By GENDER LINKS
Rama Sithanen’s brilliant presentation at the Gender symposium of 30 March, organised jointly by 2 civil society platforms: Gender Links and the Gender Equality Foundation- draws from his own research to show that the major obstacle to women’s entry into politics remain the male dominated political parties and their male-centric choice of candidates. Fielding of candidates for elections, is largely informed by a concern for representation but generally done along ethnic and caste lines in a meticulous way. Where are the women in this representation?
Women constitute slightly more than half of the population but they often remain largely out of the equation. Their consequent under representation in spheres of political decision making constitutes a ‘grave democratic deficit’’, as described by Judge Albie Sachs, more than 22 years ago in the context of the debate on electoral reform in Mauritius. Sheila Bunwaree, well known researcher in the field of ‘’governance, gender and politics’’ often argues that linking up the Electoral reform debate to the question of women representation is just a means to run way from the problem. While it is true that a good dose of PR may be more gender friendly than the first past the post system, political parties do not have to wait for electoral reforms to recognise women’s capabilities and contributions. Rama Sithanen tells us that the solution lies in the hands of the male leaders of the political parties: they are the ones who choose and field candidates. Gender being of a crosscutting nature means that it is not all that difficult to find women worthy of representing the nation across all groups and strata of society.
A pool of competent women
Despite progress made on womens’ emancipation, it is a well known fact that Mauritius continues to lag behind many of our African neighbours on the question of female representation in politics. Mauritius’s underutilization of women’s potential means that the nation is losing out. Mauritius’s diversity is not being used optimally. Diversity and inclusion are key to progress- be it within a firm, a business or a nation. Diversity is not only about ethnicity- it is also about gender, disability and sexual orientation, age etc. Mauritius is lucky to have a significant pool of highly competent women- and this largely due to the Father of the Nation- SSR who had the foresight to introduce free education. The latter has done wonders for women and girls. In politics. One often hears the argument that there is a need for competent women. Well, the country has a pool of very accomplished women who can actually make a huge difference.
Women are said to have more effective leadership skills than men. A recent Harvard Business Review paper by Zenger and Folkman actually show that women score more than men in most leadership skills, let alone the fact that women generally perform better than men in many fields. The Harvard Business review paper is only one of many which draws attention to this issue.
It is clear that the persistent gross historical injustice that women face in the political arena must be addressed. Women are tired of being mere voters, supporters to men’s campaign. They want to share power with men, they want to use their skills and knowledge to shape and implement policies in a gender sensitive manner so that the world becomes safer, more just and more inclusive.
Is Mauritius ready for parity? Perhaps not yet but we must start somewhere. In a deeply patriarchal society like ours, where holding and exercising of power has been largely the monopoly of men, it seems rather difficult to see a new gender order based on parity in our political sphere. But we can certainly have at least 30% of women candidates in the upcoming elections- with each party and/or alliance fielding at least one candidate per constituency, thus recognizing women’s competence and abilities. It all depends on the political will. Women also should lobby for their rights. Women cannot and should not vote and/or campaign for men only, they should wake up and ask to be at the decision making table. More women in these spaces mean more peace, more fairness, more justice and development for all.
To optimize on the potential of women and ensure that they can bring their contribution, we have to ‘dismantle the bricks of bias’ as Pramila Patten, who intervened at the Gender symposium, through a video intervention from New York reminds us. She notes that “no society can achieve its full potential unless women and girls can achieve theirs…’. She also adds that ‘the imperative of inclusion demands an urgent rebalancing of power and resources, beginning with a consulted push for women’s political empowerment.’’
In many ways, The Gender Symposium of 30 March on the theme: “Democratic Consolidation: Women’s Agency, Voices and Perspective” epitomizes this consulted push. The symposium attracted participants from academia, the NGO world, the legal world, trade unions and politics. There is consensus towards the necessity of moving fast, to ensure that gender equity is seen and appreciated as an avenue for a greater common good.
History has shown us that women have always come forward in very challenging times and helped to bring peace, development and security. The current times are very testing. Giving a chance to women to bring their contribution starts with the male political leaders ensuring the fielding of more women candidates. We also wish to take this opportunity to invite all citizens of Mauritius, including in the diaspora, who want a better, more just world for themselves and generations to come, to sign the petition, initiated by Gender Links and the Gender Equality Foundation, asking political leaders to field at least one woman candidate per constituency in the upcoming general elections. You can sign the petition at :
https://www.genderlinks.mu
We thank you for your support.
Gender Links