More women in politics, please

Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Not many have commented on one glaring fact associated with the list of candidates for the January 26 Presidential Election: There is not even one woman in the list. This fact may have escaped the scrutiny of political observers due to the hustle and bustle of the electioneering process, but it is obvious to anyone who peruses the list of candidates.

What keeps women away from politics? This is the question that we have to answer. But before we go any further, it is worth remembering that Sri Lanka produced the world's first woman Prime Minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, in 1960. Her daughter Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the country's first woman Executive President.

The irony is that a nation which had a female Prime Minister and a female President has only a very limited number of women actively engaged in politics. There are only a few at ministerial and MP level. The story is the same at provincial council and local body level. This is indeed a pathetic situation for a country that cherishes democracy and holds a myriad of national and regional elections every few years. Where have we gone wrong in this regard? It is worth probing.

Sri Lanka has a very high literacy rate. Unlike in some other South Asian countries, Sri Lankan families do not neglect their girl children. When it comes to education, children from both sexes get an equal chance all the way up to university level. Thus there is generally a high political awareness and maturity among the women population. Women are passionately involved in political discussions at home, workplaces and in the print and electronic media. In fact, one needs to go early in the morning to a polling booth on an election day to gauge the truth. Women voters are generally keener and vote in greater numbers than men. They form the longer queue at polling booths.

Thus the reality is that women are politically savvy in this country. So what is preventing many of them from taking the step - entering politics? The first hindrance seems to that it is hard to break into politics in the first place.

Even most men, leave alone women, cannot take this first step if they do not have the proper 'connections' in political parties. In the majority of cases, women who take to politics are from so-called 'political' families. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike entered politics following the assassination of her husband, Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1959. It was thus somewhat easier for her daughter (and son) to enter politics.

If one analyses the composition of the present Parliament, it is clear that almost all of the women MPs hail from political families. They have taken to politics with the blessings of, or following the demise of, their fathers, mothers, brothers or uncles. Only one or two have entered the world of politics on their own.

Therefore, it is up to political parties to change this status quo. One cannot banish political family entrants, for it is better to have at least a few through that route instead of having none at all. But political parties must strive to identify women professionals and others at grassroots level who would, if given an opportunity, like to enter politics. They should be given nominations for the lowest rung - local bodies.

There is already a constitutional requirement that 35 percent of the nominations for local bodies should be for youth aged 35 or less. This could perhaps be amended to reflect a definite male:female ratio - may be 20 percent women. Then political parties will have no alternative other than nominating a certain number of women, depending on the size of the given local body or bodies. This step will enable more women to have a greater say in local affairs - development, social welfare, poverty alleviation etc.

This rule should be extended to provincial council and national elections. There would be new entrants, but there would be a bigger chance for women who have already taken the plunge through local bodies. They can go up the ladder gradually as they accumulate more experience serving the masses countrywide. There is a perception that women politicians could be more honest, which will also help their progress.

The very nature of the Proportional Representation System is that it leads to intense rivalry among the candidates of the same political party as votes are counted on a district basis. This gives rise to intense competition among the candidates. This usually leads to violence.

This is another factor that keeps women away from politics. Sri Lankan elections are usually violent affairs, replete with deaths, acts of intimidation, clashes, acts of arson and assaults. Not many professionals and intellectuals want to enter the fray in such a background. Women candidates can hardly survive politically in such an environment. More women will certainly enter the fray if violence can be eliminated or at least reduced during election periods.

Ballot boxes being taken to counting centres.

The massive cost of electioneering is another obstacle for women from ordinary families who wish to enter politics. Under the PR System, MPs have to garner votes from an entire district, not only from one electorate. Thus one has to campaign and distribute publicity material in the entire district spending a considerable sum of money. Only a few can afford to do so on their own without depending on donations from persons with vested interests. Hopefully the electoral reforms process will address this issue as well. There should also be more opportunities to campaign through the electronic media.

It is also wrong to confine women politicians to the subjects of women's affairs and children's welfare, which is mostly the case in this country. The more experienced women provincial councillors and ministers should be given other subjects such as agriculture, lands, education, health etc. This will enable them to break out of the stereotypes and serve the nation in a better way.

Our lawmakers could also study the political systems of countries such as Australia and New Zealand which have a considerable number of women holding very important positions in government, as to how they have reached that status. All such mechanisms may not be suitable for our country, but there could be valuable lessons.

The bottom line is that we need more women in politics. More women will mean a brighter, more colourful and vibrant political arena. Women will also be able to make a bigger contribution to society and to the country if more of them take to politics. The Government, political parties and civil society should pave the way for that.