The possibility of mandatory quotas to give female Algerian politicians a better shot at power received wide discussion at a recent meeting of Maghreb political and legal experts.
By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers — 20/12/09
The idea of boosting the Maghreb's number of female office-holders through gender-based quotas, particularly in Algeria, is sparking debate in the region's political and legal circles.
Algeria offers one example of how Maghreb women's electoral fortunes have declined. Despite a strong presence in the education, justice and health-care systems, Algerian women saw their number of parliamentary seats fall from 35 in 1962 to 30 in 2007.
Such concerns spurred political and legal experts to meet on Sunday (December 20th) in Algiers to raise awareness about women's role in politics and their relationship to the media. But much of the debate at the event centered on the quota question.
"The quota is the only democratic formula that will allow women to get into politics," Algerian feminist activist and author Nassera Merah said at the event, which was held as part of a project on women's political power in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia jointly run by the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women and the Center for Arab Women Training and Research.
"[Quotas] are nothing new: They already exist in Sweden, Norway and France, and they've enabled countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia to have a good percentage of women in Parliament," Merah said during the meeting, which targeted female parliamentarians and municipal council members, as well as party activists and journalists.
Algeria's proposed gender-based quotas drew mixed opinions.
"In Algeria, the laws are not discriminatory," said Nadia Bellal, a legal consultant for the UNDP in Algeria. "They don't prevent women from entering into political contests alongside men; the obstacles lie at the implementation stage and in people's thinking."
In spite of such opinions, Algerian Solidarity Minister Djamel Ould Abbas last week announced a bill aimed at strengthening women's participation in national political life.
"Despite political openness, women's representation within elected institutions, namely Parliament and the local assemblies, is still very low," Abbas told the press on December 13th. "The bill, to be published in January, will enforce the provisions of Article 31a of the new Constitution, which stipulates that 'the State shall work to promote women's political rights by increasing their opportunity to access representation in the elected assemblies'."
Under the bill, Algeria would opt for a quota system with clearly defined proportions of electoral lists composed of female candidates.
The new law would mean "fairer representation of women in politics," said the minister, adding that any lists that did not comply with the quota would be rejected.
The new bill is "the result of sacrifices made by campaigning organizations", said the director of the Information and Documentation Center on Women's and Children's Rights, Nadia Aït Zai.
Even though the bill's basic idea has been welcomed by Algerian political parties, some female politicians have their doubts.
"The quota system can't fix the problem of parity and equality in terms of access to political posts," said Louisa Hanoune, leader of the opposition Labor Party, which boasts nine women MPs.
Hanoune, who favors "skills" rather than quotas as the basis for political advancement, said "women must not appear on an electoral list unless they have the necessary skills and abilities. And if they do, then there's no need for us to limit their numbers."
For Algeria's 2012 elections, some political parties are already thinking of ways to boost women's representation in Parliament. But quotas or no quotas, ordinary Algerians who spoke to Magharebia seemed in favor of women playing a more prominent role in politics.
"There must be no obstacles put in the way of electing women to posts of political responsibility," said Zohir, 35.
Karima, 40, said women "must decide their own destiny. They must be free to enter or shun politics, as they wish."
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/22/feature-03.
By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers — 20/12/09
The idea of boosting the Maghreb's number of female office-holders through gender-based quotas, particularly in Algeria, is sparking debate in the region's political and legal circles.
Algeria offers one example of how Maghreb women's electoral fortunes have declined. Despite a strong presence in the education, justice and health-care systems, Algerian women saw their number of parliamentary seats fall from 35 in 1962 to 30 in 2007.
Such concerns spurred political and legal experts to meet on Sunday (December 20th) in Algiers to raise awareness about women's role in politics and their relationship to the media. But much of the debate at the event centered on the quota question.
"The quota is the only democratic formula that will allow women to get into politics," Algerian feminist activist and author Nassera Merah said at the event, which was held as part of a project on women's political power in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia jointly run by the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women and the Center for Arab Women Training and Research.
"[Quotas] are nothing new: They already exist in Sweden, Norway and France, and they've enabled countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia to have a good percentage of women in Parliament," Merah said during the meeting, which targeted female parliamentarians and municipal council members, as well as party activists and journalists.
Algeria's proposed gender-based quotas drew mixed opinions.
"In Algeria, the laws are not discriminatory," said Nadia Bellal, a legal consultant for the UNDP in Algeria. "They don't prevent women from entering into political contests alongside men; the obstacles lie at the implementation stage and in people's thinking."
In spite of such opinions, Algerian Solidarity Minister Djamel Ould Abbas last week announced a bill aimed at strengthening women's participation in national political life.
"Despite political openness, women's representation within elected institutions, namely Parliament and the local assemblies, is still very low," Abbas told the press on December 13th. "The bill, to be published in January, will enforce the provisions of Article 31a of the new Constitution, which stipulates that 'the State shall work to promote women's political rights by increasing their opportunity to access representation in the elected assemblies'."
Under the bill, Algeria would opt for a quota system with clearly defined proportions of electoral lists composed of female candidates.
The new law would mean "fairer representation of women in politics," said the minister, adding that any lists that did not comply with the quota would be rejected.
The new bill is "the result of sacrifices made by campaigning organizations", said the director of the Information and Documentation Center on Women's and Children's Rights, Nadia Aït Zai.
Even though the bill's basic idea has been welcomed by Algerian political parties, some female politicians have their doubts.
"The quota system can't fix the problem of parity and equality in terms of access to political posts," said Louisa Hanoune, leader of the opposition Labor Party, which boasts nine women MPs.
Hanoune, who favors "skills" rather than quotas as the basis for political advancement, said "women must not appear on an electoral list unless they have the necessary skills and abilities. And if they do, then there's no need for us to limit their numbers."
For Algeria's 2012 elections, some political parties are already thinking of ways to boost women's representation in Parliament. But quotas or no quotas, ordinary Algerians who spoke to Magharebia seemed in favor of women playing a more prominent role in politics.
"There must be no obstacles put in the way of electing women to posts of political responsibility," said Zohir, 35.
Karima, 40, said women "must decide their own destiny. They must be free to enter or shun politics, as they wish."
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/22/feature-03.
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