Women’s participation in politics
Women’s participation in politics is a core factor in changing political institutions around the world. In fact women’s experience with politics as well as in formal politics such as in legislatures, elections, local councils and political parties has significantly changed things around them. Additionally, women’s admittance to authority and decision-making power in political institutions is crucial to attaining gender equality in the long run. Women’s political empowerment became a clarion in seventies, grounded on assumptions concerning how this would help to change things for every woman.
It was thought that gender equality could only be attained via political change and that women involvement in political matters would press forward the cause of equality and the rights of women; that unless women were represented in national, global and local politics, the speed for such changes couldn’t be sustained. A crucial number of women in politics would also start wider social peace and justice by fostering peaceful conflict resolution, socially just and sustainable development, protection and admittance to human rights and putting individuals above profits.
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Finally, women in politics would change the nature of authority and politics via more accountable, consultative and transparent political practices. In other terms, that woman would practice politics in a different way and use power accountably. In essence, women’s participation in politics has helped to change things in the world around them. Women’s Power In oppressive social interactions, those who have power are too frequently capable of closing options, even the thought of options, so that the status quo looks impossible and inevitable to change.
The enormous power of movements comprising women has been their capability to oppose such thinking and to dispute not only that change must come but also that many things are possible to change. Women should never hesitate for a moment that every of them when they work jointly can challenge injustice head on and establish an atmosphere for change. Women have most of the times drawn on the authority of combined action to alter the world. Indeed women battles for justice and gender equality contribute to some of histories most spectacular revolutions in societal relations.
They have managed to challenge oppression and injustices in societal relations across the world in a manner that that is critical to building peace, development and democracy which is sustainable. This magnitude of development of world’s women reveals what is at the center of the revolution; women struggling to hold both private and public authorities answerable for meeting acceptable standards of gender impartiality. When justice and answerability ultimately prevent gender prejudice, power systems will expand as well, and not limit women.
Key to Achieving a Voice Women’s involvement in politics is a central factor in altering things in the world. They should understand that political involvement is the key to attaining a voice and in exercising citizenship. Although only a small portion of women hold positions of authority, they already have the essential crucial mass to expand admittance to their entitlements. It is obvious that most women in politics do not hold power for its own sake, but to put in place policies that would better the lives of other women.
For instance, the achievements of Chile’s first female leader addressed numerous issues affecting women by legalizing divorce, established free pre-kindergarten, built houses for abused women, ended sexual harassment and is presently attempting to pass an equivalent pay regulation (Hinojosa, 2008).. These policies positively women from all walks of life and altered the dynamics of relationship with their male counterparts. Effect of Women in Politics Some studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of women in politics at the lower level. Women make different decision which are better and aimed at addressing issues affecting them.
For instance, a study on how men and women holding public offices spend their resources revealed that women tend to spend more money on education and water while men spent more on transportation and road-building (Hinojosa, 2008). This shows significant differences on how resources are spent with women spending their share on what is more important to the society. In countries such as Rwanda, women comprise almost half of the national assembly, putting the nation in the top position amongst countries with the highest percentage of women in parliament Hinojosa, 2008).
Following the horrendous genocide fourteen years ago, women were called to assist rewrite the country’s laws because it was assumed that they were preferable at the procedure of reconciliation compared to men. These women utilized their authority to establish concrete alterations in policy that would straightforwardly affect the live of women. Consequently, women can presently labor without permission from their husbands, inherit property and established a regulation, whereby thirty percent of parliamentary positions should be held by them (Hinojosa, 2008).
Involvement of women in U. S politics According to Gurin and Tilly (1992) what has occurred in American politics as a result of women participation in politics is debatable. Women have undoubtedly extended their roles in decision making as participant and interested citizens, as activists in organizations and parties as well as holders of public offices. In that view they haven’t been banned from access. Moreover, the space for women on political schedule occupied by matters connected to gender has also improved drastically.
There is no doubt that there has been a substantial change in terms of attaining equality with men Gurin and Tilly, 1992). The grater participation of women has obviously had costs for American politics. Priorities and government programs tend to change as group becomes increasingly active and involved in political issues, and as the leaders or members of the group grow a consciousness of their combined interest and express those combined interest as calls for government action.
Gurin and Tilly (1992) argue that political participation by women is neither a sufficient condition nor a necessary one for administration to give it attention. Some politically deprived groups obtain much support from the government while other groups which are active receive less support. Similarly, a category that actively participates in politics needn’t be conscious about its interest or express them for there to be change or government response.
Governments anticipate the demands and needs of women and are probable to be responsive to activists irrespectively of how they express their demands. But explicit and awareness of women concerns also help. The expanded and the enhanced consciousness of women as well as their participation in politics have brought forth various issues affecting them onto the arena and influenced public policy. An issue of Democratic Justice Women’s direct participation in politics has been perceived not only as an issue of democratic justice but also as a way of ensuring improved government responsibility to women.
Historically, quotas have been an efficient automobile for backing women political participation, particularly when they are supported by sanctions. But enhancing the figures of females in decision-making is in itself inadequate to guarantee better responsiveness in to women requirements in the public sector. It should be connected to governance reforms which are gender-sensitive as well as responsive, inclusive and answerable management of public issues that enhances state capacity to enforce gender policies.
Presently, there are more women in leadership positions in a country such as Liberia than ever before. The percentage of women in the country assemblies has improved by eight percent to the world average of eighteen percent in the previous decade (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2009). Yet at the present rate of women participation in politics in developing nations will fail to reach the parity region where neither gender holds more than sixty percent of political offices until 2045 (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2009).
