Women and Political Participation

As of 2010, fewer than one-fifth of the world members of parliament are women. This number, although low, has drastically increased with the influence of CEDAW. The Convention has helped eliminate laws that discriminate against women in the public sphere, which has contributed to the increasing numbers of women in politics. Article 7 of CEDAW calls for the elimination of discrimination of women in the political and public life of the country, and Article 8 states that women must equally participate as government representatives at the international level and work in international organizations. Those two articles alone grant women many rights to participate in the government, which can lead to things like equal education rights and protection against physical violence. The more women present in the government, the more likely that women's rights will be addressed.

The country of Kuwait ratified CEDAW in 1994, but failed to grant women the right to vote. The CEDAW committee addressed the issue in 2004 calling on the government to "take all necessary steps, as a matter of the utmost urgency, to introduce and actively support the adoption of legislation to amend the discriminatory provisions of the Electoral Law... in order to ensure compliance with the Convention." The following year, the government in Kuwait granted women the right to vote. In 2009, women in Kuwait were elected to the country's parliament, a record breaking feat after being given voting rights just four years earlier.

There is an amazing organization called CEDAW in Action in Southeast Asia that promotes the development and advancement of women in a part of the world where there were previously very few rights for women. In terms of political participation, women have made great advancements in this region, primarily because of the establishment of quotas for women in office. These measures are temporary and are used to boost female participation until it becomes the norm. In Cambodia specifically, many of the government representatives are still men. The Committee to Promote Women in Politics (CPWP), set up in 2005, is a group of seven Cambodian NGOs, committed to promoting the inclusion of women in public decision-making. This group was instrumental in the recent local government elections, campaigning for female candidates and educating female leaders on advancing the rights of women.

Some of the major concerns that still exist in Cambodia are the quota system and the qualifications of women. Men in office take issue with forcing a certain number of women in to political office, but because it is a temporary policy, it is generally accepted. The second issue is women's education. Governments from a few decades ago only allowed women to receive an education for a short period of time before they joined the workforce. Many of the women who are of age to be elected have limited education and have spent most of their years working in factories or as maids. However, in the 2007 local elections, women made up 21% of those elected to office, as opposed to 15% in 2002. This shows definite progress that the government attributes to CEDAW.

Post by Meghan.

Ann Warner. 2010. "Recognizing Rights, Promoting Progress: The Global Impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women." International Center for Research of Women: Washington, D.C.

CEDAW in Action in Southeast Asia. Promoting Women's Participation in Public Decision-Making.
http://cedaw-seasia.org/cambodia_WomensParticip_DecisionMaking.html