VIEW FROM THE CWP
The new Chairperson of the CWP speaking to delegates following her election win in Johannesburg.
leaders in the Commonwealth countries and more specifically the women of Bangladesh.
When I met with my counterpart the Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh, Hon. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, I commended the Bangladesh Government for the promotion of women interests through the Project Joyeeta, a dedicated business platform that supports and facilitates women entrepreneurs at grass-roots level to showcase and market their own products and services. There is a need to address the plight of rural women as governments across the globe implement gender equality programmes.
Although most African countries- especially in west Africa, central Africa and even in the East have not reached greater heights in respect to female political leadership, South Africa, is now leading the fight for women’s cause in political leadership and responsibility after failing to hit the 30 per cent Beijing declaration target.
According to records at the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretariat, South Africa have 42.3 per cent female representation in the Lower House and an additional 32.1 per cent in the Upper House. This is a sign of where all Parliaments should be heading. By increasing female
representation, especially in positions of influence, this will give women an opportunity to provide leadership and participate in decision-making processes.
I underscore the need to focus not only on increasing the number of women in government, but also on women’s effectiveness in political positions and their impact on decision- making.
The reasoning was that simply having females in the appropriate positions did not necessarily equate to improving women’s lives.
Women in politics need to negotiate a variety of possible obstacles that may hinder the promotion of women’s interests. Only when this is done, we
Uganda in advancing women’s political leadership. I also briefly highlighted the experiences of other East African Countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi in women’s political participation.
Additionally, I delivered a message of hope and encouragement to women
can be assured that during this century, when the women’s star is high and sweeping across the globe, we, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, will have consolidated ourselves in pushing for the interests of the women across the world.
The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Four | 241
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124