scholarly journals The Influence of Gender Quotas on Women’s Participation in Legislative Processes in the National Assembly of the 11th Parliament of Kenya (2013 -2017)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (II) ◽  
pp. 260-279
Author(s):  
Felogene Gor Anumo ◽  
Florence Okemwa Pacificah
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Legislative Processes ◽  
Depth Interviews

This study sought to explore whether indeed the increase in number of women occasioned by Affirmative Action principles in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya has enhanced women’s political participation in the National Assembly. The specific objectives were: to analyze the levels of women parliamentarians’ participation on agenda setting and policy output in the National Assembly; to assess the effectiveness of gender quotas as a political tool for ensuring pursuance of the gender agenda in the National Assembly and to discuss constraints faced by women parliamentarians as they seek to influence policy output and enact laws. The March 4, 2013 General Elections which ushered in the 11th Parliament were considered landmark owing to the fact this it was the first General Election to incorporate affirmative action seats. As the term of the 11th Parliament came to a close, it was highly important to find out how effective gender quotas have been in achieving meaningful change for women representatives. The study was guided by Hanna Pitkin’s (1967) framework that she employed in her work “Conception of Women’s Political Representation”. The study was additionally informed by Dahlerup (1988) “Critical Mass theory”. The study made use of cross-sectional descriptive study design. The study was done with members of KEWOPA from the National Assembly of the Parliament of Kenya. The membership of the association consists of all the women Members of Parliament from all the political parties both elected and nominated. The target population of the study were the 68 KEWOPA members from the National Assembly with a sample size of 40 respondents calculated using the Yamane model. Questionnaires were used as the main data collection tool alongside key informant interviews and in-depth interviews. Validity and reliability of the instruments were measured to ensure accuracy and consistency. The study data was analysed thematically. A descriptive approach was involved where direct quotes and selected comments from informants have been used to explain the trends. Triangulation of data was done by looking into complementary and divergent opinions across the key informant interviews and in-depth interviews. The findings of the study suggest that there is still need to create and expand opportunities for women parliamentarians to enable them become more active and effective participants in the legislative processes of the National Assembly. The findings raises the question on what current efforts are being put in place by political parties and the Registrar of Political parties to ensure that the Affirmative Action. The findings are useful to assess the gains of women political representation and inform the lessons; experiences and can be harnessed to strengthen effective women’s political participation in legislature and policy making. They will contribute to informed public debate and critique on the effectiveness of women’s affirmative action for increased participation and visibility on political platforms. Finally, legislators in parliament and policy makers in government will benefit from insights into what it takes to effectively support women’s participation in legislative processes and how to leverage their numbers in parliament to the country’s advantage. Women aspirants need to be made aware of the challenges they expect to face at the National Assembly. It is also critical to raise awareness among women aspiring politicians and other members of the community to create awareness and address the stereotypes that have continued to ensure only a handful of women succeed in the legislative space. As women and women’s organisations continue to agitate for an increase in number of women legislators, they should equally work to transform the ideology of patriarchy and retrogressive institutional culture in Parliament. This is an open-access article published and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License of United States unless otherwise stated. Access, citation and distribution of this article is allowed with full recognition of the authors and the source.

Women, the Parliament and Political Participation in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cholpon Turdalieva ◽  
Medet Tiulegenov
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Women's Participation

This paper explores women’s participation in parliamentary elections in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. Using various methods, it offers an interdisciplinary perspective on factors that affect the likelihood of women participating successfully in parliamentary elections. This study supports the general literature on the effects of gender quotas and proportional representation, but its results on other factors are mixed. The factor of financial resources is significant, though its impact has been reduced with the introduction of gender quotas, while other factors—such as social status—may not be particularly important. The public perception of a woman in politics is not the greatest obstacle to women’s representation, and a female candidate’s professional status may often be attractive to party leaders.

scholarly journals Afirmasi Partai Politik Meningkatkan Partisipasi Perempuan: Sebuah Studi di Kabupaten Sumenep

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 306
Author(s):  
Moh Ikmal
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Data Validation ◽  
Personal Approach ◽  
Political Model ◽  
Women's Political Participation

The purpose of this study is to find out how the affirmative action of political parties in encouraging women’s political participation in Sumenep Regency. This study uses descriptive qualitative research with data collection procedures in the form of interviews, observation and documentation. Data validation techniques used are source triangulation techniques in the form of person and paper. The results show that the efforts made by political parties of Sumenep Regency in building women’s political participation include, 1) parties taking an internal/personal approach; 2) programmatic, structured and continuous development of the political model of female cadres; 3) hold meetings at times that are possible to be attended by female cadres and times that are not too preoccupied with household needs.

scholarly journals Female street vendors’ (dis)engagement with politics in Rwanda – Orientalising women’s political participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-117
Author(s):  
Xia Nan JIN
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Feminist Ethnography ◽  
Street Vendors ◽  
Political Decision Making ◽  
Women's Political Participation

