Counting down 1000 UN success stories to mark 1000 days left to achieve the MDGs 609: The low level of political representation of Arab women is a result of cultural norms and stereotypes, as well as unstable poli tical situations posing specific security risks. Arab women generally lack experience in leadership and campaigning skills and have a limited presence in political parties. Political systems in Arab countries have long discouraged broad participation: many were characterized either by one-party rule or a simple-majority electoral system, rather than proportional representation. Overcoming barriers to women’s political representation usually requires adopting special measures. Some countries introduced gender quotas, such as Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, the Sudan and Tunisia. Iraq used its transition period and the creation of its 2005 Constitution to set a 25 per cent quota for women’s representation in Parliament, for example. Quotas can help increase the number of female parliamentarians, but they are not the only option. Supporting measures can include designing electoral systems to encourage participation, training women leaders and mobilizing women’s vote in political parties
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 12:02:20 +0000
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