The New Nation - Internet Edition

Bijan Lal Dev

Before hovering on women's empowerment let us have a glimpse over some facts on economic and political decision-making status of women world wide. Only one per cent of the world's assets are in the name of women. Although in Bangladesh since one-eleven, the proceedings of the anti-corruption cases have been spotting differently. Men in Arab States have 3.5 times the purchasing power of their female counterparts.

70 percent of people in abject poverty across the world - living on less than $1per day - are women. Women's participation in managerial and administrative posts is around 33 per cent in the developed world, 15 per cent in Africa and 13 per cent in Asia and Pacific.

In Africa and Asia-Pacific these percentages, small as they are, reflect a doubling of numbers in the last twenty years. Among the developed countries, in France only 9 per cent of the workforce and in the Netherlands 20 per cent of the workforce are female administrators and managers.

The global picture of the participation of women in politics has also been bleak since the history of democracy.

In 1945 there were only 26 Parliaments world wide where 3 per cent Member of Parliaments in the lower house were women. The table shows the gradual increase of women's participation in politics.

year No. of Parliaments

% of Women MPs

1945 26 3.0

1955 61 7.5

1965 94 8.1

1975 115 10.9

1985 136 12.0

1995 176 11.6

2005 188 17.9

The percentage of women senators in the upper house has also been increased over the years. Coming down to 2008, according to the data of 188 countries compiled by the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) there are 44,087 MPs in both houses. Out of which 7,793 or 17.7 per cent are women. Counting in only the lower house, the situation is slightly better. Out of 37,019 MPs 6,615 or 17.9 per cent are women. On regional basis, the Parliaments of the Nordic countries have the highest representation or 41.4 per cent of women. It is 20.9 per cent in the whole Europe, 20.7 per cent in the Americas, 17.3 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, 16.9 per cent in Asia, 12.9 per cent in Pacific and 9.6 per cent in Arab States. Going to country-wise figure, Rwanda (48.8%), Sweden (47%) and Finland (41.5) are at the top while there is not a single woman MP in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Solomon Islands. In the eighth parliament of Bangladesh ended in 2006, only six MPs of 300 seats or 2 per cent were women. In India 49 or 9.1 per cent MPs of 541 seats are women. In the US Congress in 2007, women hold 87 or 16.3 per cent of the 535 seats (16 of the 100 seats in the Senate and 71 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives).

In the 20th century, a good number of women leaders were the head of state and government across the world. A few of those who drew the global attraction during their tenure were Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandarnaike (1960-65, 1970-77, 1994-2000), Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1966-77, 1980-84), Israeli President Golda Me?r (1969-74), British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1979-90), Dominican Prime Minister Eugenia Charles (1980-95), President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino (1986-92), Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (1988-90, 1993-96), Irish President Mary Robinson (1990-97) who has been Assistant Secretary General and UN High Commissioner of Human Rights since 1997, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994-2005), President of the Philippines Gloria Arroyo (2001- ) and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001-04). Two Prime Ministers of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia (1991-96, 2001-06) and Sheikh Hasina (1996-2001) also drew global attentions for many reasons.

At present there are 12 women head of the State and government across the world including Germany, India, Argentina, Chile, Philippines, Finland, and Mozambique. Women speakers of parliament were elected for the first time in Pakistan, Gambia, Swaziland, Turkmenistan and the United States, holding a record 36 out of a total 262 speakers worldwide, according to the IPU.

The lives of women of the Indian subcontinent began to change in the late 19th century when the colonial government, critical of the treatment of both Hindu and Muslim women, found allies among reformers of the soil. Keen to reform their own society, these men agreed that women should be educated and play some role in public life. By the end of the 19th century, women of the subcontinent were attending schools and colleges, becoming teachers and doctors, writing work of fiction and essays about their condition, joining organizations to promote social reforms and participating in political meetings. They were referred to as 'new women', and like the next generation who joined the freedom movement like Kalpana Datta, Pretilata Sen, Ila Mitra, Sarajoni Naidu they entered public spaces reserved for men.

The womenfolk of the subcontinent at least in one case were benefited from colonial role as they were granted the right to vote on the same terms as men in 1928 far ahead than women were lived in Europe and Americas by the Representation of the People Act 1928.

It was felt that men and women should be equal in every way and that all adults were entitled to a vote, whether rich or poor, male or female, and regardless of race. But this renaissance was not continued since the end of the colonial role. Women were pushed back in the then Pakistan and Indian women were engaged in economic reality. But the Bengali women had started to come out again in 1960s to protest repression on Bengalis and women. During liberation movement in late 1960s and in the war of independence in 1971, the role of the Bengali women was great and many of them participated actively in the freedom movement and liberation war. It created a new vista engaging women in politics.

To continue the spirit of women's empowerment, a good number of revolutionary measures including constitutional provisions have been introduced since independence. The Article 28(4) of the Constitution of Bangladesh enacted in 1972 states, 'Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making special provision in favour of women or children t' Based on this constitutional provision, the Article 65(3) allows the Parliament to select 45 women as MPs.

It states, 't there shall be forty five seats exclusively for women members and they will be elected by the aforesaid members in accordance with law on the basis of procedure of proportional representation in the Parliament through single transferable vote t' The revised clause was inserted by the fourteenth amendment of the Constitution in 2004 and this provision will be valid for ten years. So in the expected 2009 9th Parliament, there will be 45 reserved women MPs. But this provision will not prevent a woman from being elected to any of the 300 parliamentary seats open for general election. It will help start to help women get into politics faster and in larger numbers. The reconstituted Election Commission floated a draft proposal for amending Representation of People Order (RPO), 1972 to give more spaces to women in the political parties' rank and file.

It proposed Article 90A(9) of RPO as 'Every registered political party shall make specific provisions in its constitutions regarding inclusion of at least 33 per cent women as office bearers of its central committee and other committees at different levels.' They also discussed this issue with the political parties. Discussions are going on at different forum about the ways of ensuring of women's empowerment in public life. It has created awareness in the society and hopefully one day it will come out as a movement as the concerned agencies including the Government, Election Commission and Civil Society are pursuing the case. Women then will earn decision making power in real terms and could build bridges of development and economic empowerment effectively.

-PID