Strong Mobilization Women’s bodies have played a significant role in challenging or opposing authoritarian administrations in Chile, Nepal, Peru and Argentina; in exerting pressure for harmony in Uganda, Burundi, Sierra Leone; in petitioning for legislative alteration to halt genital mutilation in Burkina Faso and Senegal, ensure inheritance entitlements in Rwanda, and encourage rights in marriage in countries such as Turkey and Brazil (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2009)..
These movements have also strengthened representation by lobbying for quotas and other provisional measures including reserved seats as a way of supporting women participation in political contest. This has led to their usage at sub-national and national levels in over ninety five countries which increased women’s involvement in politics.
In elections held in 2007, the typical representation of females was nearly nineteen percent in those nations that utilized some form of electoral allowance, in contrast with fourteen percent for those nations without such allowances for women, irrespective of electoral structure (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2009). Strong policy and legislation. Higher figures of women in national assemblies normally contribute to better attention to issues affecting women.
A research carried out in Britain, for instance, reveals that since the total number of women holding public offices more that doubled to eighteen percent since the 1997 voting, matters of specific significance to women such as social protection and childcare have obtained more attention (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2009). Political answerability to women starts with expanding the figure of women in politics because even in cases where political will exist, numerous administrations don’t have the capability, know-how or resources to guarantee implementation of gender equality strategies.
Women have proven that they have the capability to change the world. For instance, a group of women in United States senate, though an ideologically sundry group, worked jointly on numerous issues including improved access to personal retirement accounts, more finances for breast cancer and health care. They also reached out to other leaders around the globe. Generally, women leaders tend to be good at working with diverse groups and are result oriented and more pragmatic.
Indeed, if there were additional women leaders across the world, the planet would have more representative administrations, stronger economies as well as a healthier and sustainable surrounding. Effects of Enhanced Representation of Women It is definitely a fact the thousands of bold women who joined politics have tried to accomplish all this and more undeniably, women have achieved an important impact on political institutions and politics at numerous levels (Baltiwala, 2009).
It is also important to confront the notion that enhanced representation of females in elected institutions has failed to translate these bodies or engendered strategies in the way many people anticipated, not even in those handfuls of nations where women nominated in politics have attained more than a crucial mass. Women have been unable press forward this idea of democracy as hearty, as something that empowers each voice, priority, and perspective to become portion of the shared will.
Women Movements Indeed, recent study of various movements comprising of women worldwide reveals that the women who have been trying with and involved in this spirit of democracy, are females in social movements (Baltiwala, 2009). It is women in group organizations or organized movements who press forward democratic process in a manner that females in formal political organizations are incapable to achieve due to the very male, centralized and hierarchical cultures of these bodies.
They achieve this by challenging the relations and structures of authority in public and private spheres, confronting the ideologies that rationalize or validate these relations, and by redistributing and accessing these resources. They establish struggles that tend to redefine ideas of sustainability, peace and development. More importantly, they struggle through the heartache and complexity of building wholes that listen and incorporate the minorities within their own organizations. Achievements of Women in Politics
According to Baltiwala (2009), to demonstrate these characteristics, the women’s political movement in Mexico has confronted the patriarchy found within their culture, while establishing an intricate novel construct of the interaction between the natural surrounding and themselves. The Domestic Workers organization of the U. S, the Mothers movements of East Europe as well as the Dalit Women’s movement in Northern India have all battled to construct the most fair and democratic forms of inner governance while at the same asserting their entitlements from formal political institutions around them (Baltiwala, 2009).
The One in Nine Campaigns in South Africa and the Groots Kenya network confront both the patriarchal violence against females that denies vulnerable women of their bodily integrity or their rights of inheritance as widows of AIDS, and confront the malfunction of their democratic countries to address their issues and needs (Baltiwala, 2009). There exists only a handful of such movements across the globe that illustrate that given the opportunity and consciousness to build and organize collective authority, women are in a stable process of asserting true citizenship.
Not only are they champions of social equality buts its actual architects. Conclusion It is almost an undeniable fact that if women headed the globe, everything would be transformed. Politics would become more collegial, enterprises would be more profitable or productive and societies would be better. Active participation of women in politics would make the globe a better place. It is certainly easy to contend that men haven’t done much in politics. The previous century was in fact the bloodiest period known in world history, and for long, this has been a story of terrorism, abject poverty, war, religious extremism and disease.
It may not be the men’s fault but they are the ones who have been in charge and it is not like the world is closer to locating replies to these vexing and weighty problems. Additionally, if there exists communities where women have led, they are far between and few. For practically all of world’s history, woman has assumed a supportive role to man and in cases where women have led or actively participated in politics substantial changes in issues affecting them have been recorded. References Baltiwala, S. (2009). Politics outside politics: How Women Redefine Politics. Retrieved July 2, 2009 from http://www.
opendemocracy. net/article/nobel-womens-initiative-2009/politics-outside-politics-how-women-redefine-democracy Hinojosa, M. (2008). Women, Power and politics: How have Women in Politics Changed the U. S. and the World. Retrieved July 3, 2009 from http://www. huffingtonpost. com/maria-hinojosa/women-power-and-politics_b_127743. html Gurin, P. and Tilly, L. A. (1992). Women, Politics, and Change. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. United Nations Development Fund for Women. (2009). Progress of the World’s Women. Retrieved July 2, 2009 from http://www. unifem. org/progress/2008/politics. html
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