Women’s political participation was initiated as an instrument for gender equality yet now is under research scrutiny. Due to gender quotas and other institutionalization of women’s political inclusion, Rwanda has the highest number of women in its parliament – 67%. But is women’s political participation a real tool for gender equality, or is it one that through the artificial guise of women’s political representation sets up an exclusive political space? Apart from women who work in political institutions, who else are participating in politics and how and where are they engaging with politics? Feminists should claim back this discussion, reject neoliberal approach to ‘empower’ women and propose a more distributive and collective agenda. As part of my PhD project regarding women’s (dis)engagement with politics in Rwanda, female vendors drew my attention during my fieldwork in Rwanda. In Rwanda, female vendors are among the groups who are the ‘furthest’ to participate and influence the political decision-making process, yet are heavily influenced by various political policies on a daily base. For example, the by-law forbidding street vendors was initiated in 2015 and further enforced in 2017 was designed to punish street vendors because they build “unfair competition for customers with legitimate businesses paying rent and taxes” . Consequently, many female vendors face a great deal of violence by local forces. Using feminist ethnography as the methodology, I choose visual methods to tell the stories of female vendors. That is, the photography project is designed to elicit stories of ‘what happened when’, and to encourage participants to ‘remember’ past events, and past dynamics on the street, as well as to express their own opinions and ideas. My task is to reconstruct the process of female street vendor’s engagement with politics and in doing so deconstruct the fake formal image of female political participation in Rwanda.

Quotas and Gender Gaps in Political Participation among Established Industrial European Democracies: Distinguishing Within- and Across-Country Effects

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrine Beauregard
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Gender Gaps ◽  
Subsequent Increase ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Country Effects ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
European Values ◽  
And Gender

This paper proposes to investigate the influence of legislative quotas on gender differences in political participation by analyzing the within- and across-country effects of quotas. Gender quotas can signal to women that their presence in politics is welcome, leading to a subsequent increase in their involvement in political activities. This change in political behavior should not be reproduced in men; thus, when gender quotas are present, the gap between men’s and women’s participation narrows. Using the European Values Survey and data from eighteen European democracies, this paper demonstrates that this indeed occurs for some political activities when gender gaps are compared before and after the introduction of quotas within countries. This result, however, is not replicated for across-country analyses. European countries without legislative gender quotas tend to have smaller gender gaps than countries with them. This result is explained by referring to the context of the adoption of gender quotas.

scholarly journals Increasing Women’s Political Participation in Lebanon: Reflections on Hurdles, Opportunities and Hope

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Tanya Henderson ◽  
Camille Nelson ◽  
Zeina Chemali
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Current Level ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Political Empowerment ◽  
National Parliament ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Women's Political Participation

Lebanon stands out in the Middle East for its relative political openness, religious freedom, and the academic and professional achievements of Lebanese women. Yet, paradoxically, it has one of the lowest rates of women’s political participation in the region. This paper is the result of an initiative undertaken by the Lebanese government in July 2012 to increase women’s political participation. Through this initiative, sex-segregated workshops on women’s political empowerment were held for male and female representatives of Lebanon’s political parties. The goal was to start a productive conversation that would ultimately lead to progress from the 2012 status quo of women constituting only three percent of the National Parliament of Lebanon. In this paper, we will describe the process and content explored during the women’s political empowerment workshops. Opportunities to affect change of the current level of women’s participation will be highlighted and conclusions will be drawn to aid similar initiatives.

scholarly journals Mecanismos de representación política en las democracias latinoamericanas: las cuotas electorales de género

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Roberto Álvarez San Martín
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
America Latina

Resumen: A partir de cifras y hechos planteados por PNUD, CEPAL, FLACSO Chile e INSTRAW sobre la participación política de las mujeres, se realiza una revisión de los debates, aplicaciones y efectos de las cuotas electorales de género en América latina. Se toman en cuenta las diferentes barreras que deben sortear las mujeres en la arena política, y se analizan la definición, alcances y argumentos en pro y en contra de las cuotas electorales de género. Se analiza este mecanismo a partir de los casos de Argentina y Costa Rica, los más exitosos en términos de resultados; mientras México evidencia el impacto incremental de las cuotas en la representación femenina, Perú pone en evidencia la influencia de la fuerte tradición presidencialista. Brasil es un caso paradigmático, que representaría el fracaso de las cuotas de género. Se concluye que, salvo Argentina, las otras democracias sólo han podido acelerar el proceso de inclusión real de mujeres en los procesos eleccionarios, pero sin que los resultados sean realmente compatibles con lo esperado. Las mujeres latinoamericanas, con cuotas o sin ellas, siguen estando sub-representadas en los espacios de participación política.Palabras clave: Participación política femenina, cuotas electorales de género, mecanismos de representación política.Abstract: On the basis of data and facts put forth by UN, CEPAL, FLACSO Chile e INSTRAW about the political participation of women, this article analyzes the debates about the application and effects of electoral gender quotas in Latin America. The barriers to women’s political participation are taken into account, analyzing the definition, reach and arguments for and against gender quotas. The cases of Argentina and Costa Rica, the most successful in results, are analyzed. While Mexico shows the increased impact of quotas, Peru makes evident the influence of the strong presidential tradition. Brazil is a paradigmatic case, representing the failure of gender quotes. In conclusion, save for Argentina, other democracies have only accelerated the process of women’s inclusion in election processes, but without results compatible with expectations. Latin American women, with out without quotas, are underrepresented in the spaces of political participation.Key words: feminine political participation, electoral gender quotas, mechanisms of political representation.

