UN Resident Coordinator calls for more female representation in elected bodies

Saturday, 7 March 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Following is a statement delivered by United Nations in Sri Lanka Resident Coordinator Subinay Nandy yesterday at the South Asia Policy Research Institute (SAPRI) event at the BMICH Marking International Women’s Day 2015 Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the former President of Sri Lanka and Chairperson of South Asia Policy Research Institute (SAPRI), honourable ministers, heads of missions, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon, it is indeed my pleasure to address you all today as we mark International Women’s Day this year on Sunday, 8 March.

The theme for this year – ‘Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it! – is apt as we also mark 20 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by 189 governments, setting the agenda for realising women’s rights. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most comprehensive global agreement on women’s empowerment and gender equality, outlined actions to address 12 critical areas of concern for women and girls across the globe; those relating levels of poverty, access to education and health, safety and political participation of women. Twenty years ago, a world was imagined in which women and girls had equal rights, freedom and opportunity in every sphere of life. But how has the world fared since then? Much progress has been made in the last two decades, though slow and uneven. Yet today no country can claim to have achieved equality between men and women.

Globally, it is estimated that 60% of the chronically hungry are women and girls.
Sexual and gender-based violence continues to be a concern that needs urgent attention, with three out of every 10 women reportedly having experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner.
Despite progress in some countries, approximately 800 women die every day from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth.
And, if you take a look at women’s political participation around the world, only 22% of the world’s parliamentary seats are held by women.

There is much that Sri Lanka can be proud of when speaking of girls’ and women’s empowerment. Sri Lanka is often highlighted as an example in the region regarding education and health for women, especially for achieving high literacy rates among women and the high life expectancy at birth for the girl child. There are also large numbers of women with higher education and professional qualifications serving in the public domain, the private sector, medical, legal and teaching professions, and the arts in comparison to many other developing countries. The participation of women is Sri Lanka’s workforce is significantly lower than men Women’s political participation Today, I want to focus on progress made with regard to women’s political participation given the theme of this seminar. Globally, as I mentioned previously, only 22% of all national parliamentarians are female, which is a slow increase from 11.3% since 1995 over a 20-year period. Only 10 women ha

ve served as Head of State and 14 have served as Head of Government. There are 38 countries in which women account for less than 10 per cent of parliamentarians in single or lower houses – even if the present rate of increase in women’s representation continues as compared to previous decades, we are still a long way from reaching the “parity zone” of 40-60%. We are all aware that Sri Lankan women have enjoyed universal adult franchise since 1931 and that Sri Lanka produced the world’s first democratically elected woman Prime Minister in 1960. Moreover, Sri Lanka has committed to a number of international instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Beijing Platform for Action. It would be important to monitor how the country fares in terms implementation of its commitments taken under these instruments. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in particular, encourages National Governments to establish gender balance in government bodies and also take appropriate electoral system measures to encourage political parties to integrate women in elective and non-elective public positions in the same proportion and at the same levels as men. The governments are also urged to review the differential impact of electoral systems on the political representation of women in elected bodies and consider, where appropriate, the adjustment or reform of those systems. In addition, the political parties are urged to work on party structures and procedures to remove barriers that undermine women’s political engagement including participation in the leadership of political parties on an equal basis with men. National commitments These international obligations have been translated to national commitments through Sri Lanka Women’s Charter and the National Plan of Action on Human Rights. The Sri Lanka Women’s Charter approved by the Government on 3 March 1993 stipulates that the State must ensure equitable representation of women in the nomination process at the National, Provincial and Local government elections The National Action Plan on the Rights of Women aims to ensure 30% minimum representation of women in Parliament, provincial councils and local authorities. Despite these commitments and achievements, Sri Lanka ranks 140 out of 153 countries in terms of female representation in parliament, which is one of the lowest in South Asia and the world. Women occupy less than 6% of parliamentary seats. As of 2012, women occupied just 4% in Provincial Councils and 1.9% in local governments. Without a strong representation of women in decision making positions, there is no guarantee that women’s perspectives are adequately reflected in key policy decisions relating to critical areas such as security, economic development, reconciliation and democratisation in today’s Sri Lanka. If we look at the local context, we see that Sri Lanka has witnessed rising levels of sexual and gender based violence, a phenomenon that requires urgent and immediate attention of authorities. Increasing number of cases of sexual abuse of children and women are reported particularly from the former conflict zones of north and east, although increasing trends are being observed across the country. In taking up this issue, we would encourage women parliamentarians to link up with Commission on Status of Women which in its Report on the 57th session in 2013 urged States to strongly condemn violence against women and girls committed in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, and calls for effective measures of accountability and redress as well as effective remedies. Women’s political representation Coming back to the issue of women’s political representation in Sri Lanka, we understand that such low levels have always been seen as a conundrum when Sri Lanka has performed so well in other spheres such as education and health. The issue is not only that the number of women elected is low, but that the number of women nominated by political parties to contest at elections is also equally low. Nomination of women to any level of elected body has not increased beyond 7.7 per cent of the total candidates nominated. We have commissioned several studies which addresses this problem, particularly a joint study done together with the former Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment in 2009 as well as the National Human Development Report 2014 on Youth and Development. What these studies reveal is that the reasons for low women’s political participation start at the personal level due to socio-cultural, economic and psychological barriers such as:

