya Arunachalam. (ed.) Development and Empowerment: Rural Women in India.


Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2006.

Means, Ingunn Norderval. “Women in Local Politics: The Norwegian Experience,” Canadian Journal of Political Science, vol 5(1973): 3, 365-388.

Nambiar, Malini and Kaustuv Kanti Bandyopadhyay. “Self-Help Groups: Engagement with Govern-ance Institutions,” Participation and Governance, vol 10 (March 2004) : 23-30.

Iyer, Lakshmi et al. “The power of Political voice: women’s Political Representation and crime in India,” (working paper) 2001, http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-092.pdf

Nussbaum, Martha et al. Essays on Gender and Governance. New Delhi: UNDP, 2003.

Purkayastha, Bandana and Mangala Subramaniam. The Power of Women’s informal Networks: Les-sons in Social change from South Asia and West Africa. MD: Lexington, 2004.

Siddiq Tulip and Peter Allen. “We need more female councilors for everyone’s benefit” http://www.left-footforward.org/2011/10/we-need-more-female-councillors-for-everyones-benefit/

Sisodia, Yatindra Singh (ed). Functioning of Panchayati Raj System. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2005.

Tandon, Rajesh & Ranjita Mohanty. Civil Society and Governance. Samskriti: New Delhi, 2002.


WOMEN IN TRANSITION COUNTRIESStruggling for their fair share of opportunitiesBY RUMBIDZAI KANDAWASVIKA, ZIMBABWE

One major issue that persists throughout the world is that women’s physical presence and voices in the decision making during political transitions to democracy remain weak and almost non-existent.

Though women participate visibly and actively in revolutionary tran-sitions, their participation does not always guarantee women’s inclu-sion in the decision making in transitional processes and structures.

Consequently, securing any meaningful participation and represen-tation of women in countries in transition is an on-going democratic challenge.

It can be argued that the unfinished business of political transitions is the inclusion and representation of women in transitional decision making processes and the transitions are largely “unfinished transi-tions”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu is the Senior Programme Manager responsible for the Global Programme on Democracy and Gender at the International Institute for Democracy and Electo-ral Assistance (International IDEA) in Stockholm, Sweden. She is a gender equality advocate and practitioner, with more than twenty years of hands-on professional experience on gender equa-lity and women’s empowerment initiatives at national, regional and international levels. She has worked with capacity building and gender mainstreaming in parliaments, intra-party democracy processes, management of electoral processes from a gender perspective and transformative lea-dership strategies for women in politics.

ABOUT THE PHOTO

Maliha Ahmadzia, a 25 year-old law and political science student at Mawlana University in Balkh province, who was running for parliament poses for a photo a day before the parliamentary elec-tion September 17, 2010 in Mazar-e-sharif, Afghanistan. About 2,500 candidates contested the 249 seats in Afghanistan’s lower house of parliament. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images).


INTRODUCTIONThe issue is not whether women are able to and/or can perform an active role in tran-

sitional politics, because they can and are able to contribute at many levels. The issue

is how women’s participation and voices can be translated into critical influences and

decisions in political and transition processes and why is it that women perform visible

and instrumental roles in certain contexts and stages of transitions, yet their participa-

tion is not matched with their presence and involvement in transitional decision mak-

ing processes.

There is global evidence that attest to the existence of various factors that are the

drivers for the continued exclusion of women from the critical decisions that shape

the outcomes of political transitions and subsequently their participation beyond the

transitional uprisings. Ultimately, the critical area of concern is how to ensure that the

”gains” women make through their involvement and partcipation in the demands for

political transformation is institutionalized and translates into changes of women’s

status and position in society as well as into gender-sensitive changes in political sys-

tems and institutions.

This paper highlights that women’s involvement and participation in political

transition processes is not a guarantee for their inclusion and representation in the

critical positions of power and decision making at the peak of transitions and in the

established nation building institutions.

The paper focuses on some of the prominent factors and dominant trends that per-

petuate the marginalisation of women in many parts of the world including countries

in political transitions. Four striking issues or factors across the different regions of the

world, which are intricately connected and have significant impact on women in differ-

ent countries and transitional processes and political contexts are presented.

Being cognisant of the fact that there is no “one size fits all” approach as the magni-

tude of the issues varies within different country and regional contexts, the paper will

also outline possible strategies that can be adapted to support women in transitions

as well as address some of the obstacles encountered by women in these political pro-

cesses leading to the formation of democratic governments.

Before discussing the prominent issues, there is need to underscore the lessons

learnt from the most recent political transitions that occurred in 2011 and are still un-

derway in the Arab Spring. The most recent experiences from the Arab Spring attest to

the deep-seated hurdles that women encounter in order to attain their fair share of par-

ticipation and representation in positions of power and decision making at all levels,

despite women’s contributions.

LESSONS FROM THE ARAB SPRINGIn 2011 women in the Arab world demonstrated that women can often play important

roles in revolutionary processes and events as women have done before in Africa, Latin

America and Europe. For instance in Egypt and Tunisia they participated in the popu-

lar uprisings for democracy and changes in their societies. As elsewhere in the world,

women in the Arab Spring countries in transition are struggling for their fair share of

opportunities to access political power at the onset of transition processes, in view of

the rules of the game that are clearly based on patriarchal values and still in flux.

When participating in the revolutions across the transiting countries, women’s de-

mands were not only calling for the change of the oppressive regimes, but also sought

justice and greater empowerment of women in all spheres of life. Many women still

have reason to hope that the “Arab Spring” will bring changes to the Middle East and

help them realize their dreams and secure a better life for the next generation of wom-

en through the democratic transitions away from legacies of autocratic rule, social,

economic and political marginalisation of women to collaboration between men and

women, Muslims and non-Muslims, government and civilians.


A year later, women in the Arab Spring countries in transition are beginning to ask

why the benefits from the revolutions do not seem to be shared equally between men

and women. Why are few women represented in key decision making positions and in-

stitutions across the countries in spite of women’s active participation alongside their

male counterparts during the revolutions and uprisings to end the reign of dictator-

ships?

Recently, the President of the Egyptian Feminist Union, Hoda Badran, stated that,

“Now that the dust of revolution has begun to settle as the Arab spring countries

begin their transition process towards democracy, women are finding themselves

marginalised and excluded from decision-making. The many disturbing incidents

that have occurred illustrate the extent to which, in spite of the new freedoms cham-

pioned by revolution, women are still considered as subordinate to men. In Tunisia

a mass protest called for all women to be veiled, which led to unveiled female pro-

fessors of religion being hounded off campuses. Mobs shouted at Tunisian women

demonstrators to go back to the kitchen “where they belong”. In Egypt, too, conserv-

ative thinking is on the rise and voices are growing louder in support of policies that

would represent a backward step for women. A good example of this are the reforms

being made to family legislation.”1

The words of Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni journalist and first Arab woman to re-

ceive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 aptly capture the reason for hope and expectations

for change for women in Arab Spring countries, namely Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen

and Syria and in other Arab countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan, Saudi

Arabia. In her speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, she stated that,

“Millions of Yemeni women and men, children, young and old took to the streets

in eighteen provinces demanding their right to freedom, justice and dignity, using

non-violent but effective means to achieve their demands. I see the great number of

Arab women, without whose hard struggles and quest to win their rights in a society

dominated by the supremacy of men I wouldn’t be here. This supremacy has caused

a lot of injustice to both men and women. To all those women, whom history and the

severity of ruling systems have made unseen, to all women who made sacrifices for

the sake of a healthy society with just relationships between women and men, to all

those women who are still stumbling on the path of freedom in countries with no so-

cial justice or equal opportunities, to all of them I say: thank you ... this day wouldn’t

have come true without you.”2

BATTLES FOR RECOGNITION AND PARTICIPATIONMost transitions towards democratic changes are motivated by expectations for great-

er social equity, improved political participation and representation in making deci-

sions that impact on societies and the lives of many women and men. Yet around the

world, women have found that, “participation is one thing and recognition and voice

is another”.