scholarly journals The Impact of Indonesian Law No. 6/2014 on Women’s Political Participation in the Politics of Kelurahan: A Study on Kelurahan’s Community Empowerment Institution (LPMK) in Salatiga, Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 283
Author(s):  
Ani Purwanti ◽  
Dyah Wijaningsih ◽  
Fajar Ahmad Setiawan
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Urban Counterpart ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Village ◽  
Women Participation

In Indonesia, decentralization and democratization have prompted the issue of women’s representation to be brought upon local and small-scale communities. One of the examples is the Indonesian Law No.6/2014 (the Village Act) in which the affirmative action for women’s participation is mandated in village’s representative body. Later, the same action is implemented in the urban counterpart to village’s rural that is Kelurahan, with the same Act –mutatis mutandis-. This article explores the implementation of Law No. 6/2014’s affirmative action to the kelurahan’s representative body, the Community Empowerment Institution or Lembaga Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Kelurahan (LPMK) in Salatiga. Acknowledging that there are fundamental differences between village and kelurahan, we found that such a maneuver has caused policy and practical inconsistencies where gender equality clause is omitted and the organization’s structure remains unreformed. Thus, it seems that the implementation of affirmative action for women participation in kelurahan’s politics has been withered before blooming.

Alternate Paths to Power? Women's Political Representation in Nicaragua

2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 61-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Hinojosa ◽  
Ana Vijil Gurdián
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Women’S Representation

AbstractPolitical alternate positions (otherwise known as substitutes) can have important effects on women's abilities to enter politics. Using the case of Nicaragua, this study assesses whether these alternate positions are being used to increase women's political representation or as a tool to undermine women's advancement into positions of power. By examining patterns of women's representation as candidates in the 1996, 2001, and 2006 elections for the National Assembly and as elected officeholders (as both alternates for those assembly members and titleholders), the article analyzes how various political parties are utilizing these alternate positions. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study finds no evidence that these alternate positions are used to undermine women's political progress.

Women, Piety and Political Representation

Hawwa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-186
Author(s):  
Maimuna Mohamud
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Women's Narratives ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Post War ◽  
Islamic Society

The aftermath of violent conflict provides opportunities for fresh debates about gender politics. In sub-Saharan Africa, several post-conflict states have introduced constitutional reforms and quotas to promote women’s participation in government. Yet, women’s political representation in Somalia is a matter that goes beyond the hotly-debated gender quotas which are often championed by international donors and other peacebuilding actors. In post-war Somalia, women believe that the question of political representation is closely linked to the recognition of women’s ongoing contributions to society. For many women, the contemporary post-war Islamic discourses in Somalia have eroded some rights previously guaranteed—if imperfectly—by the pre-war state. Such discourses today have also constructed a new ideal version of Somali women in an Islamic society which largely dispossesses them from public life. In this article, I highlight Somali women’s forms of activism which are centered on engaging Islamic discourses in an attempt to change current perceptions about women’s roles in politics and public life. I examine women’s narratives for insights into the root causes of women’s exclusion and the strategies used to resist, counter, and challenge oppositional Islamic discourses. I conclude by considering how women’s ‘unorganized’ movements across Somalia—premised on working within a framework of Islam, are suggestive of multifaceted expressions of women’s agency in patriarchal and non-liberal contexts.

scholarly journals Women and Legislative Representation in Nigeria’s National Assembly: A Detailed Appraisal of the 8th Assembly (2015-2019)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Jake Dabang Dan-Azumi ◽  
Caroline Asan
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Electoral Violence ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Active Interest ◽  
Legislative Representation ◽  
The Cost

This study focuses on women legislative representation in Nigeria since the commencement of the Fourth Republic (1999 to 2020). It investigates the low levels of representation of women in the National Assembly and factors that explain this. Results from the study show that the majority of female respondents indicate active interest in politics but are discouraged by factors that include prevailing gender stereotypes, cultural/religious reasons, unfavourable political environment, lack of financial capacity, electoral violence and restrictive party structures and processes amongst others. The bulk of male respondents confirm these structural biases and barriers to women’s political participation. In view of these findings, some recommendations offered include implementation of deliberate policies and legislations that target women quotas and affirmative action, elimination of structural barriers to women's participation, reducing the cost of political participation for women, reforming the electoral process, and sustained and systematic gender education.

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