The group of participants pictured at the mock Parliament.
helping female candidates win the constituencies of Betio and Tarawa Teinainano, both in South Tarawa. In the Teinainano constituency where I contested, there were five of us, all of whom had had some kind of involvement with the mock Parliament, either as an organizer or a participant…. Each was trying her best in her own way but during the second round when I became the only female candidate, they all gave a hand in advocating for me. At workshops and social and family gatherings they attended they would say, ‘Please, give a hand to the only female contesting in the final elections’”, said Ms Tekanene. Another positive impact was
the community’s discussion on women’s capability to speak. It to a certain degree helped get rid of several stereotypes. Ms Charmaine Rodrigues,
Kiribati people. The third day of training then focused specifically on the upcoming elections, with sessions explaining the electoral processes. The participants also then ran through a dress rehearsal in the actual parliamentary chamber. Members of the current Kiribati Parliament generously offered their time to participate as resource persons so that women participants could learn from their experiences. The mock Parliament ran for
two days. On each day, the women on the government benches faced question time in the morning, with questions ranging from issues such as the government’s policy on public transport for school children, to reserving seats for women in local and national elected bodies, to increasing the number of polling stations for voters in South Tarawa. Following question time, Members discussed a motion put forward by Opposition Members. On day one the motion related to climate change responses while on Day two, the motion urged the government to focus on enacting and enforcing a specific law on
domestic violence. The last order of business on
both days was debating the passage of a mock Youth Reproductive Health Rights Bill, which proposed requiring free condoms to be provided in government primary and secondary schools and for sex education classes to be compulsory for students over eight years of age. Mock MPs debated the Bill in principle and on the second day, resolved into a Committee of the whole and debated their own proposed amendments to the Bill. Reflecting on the debate and
the mock Parliament more broadly, Hon. RititeTekiau, a member of the government side during the mock Parliament and the real-life Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs, reflected, “this has been a very different experience for me, but it has been very positive. I am very pleased to see that Kiribati women are ready for this type of political activity. This mock Parliament demonstrated in a real way the commitment and interest of
women both in Tarawa and in the outer islands to enter politics. The questions that the women raised in question time were excellent and really drew to our attention some issues that our government could work more actively on. Our Ministry is very grateful to see such interest because we very much want to support women’s efforts to participate in our government”. The national elections held in
October 2011 resulted in the re- election of three incumbent women MPs, namely Ms Rereao Tetaake (Teraina in the Line Islands), Ms Tangariki Reete (Betio, South Tarawa) and Teima Onorio (Arorae) who is currently the Vice- President of the republic. One new female MP, Hon. Maere Tekanene, was also elected. Ms Tekanene won her seat
after contesting national elections for the third time. She was one of the Department of Women’s organizers of the mock Parliament and she specifically acknowledged it following her win. She is now the Minister of Education. “The Women's Mock
Parliament has played a key role in The Parliamentarian | 2012: Issue Two | 121
regional parliamentary specialist with the UNDP Pacific Centre, worked with Kiribati and Marshall Islands partners, as well as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to support this initiative. Reflecting on the success of
the mock Parliaments, she observed: “While a range of training opportunities have been provided to Pacific women, it has been a criticism that these have not often resulted in concrete impacts in terms of leading to women actually engaging in Parliament processes. The mock Parliament seeks to directly address that concern by specifically training women on parliamentary engagement, and then immediately providing them with a forum to apply the skills they have learnt”. Already, a number of countries
elsewhere in the region have indicated an interest in similar activities prior to their elections. The UNDP and the PIFS have
produced a five-minute video of the Kiribati Mock Parliament for Women which can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =SfLDGizQbYw.