First women to become Parliament Speakers in Uganda and Bangladesh say: Make 30pc women target a law
Published on: Wednesday, May 06, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The only way Malaysian women can be assured of achieving the 30per cent target for decision-making in the public sector is for it to be legislated as is the case in many countries in the Commonwealth."Many governments around the world have done that. Once a policy becomes legislation, the Government will be obliged to follow it. If your Constitution does not provide for women's representation, it is most likely that only men will be nominated to contest in the country's elections," said Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, Rebecca A. Kadaga."Women should lobby for it," said Rebecca, who was in Sabah for the just-concluded Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Executive Committee Mid-Year Meeting.ADVERTISEMENT "The men leaders have it within their means to make positive changes but they lack the political will to execute it. "If 50pc of the population is locked out of decision-making, it means we don't have 100pc consent of society. So, only one-half of the society is thinking," she said.She said 34pc of the Ugandan Parliament constitute female parliamentarians. Rebecca, 59, a lawyer, was the first woman to be elected Speaker in the history of the Parliament in Uganda in 2011.Malaysia made a commitment at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995 to achieve a 30pc target for women's representation in decision-making roles in the public sector by 2000.Wife of then Prime Minister, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali led a high-powered delegation comprising women ministers and politicians, high-ranking ministry officers as well as women NGO activists.ADVERTISEMENT "Your Prime Minister's wife believed in the cause and wanted it to be implemented but had no capacity to fulfil it because she was not representing the Government. Neither was she in the Cabinet."It's her husband who had the capacity to do so. It was the Prime Minister who could decide on the matter and bring it to the Cabinet, not his wife," Rebecca noted on why not much materialised.
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In 2004, successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi introduced the government policy of 30pc target for women's participation in decision-making in the public sector. No time frame has been given for this target to be achieved. And because it did not carry the force of law, again nothing much happened.Relating her experience, Rebecca said she used her position and power as Head of the Legislature to make changes in the Parliament."Initially, the Whips were all men and this was against the Constitution. So when I became the Speaker four years ago, I strongly believed that women should take their place rightfully. I changed the rules of the House."Now in our Standing Orders, 40pc of the positions of Chair must be filled by women because they are there. Currently, the Opposition Whip is a woman, the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee is a woman and likewise, the Chair of the Local Government Accounts Committee," she said."I realise we are not doing good at all. Globally, women's representation in national parliaments stands only at 19pc after Cedaw (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) and the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action. Again, it is devoid of a plan and intention, and boils down to lack of political will," she lamented. Cedaw is an international human rights treaty for women. It was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Malaysia ratified it in 1995. This means Malaysia is required to take concrete steps to uphold and advance the rights of women.Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament, Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, who is Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Executive Committee, congratulated the Malaysian Government on the 30pc target decision."At least, you have the decision and now the question is of implementation…I am sure there are steps being taken to implement the same," she said.Like Rebecca, Dr Shirin, 49, is also a lawyer and became the first woman Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament in 2013. She feels women leaders would not get very far if they only keep talking among themselves, i.e. one woman leader is talking to the other woman leader."That is counter-productive. We know our problems but we now need to engage with the men who are the policy-makers, so we need to talk to men parliamentarians," she advised. She also questioned the notion for a women caucus within Parliament (or Women Parliamentary Caucus). "Why a women caucus? It should be a gender caucus because we need our male friends. We need our male parliamentarians to promote the causes of women like all the other causes that they promote. "Therefore, if we just keep it within ourselves, that this is a women's issue, we will not get too far," she reasoned.Giving an example, she said sometimes men don't even know what women are talking about. "They say, 'Oh, you have maternity leave for six months, what else do you need? Hello, we need more, that's not enough, that's just the beginning. So, we need to educate the men, it's not their fault. You have to make them understand that this is why we need to promote women's issues." Dr Shirin said Bangladesh has made very significant strides in women empowerment."I say that not only because we have a woman Prime Minister, we have a woman leader of the Opposition and a woman Speaker in the Parliament, but also because our women representation is very strong even in the local government," she shared.Of the 350 Members of Parliament in Bangladesh (300 elected seats and 50 reserve seats for women), 71 are women MPs (registering 20pc).In contrast, the Dewan Rakyat of the Malaysian Parliament (Lower House of Representatives) consists of 222 Members of Parliament and female MPs account for only 10.4pc of the total number.She and Rebecca also expressed disappointment that there was only one woman minister in the Sabah Cabinet.When I visited your State Assembly I was surprised to see only pictures of men hanging on the wall. I said to myself 'where are the women?" said Rebecca. Dr Shirin, on the other hand, said she was sure there are so many competent women in Sabah. "I am sure the Chief Minister is sensitive about it, and will take necessary measures if it is within his capacity.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"It's important to make the Government understand that it's not just to have a token woman in the Cabinet or in the Parliament. It is with a longer vision of bringing about the kind of changes that we need for sustainable development," she said.