In past and present transitional processes, women’s meaningful participation can

be illustrated by an analogy of a journey, which is best captured by expressions such

as, “still have a long way to go”. As women’s participation in revolutionary transitions

is evident, their demands for inclusion continue to rise. For example in Egypt, Dr.

Omaima Kamel, a member of the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting Egypt’s

1 Article by Hoda Badran, The Arab Spring is looking like a great leap backwards for women, Summer 2012

2 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2011/karman-lecture_en.html


new Constitution, affirmed that, “we are working hard to write a Constitution that will

protect the dignity of all citizens, especially in the chapter on women’s rights. We are

also working to ensure the right of women to work and representation in important

positions in the state”3.

Political transitions to democracy are strengthened when genuine participation

and representation of women is included on the list of priorities for countries in tran-

sition. Too often, this is generally seen as a luxury to be left aside until the other im-

portant democratic values and objectives have been achieved. All kinds of women’s

participation and representation in transitional politics contain battles over rights,

recognition, participation and redistribution of power. The intensity of each battle is

determined by the extent to which consider themselves excluded and are conscious of

the degree to which the critical decisions are made by men only.

These battles are a manifestation of the many deeply entrenched obstacles (both

formal and informal/traditional) to women’s political, socio-cultural and economic

advancement of women across the world. In many parts of the world, these battles and

issues are varied and complex and the challenges for women are enormous. While the

participation of women in revolutionary uprisings in the Arab Spring provided op-

portunities for the active presence of women, women are still battling for equality on

all fronts and an uphill climb still looms.

UNEQUAL POWER RELATIONSEvidence abounds to attest that the continued marginalisation of women in decision

making processes in transition countries is in fact part of the broader gender discrimi-

nation and the resulting inequalities that span the world from developed countries

such as the Gulf States to low income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The unequal power relations that impede the effective inclusion of women in transi-

tion countries operate at many levels of society, from the most personal to the highly

public. In some countries the inequalities are clearly blatant in the legal frameworks,

such as constitutions, laws and policies.

Across the world, the attitudes about the superiority of men and inferiority of

women at the household and family level are still very common. Within each region

and within countries the magnitude of the attitudes differ reflecting factors such as

culture and religion, the rural-urban divide, the political and legal system. Due to pa-

triarchal notions of power, traditional practices and religious interpretations, men are

still widely considered the ‘head of the household’ with superior status and decision-

making authority and often greater rights and freedoms.

The implications of family and household hierarchies and stereotyped roles for

men and women are many, including diminished access of women to economic and

political participation and violence against women. Transformed relations between

men and women’s at the household and family level is critical to their full participa-

tion in and contribution in transition processes and outcomes in all spheres of society

and it will benefit men as well as women. Periods of transition provide opportunities

to create democratic societies by establishing principles of non-discrimination and

gender equality if the different needs and priorities for women and men are taken

into account during the transitional phases.

3 http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=30211

“ Participation and representation of women is too often seen as a luxury.”


INSTITUTIONALISED MALE DOMINANCE AND PRIVILEGEEverywhere in the world, it is evident that political transitions are gendered and their

outcomes ultimately reflect the different social meanings attributed to men and wom-

en. Hence, the unequal participation and representation of women and men is evident

in the predominance of men among the leaders of political parties or movements, par-

liamentarians, cabinet ministers and heads of governments and states.

In most countries, although not in all, women and men have equal rights to vote

and to stand for elective positions. After at least 40 years of struggle, Kuwaiti women

gained comprehensive political rights in 2005. In 2003 in Oman and Qatar, women were

granted the right to vote and to stand for parliamentary office for the first time.

Currently women make up only 19% of the parliaments of the world. 4 Why, then are

there so few women in elective positions of power and decision making at all levels? Why

is that political transitions keep producing and reproducing men as leaders in higher

proportions to women?

To illustrate the point, despite the promising start to the year, according to the Inter

Parliamentary Union by the end of 2011, women represented only 10.7% of parliamen-

tarians in the Arab region. The Arab region remains the only one in the world without

any parliament that has at least 30% representation of women.

However, it is worthy to note that a number of countries in the Arab region have

introduced quotas to improve the political participation and representation of women,

in the face of political, cultural, religious, economic and institutional factors that pose

particular challenges to women in this region. For example, in Morocco, following the

2011 elections and in accordance with a bill passed by the Council of Ministers on 9 Sep-

tember 2011, women now constitute 16.7% of Morocco’s Lower House and this is largely

due to the reservation of 60 seats for women and 30 for candidates under the age of 40.

In Tunisia, the political parties participating in the October 2011 elections were re-

quired to include women in their electoral lists in strict alternation. In theory, this was

a strong affirmative measure, but in practice, most of the more than 80 parties contest-

ing the elections (with more than 1,500 lists registered) won only one seat in any one

constituency, which went to the male candidate invariably heading the list. In Libya, the

adopted Election Law stipulates that the General National Congress (constituent assem-

bly) would be composed of 200 members elected freely and directly, and requires parity

on party lists for 80 of these seats.

In Egypt, however, the new law on the Exercise of Political Rights amended the pre-

vious quota for women, which used to allocate 64 seats (or 12%) in the parliament to

women. The amended law required each political party to include one woman on their

candidate list, but did not require the positioning of women in “winnable” slots – each

party has the freedom to decide where to allocate the name of the woman candidate,

even at the bottom of the list. This has ultimately resulted in a decrease in the number

of seats held by women before the revolution and democratic uprising, with only 10

women out of 508 members (2%).

MOBILISATION OF WOMEN AS WOMENIn any political transition process, a key question is why women choose to organise or

not to organise in the different contexts. It is important to pose this question because it

points to the reality of the diversity among women and the absence of a homogenous

“category” of women who are not differentiated by class, religion or ethnicity.

Equally important is the fact that not all women may have women’s strategic inter-

ests on the top of their agenda during transformative transitional processes. It can be

argued that women’s exclusion is due in part to the significant social and ideological dif-

ferences among women as well as to the dynamics of social mobilisation in transitional processes.

4 http://www.quotaproject.org/aboutQuotas.cfm See Women in Parliament in 2011-The Year in Perspective, Inter-Parliamentary Union.


Another key factor that prompts women to mobilise as women is the pre-transition-al politics in each country. Though the circumstances of transition varied from country to country, in much of Latin America women mobilised both as several groups primarily made up of women and women organising specifically as women to press for the guar-antees on women’s rights and democratisation of everyday life.

