VIEW FROM THE COMMONWEALTH WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS (CWP) CHAIRPERSON
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE: A PREREQUISITE TO THE GENDER EQUALITY AGENDA View from the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Chairperson “The very essence of democracy is that every rights of every member equally while still respecting person represents all the varied interests which the plurality and the diversity of the society. Therefore, compose the nation”, these are the words from a one could claim that democracy in its noble cause renowned proponent of the ideals of democracy, would be to promote gender equality. Mahatma Gandhi. Gender equality has become one of the top If we consider the age of democracy to have priorities for women’s global development agenda. Its started at the French Revolution, it began with inclusion as one of the UN Sustainable Development the disfranchisement of women. The French Goals (SDGs) marked the importance of gender Revolution, which altered the course of modern equality and women’s empowerment and the need to history, saw the Women’s March on Versailles continue working to deliver on these aims. take place where women marched in response to To put things into perspective, women make up the economic hardships they encountered. Jean48.4% of Malaysia’s 32.6 million population, and Hon. Dr Dato’ Noraini Ahmad, Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat Condorcet, a French 50.58% (7.56 million) of the country’s electorate MP, Chairperson of the philosopher, observed that the lack of women’s Commonwealth Women (14.94 million). In relation to Parliament, 75 women voting rights during the French Revolution was ‘a Parliamentarians (CWP) and were nominated as parliamentary candidates and deprivation contrary to justice although authorised Member of the Parliament of constituted only 10.9% of the 687 candidates in the by almost universal practice’. Malaysia. general election in 2018. Of that number, only 32 won Women’s suffrage at the national level was and were elected, with women’s representation in the first obtained by women in New Zealand in 1893 and later in Australia Malaysian Parliament currently at only 14.4%. At the state level, only in 1902 when women gained voting rights in national elections. 177 women were nominated as candidates out of a total of 1,646 However, it must be noted that before the women of New Zealand candidates overall to contest seats, which yielded 62 women elected to exercised voting rights, women in the Isle of Man were permitted to the respective State Legislative Assemblies (or just 12.3% of the total vote for their parliamentary delegates in 1881. Likewise, the small and state lawmakers). remote Pitcairn Island in the southern Pacific Ocean was discovered However, the ratio between the percentage of candidates and the in 1838 by a British captain to have accorded every native born on the percentage of elected women to Parliament and the State Legislative island, male and female, the rights to vote. A comprehensive study1 on Assemblies clearly shows that women possess a higher winning the history of women’s suffrage found that such rights were initially percentage. If more women secure candidacy nominations in elections, we obtained in smaller jurisdictions on the world stage and even smaller can imagine a higher number of women could be elected to Parliament. locations within certain national states. Although, over time, there have been remarkable achievements in A century on, voting rights have become a norm and guaranteed the pursuit of gender equality, the progress, however, has been quite as a fundamental right, enshrined in Article 21 of the Universal slow. The Commonwealth’s 30% target for women in strategic and Declaration of Human Rights. The right to take part in the political life decision-making positions compared to the percentage of women of a country by having universal and equal suffrage has been further participating in elections in Malaysia, indicates that there is still a amplified in the Convention on the Political Rights of Women. The first mountain to climb. As women are still underrepresented in leadership article of the Convention clearly states that women shall enjoy political and management level positions, it is imperative to identify how gender participation on equal terms with men without any discrimination. This equality could be attained. political participation includes the entitlement to vote, the eligibility Three areas have been identified that could potentially measure to stand in elections and to hold public office, signifying the extent of levels of gender equality: capabilities, opportunities, and empowerment. women’s suffrage. Indicators of health, education, and nutrition could measure the level The significance of the enfranchisement of women and their active of capabilities, whereas the level of opportunities is widely measured participation in politics, after all, is about having harmonious and nonby the equality of access to resources, labour force participation and discriminatory societies through well-informed and gender-sensitive employment rates. Empowerment is also usually measured by the policies. That is what democracy is all about, to cater to the needs and proportion of women in the Legislature. 104 | The Parliamentarian | 2019: Issue Two | 100th year of publishing