Regional and national mechanisms to address political violence against women in South Asia were discussed at a three-day “Regional Conference on Violence Against Women in Politics” in late November in Kathmandu.
At the conference, Cecilia Bylesjö, International IDEA’s Gender Advisor in Nepal outlined the findings of the report Analysis of the election from the perspective of representation and violence against women, jointly conducted by International IDEA and South Asia Partnership (SAP) International during Nepal's Constituent Assembly (CA) elections in April 2008. She pointed out that 26 per cent of the women candidates were victimized in some way during the CA elections and the fear of being victimized was one of the reasons for women’s low participation in the politics.
The conference also compared different laws, policies and provisions to combat violence against women in politics. Camena Guneratne of Srilanka, Rabbiya Bajwa of Pakistan, Martha Farrell of India, Taleya Rehman of Bangladesh and Sabin Shrestha of Nepal all gave an overview of the laws in their respective countries and the difficulty of tackling this issue. Discussion later turned to the role of the election commission and judiciary, along with the responsibility political parties have to address this problem. The concluding discussions developed recommendations covering areas such as the need for legislation, codes of conduct, developing monitoring mechanisms, lobbying lawmakers and the UN, and the use of greater educational tools at all levels.
Cecilia Bylesjö, International IDEA’s Gender Advisor in Nepal, presents findings of a new report on violence against women during the April 2008 elections in Nepal
Photo ©: IDEA
A politician from Pakistan, Riffat Javaid Kahlon, remarked that the weak laws are responsible for the rampant acts of violence against women in politics in the South Asia region. Geeta Pathak Sangrula, advocate from Nepal and also a member of International IDEA’s National Expert Group noted that the culture of silence and fear within political parties was a major factor for the low reporting of the political violence against women.
When the need to increase the number of women in politics, Sumona Das Gupta from Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP), India reminded the audience that the quality of women legislators is important: “We need a crucial mass instead of critical mass in our legislatures,” she said. She added that women's political choices are also complicated by the fact that they always belong to an ethnic group, class, caste, community and clan.
The conference recommended reviewing legal instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), UN Resolution 1325, 1820, the Beijing Declaration and existing national policies with the aim of incorporating strategies to combat political violence against women. Participants suggested the regional and national key stakeholders such as South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), National Governments, Political Parties and Election Commissions needed to be proactive to address the violence against women in politics. These recommendations were reflected in the Conference Declaration.
The conference was organized by SAP International in collaboration with International IDEA, Oxfam Novib, UNFPA and CARE Nepal. It was attended by women politicians, activists, lawyers, researchers, academics and representatives of civil society organizations and media from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Read more about the first regional conference on the same topic and organized by the same organizers: http://www.idea.int/asia_pacific/opposing_violence.cfm
Discuss
Tell a friend