In some countries as diverse as Argentina, Spain and South Africa women maxim-ised the opportunities presented during revolutionary transitions to democracy by mo-bilising as women along women’s issues. In countries such as Brazil and Chile women mobilised across class and party lines to ensure that women’s equal participation and representation in politics and decision making is guaranteed during and post the politi-cal transitional processes.

In all transitional processes the capacity for women to mobilise as women consoli-dates women’s political clout and attracts the attention of predominately male political actors who tend to then harness women’s support for their own political gains.

On the other hand, this can lead to the incorporation of women’s de-mands on the political agenda if political actors begin to see women as a constituency worth co-opt-ing. The exclusion of women from the agenda setting and women’s concerns from the agendas articulated by predominately male leaders heightens the political salience of gender equality relative to other values. Too often, women’s concerns are considered but not followed through in the actual decisions and in practice as women’s concerns seem

to have an imposed duty to “give way” or yield to other important values.

RECOMMENDATIONSHow women’s roles in transitional politics translate into critical actions and decisions

is highly controversial politics because those without voice are often ignored by those

with voice. In the face of such on-going challenges, the following multi-dimensional

recommendations if adequately implemented hold enormous potential to increase

women’s participation and representation in politics and transition countries in the

long term. In defining these recommendations, it is important to ask, how much are the

national, regional and international stakeholders willing to invest in women’s empow-

erment and gender equality?

WOMEN AS AGENTS FOR CHANGE´Support for women to mobilise as women: Supporting women’s mobilisation as a constitu-

ency is a key investment to increase women’s effective participation in transitions. The support for women has to reinforce women’s capacity as agents for change and cultivate robust initiatives to mobilise women as women. In order to ensure that the political spaces opened by revolutionary transitions do not get closed by supporting women to seize the opportunity offered by transitions to negotiate the changes to their condition and status.

´Additional empowerment: Cultivating and reinforcing transformative leadership skills among women through additional empowerment strategies that translate women’s pres-ence into critical influence and actions to engage from an understanding of women’s rights as human rights and the broader democratic issues.

´ Agenda setting: One way to support women in transitions is to strengthen the defining of women’s strategic interests in the agenda setting of transitional processes and institu-tions especially constitution drafting bodies and electoral reforms proposals. The agenda setting support should buttress the need for the implementation of principles and values on gender equality and women’s empowerment that are written in international cove-nants such as the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW), which is among the most ratified of United Nations treaties.


OPENING SPACES AND INCREASING ACCESS ´Adoption and implementation of positive measures: Legislated quotas to get women into

the spaces for decision making is an urgent priority to reduce the representation gap of women in politics. As it is not only men who are always unconvinced of women’s right and capacity to participate in public life, the measures that are advocated for and put in place have to be reinforced with public awareness campaigns on women’s participation and rep-resentation. This is because obstacles to women’s participation in all political processes including transitional processes stems from a range of political and electoral structures and processes and cultural patterns opposing women’s participation in public life.

´Political parties, movements, groups: Developing political parties’ capacity to analyse their intra-party processes, rules and regulations on the identification, nomination and selec-tion of candidates for elective positions within the political parties and into public posi-tions of power and decision making. This will involve providing examples to political par-ties on how they can be conduits women’s empowerment.

´Male advocates: Working with men and designing initiatives that sys-tematically engage men and boys in women’s empowerment and gender equality promotion and making men equally responsible as women for the achievement of women’s empowerment. This is in-volves encouraging men to relinquish some of their power in order for women to have a fair share in political participation and representation.

POWER OF THE MEDIA´Mobilisation of media support: The way women are portrayed in the media has enormous

impact on women’s participation and representation in processes and positions of transi-tional decision making. Working with the media to provide balanced coverage of women and men and equality issues is an essential strategy for supporting women in politics and in transitions.

´Advocacy to end gender based violence: The media is an effective tool to fight violence against women and girls as this remains a global pandemic. Women’s particular vulnera-bility to gender based violence is one of the most obvious deterrent for women’s participa-tion in political transitions. Media advocacy to address the underlying gender inequalities that are the key drivers of gender based violence is a vital strategy.

BIBLIOGRAPHYThe Arab Spring is looking like a great leap backwards for women, Article by Hoda Badran, Summer 2012.

Progress of the World’s Women 2008-2009: Who Answers to Women, UN Women (2008).

Women’s Movements and Democratic Transition in Chile, Brazil, East Germany and Po-land, Lisa Baldez, Comparative Analysis, 2003.

Unfinished Transitions: Women and the Gendered Development of Democracy in Venezuela 1936-1996, Elizabeth J Friedman (2000).

No shortcuts to Power: African Women in Politics and Policy Making, Anne Marie Goetz and Shireen Has-sim (Editors), 2003.

The Role of Women in Rwanda’s Transition, Elizabeth Powley, 2003.

Women and Democratization: Conceptualising Gender Relations in Transition Politics, Georgina Waylen, World Politics, Vol 46, No. 3(April 1994), pp 327-354.

Women in Transitions, Fast Facts UNDP Tunisia, July 2011.

Women’s Political Participation in the Great Lakes Countries Emerging from Conflict, International Alert Report(2007).


GENDER AND DEMOCRACYDanish democratic transition in a gender perspectiveBY JYTTE LARSEN, DENMARK

Women’s political history in Denmark is a success story. Danish wom-en were among the first in the world to be granted full political rights, in 1915.

Today, almost forty per cent of the Members of Parliament are wom-en, and sixty per cent are men – a gender distribution matching in-ternational standards for equality of status. Furthermore, four of the eight parties represented in Parliament are headed by a woman.

In 1924, Denmark made political world history with the appointment of the first female cabinet minister. Today, the cabinet has a similar gender distribution to Parliament.

When Helle Thorning Schmidt became the first female Prime Min-ister following the 2011 elections, the last male stronghold in Danish politics fell.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jytte Larsen is a senior research consultant at KVINFO, the Danish Centre for Information on Gen-der, Equality and Ethnicity. She is a historian and her research and publications focus on gender hi-story, feminism and equality. Over the last twenty years, Jytte Larsen has contributed extensively with scientific articles and lectures on Danish women’s history, gender equality, feminism etc., especially for the Danish Labour Union and several women’s organisations. She is producing book reviews for Danish and international gender research periodicals, and has contributed to several lager anthologies. Her latest book ”Også andre hensyn. Dansk ligestillingspolitik 1849-1915” is the first volume of a handbook about the history of Danish equality policies.

ABOUT THE PHOTO

Leader of the Social Democratic party, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, speaking in the Danish parliament ’Folketinget’ for the first time since winning the September 2011 election and being appointed Prime Minister. (Photo by Martin Lehmann/Polfoto).


THE DANISH PROCESS OF DEMOCRATISATIONThe Danish success is greatest on the national level. Women have found it harder to

break into local politics, where historical male dominance has survived, notably on

the leadership level. Women hold around thirty per cent of the seats on municipal

councils, and there is only one female mayor in ten.

Achieving this success has been a lengthy process. It took seventy years from the

time women’s suffrage was instituted until female politicians made up a so-called

critical mass of thirty per cent, which any minority generally speaking must achieve

in order to obtain real influence.

