Women’s participation and representation in the political arena is still a challenge in most countries. In Bhutan, there are only five women in the Parliament, two of whom are eminent members in the National Council. To increase women’s representation in politics, women parliamentarians from 12 countries gathered in the capital, today, for the Asian Women Parliamentarian Caucus. The Bhutanese government is hosting the meeting.
Since 2011, a network of Asian women parliamentarians has been meeting annually to promote, strengthen, and develop female political leadership in their countries through discussions and programme.
“We have been supporting a network of 40 parliamentarians across Asia since 2011, but this caucus was formed in 2014. There was a need for parliamentarians to get together to discuss common challenges and to find solutions to the problem. We have been having a yearly programme. Sometimes in these meetings, they find ways, and we provide that bridge and the opportunity to learn,” said Megha Sarmah, Programme Manager of Agenda 2030.
This year’s theme is “Promoting Gender Equality and Climate Change Mitigation in Asian Parliaments.”
“The meeting discussed about the ideas and strategies to encourage and support women’s participation in the parliament in the future, through consultation with the experts from other countries. On top of that, parliamentarians are the decision making body of the nation, so they will talk about the challenges of climate change and propose necessary mitigation practices to combat climate change,” said Yeshey Lham, Dy Chief Counsellor of NCWC.
During the meeting, the women parliamentarians discussed gender and climate change and how women’s participation in politics can be increased.
“Gender is related to almost every field. By our understanding of gender and climate change, it means equal representation of men and women in addressing the issue of climate change. When both perspectives are taken on board, results are achieved faster and holistically. It is a joint effort,” said Dil Maya Rai, a former Member of Parliament.
“I think the answer to increasing women’s participation is legislation. For instance, in the Maldives, we have put 30 per cent allocated seats for women in local councils. So now, we have 30 per cent women’s representation in local councils. Without legislating for it, we are not getting women elected to parliaments. We need to encourage and ensure that political parties pitch women candidates,” said Eva Abdulla, Member of Parliament of the Maldives.
According to National Commission for Women and Children, women’s representation in parliaments globally is just above 25 per cent, and in Asia, it is a little over 20 per cent.
Deki Lhazom
Edited by Sherub Dorji
