by
Shashikant Nishant Sharma
Editor, International Journal for Social Studies
Women's participation in politics and in
the exercise of political responsibilities should be encouraged and facilitated
by action to promote awareness, comprising civic and political education, which
helps women to know their rights and to become conscious of their capacity to
have a direct hand in political life.
Parliament, political parties and
organizations, trade unions, non-governmental organizations and the media can
all contribute to this process. However specific they may be, women's issues
are questions that concern society as a whole. All governments should thus take
the necessary steps to ensure that the interests and specific problems of women
are explicitly taken into account and dealt with, in a permanent and thorough
manner and in all areas pertaining to governmental jurisdiction.
It is absolutely essential that the
necessary material and human resources are earmarked for this purpose. Part of
these resources should be devoted to promoting women's participation in civic
life as an integral part of the process of strengthening democracy and the
Ministry of Education should specifically see to it that proper civic,
political, moral, and legal education is disbursed from early childhood.
Government action in this respect could
include educating women to participate in and manage public affairs (see also
the section on non-governmental organizations below). One of the priorities of
the Government should be to inform the public of all the legal provisions which
establish the principle of equality between men and women and to ensure that
these are respected. It should also regularly propagates figures and other data
on women in public life as well as in political life.
The governmental policy promoting
participation in civic life should be designed and implemented in close
consultation with the political parties and professional as well as social
community based organizations. The Government should further rely on the media
to inform the public of its objectives, its activities and its achievements.
The Government should offer to administrative personnel (men and women) a
different type of training so as to promote a positive change in the image that
governmental institutions have of equality between men and women.
b) Political parties and organizations
and trade unions Political parties and organizations should carry out public
information campaigns on the need for and importance of women's participation
in political life as an integral part of the process of strengthening
democracy. In this connection, wherever women's branches exists, they could
play an effective role.
By analyzing election results, the
parties could assess the advantage of choosing women candidates as well as men
candidates who are active in promoting women's participation. Women should be
encouraged to become involved in trade unions as these organizations are
powerful informal levers for the control of political power. c)
Non-governmental organizations Non-governmental organizations should also carry
out public information campaigns on the need for and importance of women's
participation in political life as an integral part of the process of
strengthening democracy.
They should undertake campaigns to
encourage the population, especially women, to vote. In doing so, they could
draw special attention to those candidates (female or male) who are active in
promoting women's participation. They could organize training courses for women
in public speaking, communication, negotiating techniques and strategy,
leadership, techniques of moderating groups, management of public affairs,
contacts with the press, etc.
Women should be encouraged to set up
organizations to defend their status or multispectral associations where they
could discover the force of feminine solidarity. d) Media The contribution
which the media can make towards the promotion of awareness is undoubtedly
crucial. They can help to install among the public the idea that women's
participation in political life is an essential part of democracy.
They can also make sure to avoid giving
negative false and minimizing images of women and their determination and
capacity to participate in politics, stressing the value of women's status and
roles in economic and social life and in the development process in general.
Any hackneyed presentation of the image of women by any media should be
strictly prohibited by law.
The media can play an important role in
such endeavors as removing discrimination and prejudice against women and
encouraging them to improve their personal qualities and actively participate
in management and decision-making. They should widely publicize the
contributions that women have made to the development process of human
civilizations and history, introduce to the public positive images of women's
characters, encourage women to build confidence, raise women's participation
awareness and deplore discrimination and any other conduct detrimental to
women's interests.
Basic texts it is proposed that the
basic texts, for example, those which define the party's basic policy, its
hierarchy and the rules of procedure, should be reviewed in order to eliminate
any provision which explicitly condones or could justify discrimination against
women. b. Political parties' programmes it is suggested that, when drawing up
their programmes, parties should pay special attention to the principle of
equality between men and women. The programmes should focus on the advantages
of active partnership between men and women based on recognition of their
difference and complementarily. In this spirit, it is also recommended that
parties should aim to eliminate from their programmes any terms or wording
which could directly or indirectly imply the notion of superiority of men over
women.
Decision-making bodies It is proposed
that measures be taken to give equally qualified men and women equal
opportunities to belong to decision-making bodies at all levels in the party's
structure: local, provincial and national. There should be expansion of
Political Reservations for Women at National and State levels, ensuring that it
is not seen only as ‘ quota system’ .Also Ensure that women are not just given
challenging seats d.
Women's branches in the parties Women's
branches (where exists) in the parties should have the following as their
objectives:
(i)
To
constitute a forum for discussing the special problems encountered by women in
carrying out their party activities;
(ii)
(To
organize grassroots activities to make women especially those with a low level
of education - aware of their civil and political rights and of the importance
and effect of their active participation in political life;
(iii)
To prepare women - including those with scant
education - to take part in elections by informing them of the issues and
explaining how the elections are held in practice;
(iv)
To train women to become candidates in local,
provincial and national elections; this training could include courses on
various aspects of electoral campaigns and preparation for contacts with the
media;
(v)
To establish networks for support for women
candidates at elections and for women elected.