In Denmark, as everywhere else in the world, women’s political history is an in-

tegrated part of the national development towards democracy. And in Denmark, as

in other Western countries, the women’s movement has been a central player in the

struggles for political rights and, subsequently, for political representation.

Over the course of the nineteenth century, Denmark – initially bringing up the

rear of the democratic transition that created the modern Western world around the

year 1800 – became a pioneer democracy when the Scandinavian welfare model be-

came an international brand. The model – based on equality of status and notably

characterised by a high degree of inclusion of women on the labour market, and a high

degree of female political representation combined with public child care policies and

care for the sick and the elderly – has been labelled as woman-friendly.

The history of democracy in Denmark is thoroughly evolutionary and remarkably

undramatic. The country’s first free Constitution, from 1849, had been carefully pre-

pared, and was adopted in the atmosphere of broad consensus that still characterises

political life. Thus, the absolute monarch remained as constitutional monarch follow-

ing adoption of the Constitutional Act, and today, Denmark is one of only a handful of

democratic monarchies in the world.

Danish democracy was imported from abroad. Following the uprising against Brit-

ish colonial rule in North America and the founding of the United States of America as

an independent nation in 1776, a flood of revolutions swept over Europe in three sepa-

rate waves. The two first waves did not reach Denmark with enough force to overthrow

the absolute monarchy, but they initiated a much-needed process of modernisation.

During the time of the French Revolution (1789-99), a series of comprehensive

land and educational reforms were carried out in Denmark. Farmers were released

from servitude under the landed aristocracy and were granted the opportunity to buy

the land they farmed. During this period, the establishment of teacher training col-

leges brought improvements to education, which, particularly in rural areas, had been

of a meagre standard. Compulsory general education was instituted in 1814.

The July Revolution of 1830 led to cautious democratisation through the estab-

lishment of elected regional councils – the so-called Advisory Provincial Estates – and

the fledgling beginnings of municipal government. Only a few per cent of the male

population were eligible to vote, but in the years leading up to 1848 the new political

arenas, along with the easing of censorship and a modern press, created a bourgeois

public sphere. Knowledge of international developments was no longer the privilege

of a tiny academic elite that was in command of the major European languages and

undertook educational journeys to the centres of culture. Broad swathes of the pop-

“ The history of democracy in Denmark is evolutionary and remarkably undramatic.“


ulation were now able to read about current political movements and literature in

Danish-language newspapers and periodicals.

Due to these reforms, it was a relatively egalitarian, prosperous, and enlightened

population that took over the management of national affairs in 1848, when the King

renounced absolute power and convened a constitutional assembly.

Since then, the Danish Constitutional Act has been revised three times, with the

latest revision adopted in 1953. The fact that the current Constitutional Act is coming

up on its sixtieth anniversary is remarkable not least because the concepts of democ-

racy and citizenship have been subject to swift and profound transformations in the

period following World War II. Due to this singularly conservative constitutional tradi-

tion, Denmark – unlike most other nations – has not embedded a modern notion of

human rights in the Constitution.

DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTSModern democracy is defined by both a political system of government and a politi-

cal ideology. Both aspects were developed during the Enlightenment, whose ideas of

human rights, popular sovereignty, and social contract legitimised the abolishment

of tyrannical regimes and inherited privilege. Under the watchword of “liberty, equal-

ity, fraternity”, the great majority of farmers and burghers joined forces to combat the

concentration of power in the hands of royalty, clergy, and nobility.

The grand narrative of modern democracy is about free and equal individuals

who enter into a covenant in order to institute governments that further the develop-

ment from a state of barbarity, where the jungle law applies and might makes right, to

civilised societies and the rule of law. The societal covenant is, in other words, a social

contract under which private individuals relinquish sovereignty to public authorities

that, in their turn, undertake to ensure the rights of citizens and maintain law and

order. From this perspective, despotism and oppression deprives individuals of their

rights.

This narrative was laid out with model conciseness in 1776 in the American Decla-

ration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they

are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Govern-

ments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of

the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of

these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new

Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in

such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”1

This was followed in 1789 by the French Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du

citoyen – the first declaration of human rights proper, containing a catalogue of rights

and duties of democratic citizenship.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS‘Men’ and ‘homme’ can both mean human, but in the context of the two foundational

texts of the democratic movement, they meant ‘man’. These documents instituted a

man’s rights discourse, which was not replaced by a human rights discourse until the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

1 American Declaration of Independence


As soon as absolute monarchy came to an end, the liberal bourgeois class broke its

alliance with the less privileged classes and grabbed power for itself. Running entire-

ly counter to its egalitarian rhetoric, the bourgeoisie defined democratic citizenship

in its own image, and reserved political rights for the educated and married man of

means – the paterfamilias. And they called this model ‘universal suffrage’.

The revolutionary left responded with socialism – the second great political ideol-

ogy of modernity – which recycled the liberal criticism of the old regime, but with the

emphasis on equality and fraternity rather than on individual liberty.

The fact that both bourgeois liberals and socialists conceived of human rights as

men’s rights prompted the emergence of feminism – the third great political ideology

of modernity – with its demands for liberty, equality, and solidarity for both sexes.

Feminist voices were raised in protest from the very outset of the democratic

movements. Among the first was Abigail Adams (1744-1818), who was married to John

Adams, one of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence. When

she saw the contours of the man’s rights discourse begin to take shape, she warned her

husband that a new rebellion loomed if women remained without legal rights:

“I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in

the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire

you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than

your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands.

Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention

is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold

ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”2

In France, the voice of protest was raised by revolutionary activist Olympe de

Gouges (1748-93), who penned the first declaration of women’s rights, Déclaration des

droits de la femme et de la citoyenne, in 1791. Here, she replaced the word ‘man’ from

the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen with ‘woman’ – and gave us an

object lesson in just how patriarchal the famed original text is.

Olympe de Gouges was also the first to gender the deprivation of rights by draw-

ing parallels between the King, who deprives the people of their rights, and men, who

deprive women of their human rights and tyrannise them:

“Liberty and justice consist of restoring all that belongs to others; thus, the only

limits on the exercise of the natural rights of woman are perpetual male tyranny;

these limits are to be reformed by the laws of nature and reason.”3

It is worth noting that human rights in their original inception are founded in

both a religious and a secular world view. In the Christian, American tradition they are

God-given, while the secular, French tradition roots them in nature and reason.

Likewise, it is important to emphasise that feminism pertains to political views

that may be held by both genders. From the outset, men participated in the struggle

for equal status, which is, after all, just another word for equality.

One example is the French Enlightenment philosopher J. A. Condorcet (1743-94),

who forwarded the simple argument that human rights perforce apply to all human

beings. Rights that apply only to some sections of the population are special rights,

group rights, or inherited privileges, which the revolution had set out to abolish.

Rights awarded to wealthy white men can only be called human rights if poor people,

coloured people, and women are not human beings.

From around 1830, we may speak of an international women’s move-ment, driven

2 History.com

3 Duiker 2006, p. 499


by American, French, German, and British women, who developed both theory and

practice through close contacts maintained through travel, letters, and exchange of

literature. Against the backdrop of the 1848 revolutions, the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, USA, adopted a manifesto entitled the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for full implementation of equal rights.

