INSPIRING CHANGE: WOMEN IN THE PACIFIC
Increasing women’s engage- ment and participation in the Pacific region remains an ongoing struggle: Left: women in Papua New Guinea; Right: The Parliament of the Solomon Islands, which committed to a policy of ten reserved seats for women in 2012.
March of 2011. It was attended by women Parliamentarians from the Pacific regions, as well as the former Chair of the CWP Hon. Alix Boyd Knights, MHA, and Deputy Chair, Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, MP. It was in Wellington, that the CWP
Pacific Region Steering Committee was formed, with myself as Chair and Tangariki Reete, of Kiribati, as the Deputy Chair. Our recommendations included that countries with poor representation of women MPs need to review their electoral system and seriously consider temporary special measure of reserved seats. Likewise, the inaugural meeting
of the Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnerships (PWPP) project, assisted by AusAid, in February 2013 has provided a valuable space for debating issues and inspiring action. The PWPP and CWP Australia Region initiatives for young women are extremely exciting, such as the
w.comm forum which aims to connect young women with politics and the ideals of the Commonwealth.
Increasing women in politics The member branches of the
CPA acknowledge the benefits of increasing women in politics – so how do we actually get there? Put simply, many of us have not made enough progress in ensuring gender-sensitive Parliaments. Throughout discussions at the various fora, two major themes in women’s participation as Parliamentarians and parliamentary candidates in the Pacific emerge: first, the active encouragement of women to stand as candidates, and second, reserved seats for women.
Special workshops Women’s access to leadership positions is vital if Pacific women are to participate as equals in the democratic development of their countries. A number of elections have been preceded by special workshops for potential women candidates. These have aimed to encourage and assist the women in developing the relevant skills and knowledge to conduct successful election campaigns and to be effective members of parliament. For example, in Bougainville prior
to the 2010 election, the Centre for Democratic Institutions conducted
20 | The Parliamentarian | 2014: Issue One
a three-day training workshop for potential women candidates. Seventeen women contested the three regional seats reserved for women. Five women stood in local constituencies; none had done so in 2005. Honourable Joan Jerome, Hon. Rose Pihei and I were elected from the reserved seats. Ms Pihei initially held the position of Minister for Community Development and currently holds the portfolio of Minister for Culture and Tourism. Kiribati, Papua New Guinea,
Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu are among those who have had similar workshops. I have no doubt that these workshops are of benefit to women considering entering into public office.
Reserved seats: experiences from around the Pacific There is robust debate around the issue of reserved seats in the Pacific Region. Reserved seats are seen by some as a way to help women overcome the cultural barriers they face in attempting to win election to Parliament. Some see reserve seats as a mechanism by which to mitigate unconscious biases that result in no
women standing or being elected at all. This has certainly been our experience in Bougainville. However, others raise concerns
that women will find themselves restricted to reserved seats only, or that women elected to reserved seats may be regarded as second class MPs. Some Pacific women MPs support reserved seats, while others believe they are unnecessary and that women have shown they can compete with men. Some question its democratic
principle, for example with respect to the Parliament of Kiribati – Maneaba ni Maungatabu. President Tong said in 2012 that his government would encourage greater participation by women, which would happen of its own accord as women took on leadership roles in the community. He wondered, then, whether it would be democratic to put as a matter of law that women must have reserved seats. In Papua New Guinea, the
passage of the Equality and Participation Bill in 2011 amended the constitution to enable the creation of 22 reserved seats for women,
© Josh Estey/CARE
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