lack of opportunity, or where the opportunity is available, reasons such as disliking politics;
lack of time due to family responsibilities;
the likelihood of attacks on character and virtue;
perceptions on lack of ability or non-worthiness;
and the perception that politics is increasingly associated with violence.

These coupled with stereotypical notions about the ‘right’ place of women in society have impacted on low levels of women in employment, the public sphere and political representation. UN Women in Sri Lanka I must mention that in trying to address this issue, in line with the global frameworks and the conventions that I have highlighted earlier, several UN agencies, particularly the UN Women, the United Nations organisation dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, does significant work both in Sri Lanka and other parts of the world. The UN Women now has a dedicated presence in Sri Lanka. UN Women provides training for women political candidates to help build their capacities, and offers voter and civic education and sensitisation campaigns on gender equality. In India, the Gender Responsive Governance Program empowers over half a million elected women representatives in six states to make public policy responsive to women, and to ensure that elected representatives have better knowledge of women’s rights. Notably, UN Women is also developing a Gender Responsive Index to rate South Asian countries according to the participation of women in politics and governance. I would like to highlight the forthcoming UN Women’s project in Sri Lanka on increasing women’s political participation, in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Government. The project aims to increase both representation and political participation of women at provincial and national levels. It will work to strengthen the capacity for gender-responsive budgeting in key Ministries; support the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus; and engage with the political leadership to ensure more nominations for women in elections. We also support research and policy advocacy to address legal and political impediments to women’s political participation. For instance, through UNDP, we are exploring ways of supporting the electoral reform process in Sri Lanka with technical expertise to facilitate a more informed and nuanced debate on the subject. In addition, we support trainings, coalitions and lobbying (for example political parties) so that women representatives transform and implement policies, programs and resource allocations in favour of women’s rights. We also strengthen the capacity of State institutions to mainstream gender responsive governance in their programs. I would like to say in conclusion that we, in the United Nations, will do our best to engage with our national partners to increase women’s political engagement in Sri Lanka. An important juncture Sri Lanka is currently at an important juncture where there is strong commitment by the new government to introduce reforms to the electoral system. Women’s representation in the political sphere is an important part of this. Against this background, we urge all registered political parties in Sri Lanka to take whatever steps necessary to increase the number of women being nominated for elected bodies both at national and sub-national levels. I take this opportunity to thank SAPRI and its Management for extending this invitation to share our reflections and experiences on this important issue. I would like to leave you with a famous proverb, one that I have slightly adapted to suit the occasion: “The best time to achieve gender equality was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Thank you.