THE STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN’S SUFFRAGEThe late fall of absolute monarchy in Denmark meant that feminism had already

found a definite form when the Constitutional Assembly convened. It was thus an act

of bad faith when the Danish founding fathers, who were well-informed of interna-

tional developments, inducted the Danish Constitutional Act of June 5th, 1849 into the

man’s rights tradition based on the infamous – and erroneous – statement that “it is

thus everywhere recognised that persons of incompetence, children, women, crimi-

nals shall not be eligible to vote.”

Hardly had the ink of the Constitutional Act dried before the men of the new de-

mocracy admitted that they had set aside women’s human rights. As early as in 1857,

Parliament passed a collection of equal rights laws as part of a major reform pro-

gramme with the goal of making women full citizens. The first concern was making

unmarried women legally competent, independent citizens.

This was because the pre-modern marriage code, with its autocratic paterfamilias,

stymied the rights of married women. In the article “Three Questions about Woman-

hood Suffrage”, political scientist Carole Pateman reflects on the differences between

women’s and other social groups’ struggles for political rights. Why did suffragettes in

Britain and the United States have to fight for half a century for the right to vote? How

could demands for voting rights in Western democracies around the year 1900 lead to

assassinations and suicides, mass arrests, hunger strikes, and forced feeding?

Her answer is that the man’s status as head of the family was regarded as the last

bastion of patriarchy. Voting rights was not a question of the women’s cause in gen-

eral; it was a matter specifically of the position of the married woman. “[S]uffrage was,

at bottom, the wife question, not a woman’s question”4.

Danish equal rights policy between 1849 and 1915 falls into two stages. The most

obvious marker of the watershed is the ascent of the women’s movement in 1871 with

the formation of the feminist mother organisation Danish Women’s Society.

In the first phase, the initiative was in the hands of Parliament, who constructed

the female citizen in the image of the paterfamilias by according civilian and social

rights to unmarried female heads of household. The second phase is characterised by

a close alliance between the women’s movement and the increasingly successful po-

litical left, whose agenda was the extension of democratic rights to all, regardless of

gender, social class, and civil status.

In other words, the women’s cause was integrated into the general de-mand for

democratisation, and the struggles for equal and universal suffrage and against pa-

triarchal marriage could be synthesised in the assault on the privileged paterfamilias.

The chief architects behind the new equal status strategy were the husband and

wife couple Fredrik and Mathilde Bajer. They drew their inspiration from the inter-

national women’s movement, and specifically from the British power couple Harriet

4 Pateman 1994, p. 336.

“ From the outset, men participated in the struggle for equal status.”


Taylor (1807-58) and John Stuart Mill (1806-73), whose close intellectual collaboration

found its final form in The Subjection of Women (1869) – the first scholarly disserta-

tion on the societal significance of gender, published by John Stewart Mill as a memo-

rial to his deceased wife.

In keeping with the women’s movement in general, Harriet Taylor and John Stew-

art Mill placed great emphasis on women’s political rights. The right to vote is labelled

“a means of self-protection”, which women had sore need of in questions involving

“interests of women, as such,” since “we know what legal protection the slaves have,

where the laws are made by their masters.”5

The work was an exemplary exposition of the three classical forms of argumenta-

tion employed by the movement for women’s suffrage, and which will here be labelled

justice, representation, and resources. The first two of these advocate for women’s hu-

man rights, including the right to political representation of their interests. The third

claims that it is not only an obligation of a democratic society to allow its entire mass

of talent to unfold, doing so is also beneficial to that society.

While feminist scholars have agreed on the typology, terminology has varied. The

argument of representation is also known as the interest argument or the feminist

argument, because insisting on gender-specific political interests is often regarded as

especially radical. The resource argument is also known as the utility argument or the

utilitarian argument, with reference to its roots in nineteenth-century utilitarianism.

Today, it is typically labelled the diversity argument.

The historical influence of The Subjection of Women can hardly be overestimated.

The book spurred the formation of the Danish Women’s Society, chaired by Mathilde

Bajer, and it forms the subtext for the political debaztes on equal rights that Fredrik

Bajer, as a Member of Parliament, initiated in close collaboration with the women’s

movement. In the years leading up to the turn of the twentieth century, the women’s

movement had changed from being an elite Copenhagen phenomenon to a country-

wide organisation with tens of thousands of activists that had made universal suf-

frage a popular demand.

On the local level, the breakthrough came in 1908 with the adoption of a modern

Municipal Voting Rights Act, and on a national level the watershed moment was the

adoption of the new Constitutional Act in 1915.

With its duration of some thirty or forty years, the Danish struggle for univer-

sal suffrage was a brief one when compared with the campaigns in the United States,

France, and the United Kingdom, where the demand for political rights for women

was raised earlier and honoured later. In France, this did not happen until 1946. The

violent confrontations that marked the struggle for universal suffrage in the United

Kingdom were entirely absent in the Danish campaign.

In Denmark, married women were granted the vote by special exemption because

they were unable to fulfil the general demands in the Voting Rights Act that all voters

have disposal over their estate and be taxpayers, until a reform of the Marriage Act

rendered them fully competent in the eyes of the law in 1925 – sixty-eight years later

than their non-married sisters. The tenet that “suffrage was, at bottom, ‘the wife ques-

tion’” thus also applies to the history of equal rights in Denmark.

5 Mill 1924, p. 49

“ The 1970’ies became the women’s decade par excellence.”


THE STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN’S REPRESENTATIONEquality before the law is the original feminist demand, and the 1915 amendment to

the Constitutional Act was celebrated with parties, parades, and memorials across

Denmark because the recognition of women’s political rights was regarded as the con-

stitutional establishment of women’s rights. This view was supported by the fact that

the government had changes to remaining gender discriminatory legislation on its to

do list, and that those political parties that did not already have equal rights on their

agendas now revised their platforms to include it.

According to this logic, the women’s movement had accomplished its mission,

and many of the extensively ramified movement’s associations dissolved themselves.

Their take on the future was that women should safeguard their interests in the vot-

ing booth, through membership of political parties, and in Parliament. However, the

pioneering Danish Women’s Society kept up its work.

The first elections were something of a wet blanket to this mood of victory. The

municipal elections of 1909 resulted in a female representation of 1.3 per cent and a

gender distribution in municipal politics of 127 women to 9682 men. Women fared

only marginally better in the national elections of 1918. Only 4 of the 140 elected can-

didates were women.

Those who put the initial results down to teething troubles were about to be even

more disappointed. As Figure 1 shows, the following elections brought a decline in

women’s representation.

FIGURE 1Women in the Danish Parliament 1918-20116

6 Note: In the lower house up until 1953, when the present unicameral system was adopted. Source: Kvinder i Folketinget http://www.ft.dk/Demokrati/~/media/Pdf_materiale/Pdf_publikationer/Infor-

mationsark/Folketingets_medlemmer/kvinder_i_folketinget%20pdf.ashx

0

50

100

150

200

2015

2005

1994

1987

1979

1973

1966

1957

1950

1943

1932

1924

1920

No. of MPsNo. of female MPs


Generally speaking, developments are uneven, particularly for the first fifty years,

which are characterised by long periods of stagnation broken by some notable for-

ward leaps in the early 1940s and again in the early 1970s.

