Women in politics - 2

Women form the majority of the Sri Lankan population. Sri Lankan women are highly literate and politically savvy. 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.

Go to any polling booth on any election day, and one can clearly see that the bigger queue is for women. It is women who take the lead on any polling day, going to the polling booths early to cast their valuable vote. They make a powerful statement with their vote.

Pavithra Wanniarachchi

However, this is not reflected in the composition of the legislature or indeed, of any other political body. This is a real loss, as women have unique insights to the problems faced by society and could contribute more positively and vigorously to national development through a people's mandate.

We commented on this sad state of affairs some months ago, noting that the list of candidates for the January 26 Presidential Election did not have even a single woman. Did they fare any better at the April 8 General Elections? Sadly, the simple answer is 'no'.

More than 7,000 candidates were in the fray at the recently concluded polls, but only a few hundred were women. Even the major political parties did not try to include more women in their lists, for whatever reason. The result? According to the results released so far, just 10 women are in Parliament. This may go up to around 15 with the announcement of results from Kandy and Trincomalee and also a few additions from the National Lists of various parties. But even 15 or 20 is a pitifully inadequate number out of 225. We should really aspire to have at least around 40-50 women Members of Parliament.

A simple analysis of the would-be women MPs' list shows a few obvious trends. Two of them are ministers (Pavithra Wanniarachchi and Sumedha Jayasena) who have retained their seats, while another three are former MPs - Nirupama Rajapaksa, Chandrani Bandara and Thalatha Athukorale. Two of the new would-be MPs (Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle and Vijayakala Maheswaran) have taken to politics following the assassination of their husbands. They are entering Parliament for the first time. Upeksha Swarnamali is a complete newcomer to politics while Rosy Senanayake, though not new to politics, is also entering Parliament for the first time.

A look at this list also makes one thing clear: Family connections do matter when women seek a political breakthrough. Most of them hail from political families, with their fathers, brothers or husbands having engaged in politics. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this approach - after all, the world's first woman Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was thrust into politics following the assassination of her husband, Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. Their daughter Chandrika became President later. Worldwide, we have seen such political wives and daughters take centre stage. It also gives voters a sense of familiarity and continuity, which a completely new candidate cannot muster.

But the downside is that it is difficult for a 'new' person to enter politics in the first place unless they have some other claim to fame in a field such as arts. After all, parties want votes, not smiling faces that cannot be turned into votes. Political parties are thus reluctant to field complete novices who have no political connections. But a start has to be made somewhere. Political parties must change their 'culture' to accommodate more women, preferably younger women with academic, professional or social credentials.

Indeed, it is better to bring in new, clearly defined laws that would give more women a chance to shine in politics. For example, local bodies are already required to have around 35 percent 'youth' but this is used as a loophole by political parties to field more (younger) men. It would be more beneficial to define a percentage for women candidates in local and national elections. That will compel parties to select and field more women, both with political backgrounds and without. If there is a fair chance for women to enter decision-making bodies at all levels, more academically and professionally qualified women are likely to take up the offer.

Voters, especially women voters, have a duty to send more women to decision-making bodies including Parliament. If more women voters had spoken with their ballot in favour of women, several more women could have been elected to Parliament. In a democracy, women voters certainly cannot be forced to vote for women, but they should collectively be more determined to elect more women. Women at grass-roots level could influence their political representatives to select more women from village level to undergo political baptism. They should raise their powerful voice for this cause. Having more women in local bodies will give them a greater say in local affairs - development, social welfare, poverty alleviation. They can go up the ladder gradually as they accumulate political experience.

There are several other factors that keep women away from politics - a pathetic situation for a country that cherishes democracy and holds national and regional elections every few years. While we have touched on these issues in a previous column, it is pertinens to revisit them in the light of the recent election.

The existing Proportional Representation (PR) system leads to intense rivalry among the candidates of the same political party which sometimes ends in violence. This is not an environment that most women like to face. It is therefore heartening to note that the next General election will probably be not held under the PR system. This will perhaps remove the violence factor and give a level playing field to women candidates.The massive cost of election propaganda is another factor. It is very difficult to muster votes from all parts of a district without an effective, albeit costly, propaganda program. Anyone without the means to do so stands to lose - literally. Not many women candidates, especially those from outside the 'system' can afford the vast sums required to campaign.

All these lessons should be studied well before the next election (at whatever level) and appropriate remedial measures taken. With the PR system on the way out, some of these problems would go away more or less automatically. Still, new laws should be brought in to allow more women to contest polls and enter decision-making bodies. The political systems of other countries which have far greater numbers of women representatives could also be studied to glean any lessons.

Political parties, the Elections Commissioner, Provincial council and parliamentary authorities as well as the civil society must engage in a vigorous discussion on this vital issue, after scrutinizing the nominations process and the results of the recent General election. The media too should highlight the need for more women representatives at all political bodies. The next General elections should be a platform for a bigger number of women to enter the corridors of power and serve their Motherland with greater vigour.