The representation of women in Parliament thus falls into three phases, which

mirror the general situation when it comes to equal status policy.

1915-1945 with less than 5 % female representation.

1945-1971 with a female representation of up to 10%.

1971-2011 with a rapid and sustained growth in female representation towards the

40% mark.

The first phase ends with the close of the Second World War, when a great window

of opportunity opened up in equal rights policy, as is often the case in post-crisis situ-

ations. Across the world, women had made a significant contribution during the war

years, both on the home front and in the field.

Recognition of this contribution came in several forms. Equal gender rights were

included in international legislation through the United Nations Charter and the Uni-

versal Declaration of Human Rights. The political representation of women increased

in countries with women’s suffrage, including Denmark, and having a female govern-

ment minister became a must. Other countries, including, as previously mentioned,

France, instituted voting rights for women.

The second phase ends with the beginning of the second feminist wave in the

wake of the 1960s youth rebellions. The 1970s became the women’s decade par excel-

lence, not least due to the United Nations’ prominent focus on equal rights, including

the International Women’s Year, the World Conference on Women, and a bill of rights

for women: the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against

Women (CEDAW).

In Denmark, women charged into parliament, where the percentage of women

surged from eleven to twenty-four per cent over the course of the 1970s. And in a new

development, women’s political representation continued to increase. Following the

long period of stagnation, focus shifted from political rights to political participation,

and the feminist tenet that political organs not having an equal gender distribution

are illegitimate now garnered broad popular support.

Revolutions are created by the assault of youth on old regimes, and the second

feminist wave became the historical youth rebellion of women. In earlier days, female

politicians were typically middle-aged, because they did not run for office until the

children were out of the house. Since the mid-1960s, the mean age for women in Par-

liament has dropped by ten years, from fifty-five to forty-five, and the age composi-

tion has become more diverse. The latest national elections gave seats in Parliament

to two women between the ages of twenty and twenty-four, and two between the ages

of sixty and sixty-nine.

The young women brought the issues of pregnancy, birth, and parental leave with

them into political life. When the first pregnant woman ran for Parliament in 1971,

and was elected, it made the headlines. Front pages were cleared again when the first

female minister gave birth while in office in 1998. Since then, many have followed in

their footsteps, and today nobody disputes female politicians’ right to have children

while holding office.

“ The entire female elite in the country was mobilised in a large-scale media push.”


On the municipal level, developments in female representation mirror those of

Parliament, though women’s representation in local politics still lags behind the na-

tional level.

FIGURE 2Women’s representation in municipalities and in Parliament 1918-2006

FROM EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW TO GENDER MAINSTREAMINGWhy did it take a hundred years to achieve political participation on an equal level?

A very significant explanation is the fact that for centuries, feminism was hobbled

by a theoretical deficiency in relation to liberalism and socialism, modernity’s two

other political ideologies. Whereas the latter were formulated by the male academic

elite based on major new theories of politics, economics, sociology, and history, femi-

nism did not gain an academic foothold until the 1970s.

While it is true that the University of Copenhagen (the only university in Denmark

at the time) opened its doors to female students in 1875, and that female academics

returned the favour by getting involved in the women’s cause – two of the first four fe-

male Members of Parliament were academics – research positions were long reserved

for men. And even if a woman managed to squeeze through the eye of the needle, this

was due to merits in traditional fields of research.

Commitment to feminist politics was relegated to off-duty hours up until the sec-

ond feminist wave, in which a large, young, and highly educated generation of women

occupied universities and under the motto of Research of women, by women, for wom-

en developed theories on the societal import of gender that finally put feminism on a

scholarly par with liberalism and socialism.

By organising the insights that had run as a subtext throughout the feminist criti-

cism of liberalism and socialism since the democratic transition in the late eighteenth

century, women’s studies and gender studies forged the basis for new and effective

strategies, including affirmative action towards the underrepresented gender and

gender mainstreaming.

%

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

1918

1926

1934

1942

1950

1958

1966

1974

1982

1990

1998

200

6

PARLIAMENT MUNICIPALITIES


In point form, these insights, which seem commonplace today, may be summed

up thus:

´Formal equality is a necessary, but not a sufficient, prerequisite of true equality.´Direct gender discrimination is only the tip of the iceberg, with wide-spread indirect gen-

der discrimination hiding beneath the surface.´The private is political.´Civilian, political, and social rights are based on sexual and reproductive rights.

But in 1915, equality before the law and political rights were the undisputed road

to equal status. Though there were discussions in what remained of the women’s

movement of forming a women’s party, and though women’s lists were entered in

the first municipal elections, the main tenet throughout the inter-war years was that

women should enrol in, and run for office via, existing political parties.

However, in the parties the interest in female voters was higher than the interest

in female candidates, and more so once the first election results had been reviewed.

Political parties maintained that the state no longer had a part to play given that di-

rect gender discrimination in legislation had been abolished. From here on out, it was

up to civil society and the market to create a fitting gender balance. Until 1945, this

meant one female Member of Parliament per party – the so-called token woman.

The women’s movement thus ended up with the full responsibility for increased

political representation of women. To begin with, the movement took up the gauntlet

by launching a nationwide educational programme in citizenship, and by facilitat-

ing the founding of women’s organisations within the political parties. Thanks to the

initiative of members active in the women’s cause, all political parties had women’s

committees in the 1930s.

The close collaboration between the women’s movement and the political parties

could also be seen in the fact that women’s organisations until the end of the 1970s

drew their chairman from the ranks of prominent female politicians – preferably gov-

ernment ministers – and that the parties took turns holding the post.

Following the Second World War, the women’s movement expanded its repertoire

to include proper electoral campaigns. In the 1945 elections, the “vote for a woman”-

campaign was launched. This was to become a fixture of Danish electoral campaigns

for many years to come. The concept is simple: activists position themselves outside

voting stations carrying posters encouraging voters on their way to the ballot to vote

for a woman. This is also when the women’s movement founded the tradition of cross-

party election meetings – a tradition still alive today.

The most spectacular campaign was carried out in the municipal elec-tions of

1970, when the entire female elite in the country was mobilised in a large-scale media

push. The weekend preceding the elections, every nationwide newspaper as well as the

major regional papers carried opinion pieces urging voters to vote for a female candi-

date and written by politicians from all parties, leading members of the women’s or-

ganisations, and famous artists. Demonstrating the strength of the feminist heritage,

every single opinion writer drew on the classical arguments of justice, representation,

and resources in their plea for increased political representation for women.

In 1945, the women’s movement also suggested the implementation of a quota

system in the form of a proposal that all parties be mandated to reserve 33 per cent

of the spots on their lists of candidates for women. However, this type of affirmative

action did not receive broad support until the third wave of the movement: between

1977 and 1996, several parties operated with some form of quota system or other.

By this time the glass ceiling had, however, been broken by the second feminist

wave, which paved the way for a new understanding of the entire concept of politics


and set new standards of female citizenship with the demand that women have the

right to rule their own bodies. Affirmative action became statutory and was, on the

advice of the United Nations’ fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, supple-

mented by a third equal status strategy, gender mainstreaming.

WOMEN AND DEMOCRACYSo what has a hundred years of women in politics meant to Danish society? First and

foremost, it has meant democratisation. Long gone are the days when regimes that

reserved political rights for (select groups of) men could be labelled democratic. To-

day, democracy legitimises itself through universal human rights and equal political

representation. In other words, by recognising the legitimacy of feminism’s first two

arguments for women’s political rights.

The resource argument – that women have different areas of compe-tence than

men, and that this has contributed to an improved process of political decision-mak-

ing – is more questionable.

On the one hand, a clear, gender-based division of labour can be demonstrated,

under which women have handled the ‘softer’ policy areas, such as equal status policy,

social policy, and cultural policy. On the other hand, women have stuck to party lines

in these as in all other policy issues. There are very few examples of women collabo-

rating across party divides, and in the end, it is the male majority that has established

the “woman-friendly” welfare state through their votes in Parliament. More research

is thus needed to properly investigate this important question

The question remains whether the Danish model may serve as inspiration for

countries undergoing democratic transition today, when alternative, and faster, roads

to political equality are available. Quota systems, in particular, have proven to be very

effective instruments.

But maybe the secret to sustainable equal status development is that it is rooted

in a combination of top-down and bottom-up politics. The state may institute equal-

ity before the law, but carrying this over into equality in life required the cooperation

of civil society. And here, others can perhaps draw on the experiences of the Danish

women’s movement when it comes to information campaigns, women’s mobilisation

and organisation within political parties, and electoral campaigns.

BIBLIOGRAPHYAmerican Declaration of Independence. United States National Archives; http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

Dansk kvindehistorie www.kvinfo.dk

History.com; http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/abigail-adams-urges-husband-to-remem-ber-the-ladies

Kvinder i Folketinget; http://www.ft.dk/Demokrati/~/media/Pdf_materiale/Pdf_publikationer/Infor-mationsark/Folketingets_medlemmer/kvinder_i_folketinget%20pdf.ashx

Dahlerup, Drude, Vi har ventet længe nok: håndbog i kvinderepræsentation, Kbh.: Nordisk Minister-råd, 1988

Equal democracies?: gender and politics in the Nordic countries, Christina Bergqvist (editor in chief), Anette Borchorst ... [et al.], Oslo: Scandinavian University Press, 1999

Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History: From 1500. Cengage Learning, 2006.

Larsen, Jytte, Også andre hensyn: dansk ligestillingspolitik 1849-1915, Århus: Aarhus Universitetsfor-lag, 2010

Mill, John Stuart. The Subjection of Women. Hayes Barton Press, 1924.

Pateman, Carole, “Three Questions about Womanhood Suffrage”, Caroline Daley & Melanie Noland (red.), Suffrage and Beyond. International Feminist Perspectives. New York University Press, 1994


NETWORKS AND TOOLKITSSome resources that can inspire your work

Participating in the ‘Christiansborg Seminar’ in Copenhagen offers the participants an opportunity to meet with colleagues from around the world who struggle with similar challenges on a daily basis.

While there is probably no better way of learning than to share your experiences face-to-face with colleagues in the global community, this is not an option for all. In fact, for most of us the most practical option is to read what others have put on paper or decided to share on the internet.

Much has already been produced by practitioners, academics and institutions, and some of the resources are listed in the bibliography section of the previous chapters. In this section we only highlight a few resources that we find particularly relevant and useful.

ABOUT THE PHOTO

A worker removes election posters on January 8, 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. Normal business has resumed in the capital after post election violence abated. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images).


IKNOWPOLITICS – INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE NETWORK OF WOMEN IN POLITICSA network developed by International IDEA, International Parliamentary Union, National Democratic Institute, UNDP and UN WOMEN.http://iknowpolitics.org/enThis is an interactive network of and for women engaging in politics. The goal of the

network is to increase participation and effectiveness of women in political life by

utilizing a technology enabled forum that provides access to critical resources and

expertise, stimulates dialogue, creates knowledge, and shares experiences on wom-

en’s political participation. The network also allows women to collaborate on issues of

common interest. The platform runs e-discussions on selected topics, offers e-learn-

ing, and provides a knowledge library.

WOMEN’S DEMOCRACY NETWORK – EMPOWERING WOMEN TO LEADInternational Republican Institutehttp://www.wdn.org/about-wdnThe Women’s Democracy Network connects women leaders and aspiring leaders with

their counterparts around the world to share best practices and learn new skills. Work-

ing together, members of the Network are building thriving communities and lasting

democracies.

In many countries, women are just beginning to enter the political sphere, and

many continue to struggle to gain positions that will enable them to push forward

democratic reforms. Among women worldwide, there is a growing need to break tradi-

tional barriers that discourage or prevent their political participation. The WDN seeks

to enable women to do this, by connecting them to their best resource: themselves.

The goals of the Women’s Democracy Network are: To formalize a network of women

who have gained experience in political and civil society with women who struggle to

take part in the democratic development of their countries so that they might engage

in sharing experiences; to provide training and mentoring opportunities that address

the specific needs of women within the regions of Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Latin

America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North America.

ACE ELECTORAL KNOWLEDGE NETWORK ACE is a collaborative effort between nine organisations: International IDEA, EISA, Elections Canada, the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico (IFE), IFES, UNDESA, UNDP and the UNEAD. The European Commission is an ex-officio member.http://aceproject.orgEstablished in 1998, the ACE network promotes credible, and transparent electoral pro-

cesses with an emphasis on sustainability, professionalism and trust in the electoral

process. ACE offers a wide range of services related to electoral knowledge, assistance

and capacity development. The network comprises of a global, thematic component,

and a regional component.

The ACE website is an online knowledge repository that provides comprehensive

information and customised advice on electoral processes. The website contains in-

depth articles, global statistics and data, an Encyclopaedia of Elections, information on

electoral assistance, observation and professional development, region- and country-

specific resources, daily electoral news, an election calendar, quizzes, expert networks

and much more. It is freely accessible to all and the number of visitors is constantly

growing – as of January 2012 the website has more than 1,3 million visitors per year.

While ACE does not have a particular focus on women like networks like iKNOWpoli-

tics and Women’s Democracy Network, it is possible to find a lot of very relevant infor-

mation regarding women’s involvement in elections.


EMPOWERING WOMEN FOR STRONGER POLITICAL PARTIES – A GUIDEBOOK TO PROMOTE WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATIONUNDP and NDI, February 2012, 120 pages This publication identifies targeted interventions for promoting the stronger pres-

ence and influence of women in political parties as well as advancing gender equality

issues in party policies and platforms. The lessons learned and common strategies

in this Guide are drawn mainly, but not exclusively, from 20 case studies that were

commissioned by UNDP and conducted by NDI during 2009-2010. The entry points

identified are designed to provide ideas for action for political parties, development

assistance providers, party foundations, and CSOs in their work to support parties.

GENDER AND POLITICAL PARTIES – FAR FROM PARITYInternational IDEA, June 2011, 90 pagesThe election of four female presidents in Latin America in recent years has drawn at-

tention to women’s political participation and their access to political decision-mak-

ing. Despite these encouraging results, statistics reveal that the Latin American region

is still far from achieving gender equality in politics. Although women are increasing-

ly involved in politics, they still have limited access to leadership positions in political

party contexts.

Researchers from 18 countries provided input to the Gender and Political Parties

in Latin America database (www.iadb.org/research/geppal/) based on a survey of 94

political parties. This report presents an analysis of database information. The pur-

pose of the report is to provide comparative data on women and men in political par-

ties to inform on the situation and challenges of women’s political participation.

WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT: BEYOND NUMBERS International IDEA, 2005, 264 pagesLittle research had been done so far on the way and extent to which women Members

of Parliament influence politics. With this Handbook, the focus shifts from getting

more women elected to the parliament, to giving those elected the means to make a

greater impact on politics. Key findings include:

It is not all about numbers: While a critical mass of women is necessary to ensure

women’s representation, the quality of the representation is just as important. Train-

ing is crucial to avoid the trap of electing “token women”.

Gender perspectives, not gender issues: Women elected to parliament change pol-

itics globally; they introduce a women’s perspective into all areas of political life, they

are not limited to gender issues.

Representation means more than elected politics: It means that more women

must have seats at the Cabinet table, more women must be appointed to senior deci-

sion-making positions, and more women’s voices must be heard and included when

major political reform or transformation is undertaken.

The handbook includes case studies from Argentina, Burkina Faso, Ecuador,

France, Indonesia, Rwanda, South Africa and Sweden, as well as regional overviews

from the Arab World, Latin America, South Asia and a case study on the Inter-Parlia-

mentary Union (IPU).

HANDBOOK FOR MONITORING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONSOSCE, 2004, 54 pagesThis handbook provides guidance on monitoring women’s participation in the elec-

toral process. The handbook was designed as a working tool to assist ODIHR election


observation missions in identifying the various elements of an election process that

may impact on women’s equal participation. It sets out practical steps to be taken to

integrate a gender perspective into election observation and should serve to ensure

that conclusions drawn on the extent to which an election process meets OSCE com-

mitments and other international standards for democratic elections fully takes into

account how the election process affects both women and men.

GENDER EQUALITY IN ELECTED OFFICE: A SIX-STEP ACTION PLANOSCE/ODIHR, 2012, 76 pagesThe report is an overview of current trends in women’s political participation across

the OSCE region. It identifies a Six-Step Action Plan, a series of fast-track strategic in-

terventions which can contribute towards the attainment of gender equality in elect-

ed office, in a ‘nested’ model. Each of the six strategies can be a starting point for ac-

tion, taking into consideration the variety of different political and electoral systems

and traditions in place. It offers a visible understanding of the need to cover all of the

areas, not just one or two, and it links up very well to the understanding of the need

for both a top-down state focused response (legislation) and a bottom-up civil society

oriented response (changing gender attitudes etc.).

COUNTRIES IN TRANSITION – OPTIONS FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATIONA conference report by Africa Contact, Gendernet, The Danish Institute for Human Rights, KVINFO, and Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy, 2011, 36 pages.The report is a short record of the conference which dealt with the challenges related

to developing and enabling a democratic political culture for women in a large num-

ber of countries that are undergoing various processes of transition, including coun-

tries in Sub-Saharan and North Africa.

The key areas of the conference were: the structures of exclusion – focusing on

barriers to political participation; responses to exclusion – focusing on best practices

for enhancing the political participation of women; and finally, workshop discussions

on challenges and recommendations in relation to; local civil society cooperation; en-

gaging international actors; from politics of presence to critical influence and action;

and from elite driven democracy to broad-based participation.

AFGHANISTAN’S PARLIAMENT IN THE MAKING – GENDERED UNDERSTANDINGS AND POLITICS IN A TRANSITIONAL COUNTRYUNIFEM & Henrich Böll Stiftung, 2009, 192 pagesThe report casts a light on the socio-political context and the space of agency for male

and female parliamentarians in both houses of Parliament, the Wolesi Jirga and Me-

shrano Jirga. Due to conservative gender relations and traditional beliefs about the

status of women in Afghan society, women politicians much more than their male

counterparts have to prove themselves in their roles as the people’s representatives.

However, instead of joining together as one force against the current political envi-

ronment that is curtailing the political, social and economic freedoms that have only

recently been achieved, women parliamentarians are being swept up in political, eth-

nic or regional power structures and agendas.


MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK FOR WOMEN: INITIAL EXPERIENCESFROM 10 UNDEF FUNDED PROJECTSUNIFEM, 2008, 24 pagesThe document describes initial results of the projects of the United Nations Democ-

racy Fund (UNDEF). Women’s participation in governance, whether in time of peace

or war, continues to be limited, yet it remains a top priority and a critical element

for achieving gender equality. Only when women have full access to decision-making

positions will laws, policies, and budgets reflect the needs of all citizens and support

women’s rights.

The purpose of the Fund is to promote democracy by providing assistance for

projects that consolidate and strengthen democratic institutions and facilitate demo-

cratic governance. A common factor among the projects is the creation of an enabling

environment that provides an opportunity for women to participate in reform poli-

cies, agendas and decentralization processes. Many of the countries involved have

held elections between 2006 and 2009, and in several countries, women have run for

office.

PARLIAMENT, THE BUDGET AND GENDERUN Women, 2004, 105 pagesThis handbook was inspired by a series of regional and national seminars on Parlia-

ment and the Budgetary Process, including from a Gender Perspective. Intended as

a reference tool, the handbook sets out practical examples of parliament’s active en-

gagement in the budgetary process. It seeks to advance parliament’s own institutional

capacity to make a positive impact on the budget, and to equip parliament, its mem-

bers and parliamentary staff with the necessary tools to examine the budget from a

gender perspective.

DEMOCRACY AND THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE – A GUIDE TO INCREASING WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATIONNational Democratic Institute, 2011, 138 pagesThe Guide focuses on programs in the areas of citizen participation, elections, politi-

cal parties and governance. It presents the case for increasing women’s participation

and provides information on best practices and strategies to move that goal forward.

It also offers case studies, check lists and additional reading for each of the areas high-

lighted, as well as a general list of factors or tactics to consider when designing a pro-

gram.

© Danish Institute forParties and Democracy

Strandgade 561401 Copenhagen K

DenmarkTel: +45 32 69 89 89

Email: [email protected]

This publication is also available on www.dipd.dk.Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily

represent the views of the Board of DIPD.

Responsible Editor: Bjørn FørdeConsultant: Marie Skov Madsen

Design: detusch&lubaPrint: TOPTRYK

ISBN print 978-87-92796-10-3ISBN web 978-87-92796-11-0


DANISH INSTITUTE FOR PARTIES AND DEMOCRACYINSTITUT FOR FLERPARTISAMARBEJDE

CHRISTIANSBORG SEMINARThe ’Christiansborg Seminar’ is an annual event, bringing DIPD partners and colleagues from around the world together to share ideas and practices on a specific theme. The seminar offers a unique opportunity for Danish political parties and NGOs to learn from other Nordic organisations as well as from partners in political parties and democracy organisations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

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DENMARK

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