IF THEY DON’T GIVE YOU A SEAT AT THE TABLE, BRING A FOLDING CHAIR
SHIRLEY CHRISHOLM
From a state of negligible representation to a global participation rate of 24.5% in national level parliaments as of October 2019, women have made substantial progress in the field of politics. Although they are about 50% of the world population, women have not been able to find proportional global participation in national level parliaments. This issue is to be contemplated upon and actions are to be taken to ensure equal representation of women in politics.
In a world of working millennials, learning generation z and growing generation alpha, a disparity in the name of gender is a matter of great shame. It is important to have equal representation in politics because a table should reflect the society it represents. Women who account for 50% of the world population are involved in each and every level of social activities. Without their equal representation, a democracy would be incomplete.
Reservations for women in parliament have created a notable difference in their representation in the field of politics. Rwanda is the country with the highest proportion of women in parliament which is 61.3% as of April 2021, followed by Cuba 53.4%, UAE 50%, New Zealand 48.3%, and Mexico 48.2%. Reservation brought an impressive impact to the Rwandan Parliament. Only 30% of elected posts were held by women in 2003 but by 2020 the percentage rose to 61.3%. But the case of Cuba is different. It attained second position in women’s representation without any quota.
New Zealand, Latin American Countries and South Africa also witnessed drastic increase in women’s representation by increasing reservations.
In national context, performance of India (14.4%) is very low compared to global average(24.5%) as of April 2021. Women’s Reservation [The Constitution(108th Amendment) Bill,2008] Bill is a pending bill which seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the lok sabha and state legislative assemblies. Even if India is trailing behind the global average it has the advantage to learn from the successful countries. Also other nations with least women’s representation should take necessary actions such as raising the reservation percentage.
All women who made it into politics have left their indelible imprints there. Many have made history and history is still being written by women across the globe in the field of politics.
Here we are looking at fifteen influential women who inspired other women and gender minorities to articulate themselves and to find a space in politics.
Vigdis Finnbogadottir (Iceland)
Finnbogadottir, despite being a divorcee and single parent, was drafted as a candidate for presidency. Even Though it was a narrow victory she used the position to show her integrity towards the nation, which resulted in continuous victory in the next three elections with a great majority.
She is the first woman who was elected as the President of Iceland, she was active as an environmentalist. She fought to safeguard the cultural heritage of Iceland. As the first woman President she inspired lots of women from Iceland to take up leadership roles.
Mary Therese Winfred Robinson (Ireland)
Mary Robinson is a founding member and Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders. She is also a Professor for Centre for Human Rights, Centre for Sexualities, Aids and Gender, at the University of Pretoria. She was also a Chair of the International Institute for Environment and Development.
Robinson served as the seventh President of Ireland. She was a transformative figure in the history of the nation. She emancipated the conservative political office of Ireland. Mary Robinson also served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She worked specifically to strengthen women’s leadership.
Vigdis Finnbogadottir (Twitter): https://twitter.com/maryrobinson01
Angela Dorothea Merkel (Germany)
Angela Merkel ranked second in the Forbes list of The World’s Most Powerful People. She received appreciation from across the globe for her initiative to shut eight of Germany’s seventeen nuclear reactors.
Merkel was the first female Chancellor of Germany. She is well known as a humanitarian. She opened the borders of her country for refugees when confronted with a humanitarian emergency. She emphasized international cooperation in the context of European Union and NATO.
Shirley Anita Chrisholm (America)
Shirley Chrisholm came from a low income NYC neighbourhood. Her President Bid brought racial and gender equity to the national stage.
Chrisholm was an American politician, educator and author. She became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. She stood for equal rights. She also has been a major influence on women of color in politics.
Hillary Rodham Clinton (America)
Hillary Clinton championed the Violence Against Women Act. She drafted the Health Care Reform in 1993 which laid the groundwork for the Affordable Care Act.
Clinton is an American lawyer and politician who served as US Senator and Secretary of State in the administration of President Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton considers herself a progressive and believes in individual rights and freedom. Clinton’s service for creating children’s health insurance programs are widely praised.
Hillary Clinton (Twitter): https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton
Margaret Thatcher (Uk)
Margaret Thatcher showed her decisive action and leadership during The Falklands War, which was Britain’s first military victory since 1945, which gave world wide attention.
Thatcher served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She is one of the most admired figures of the second half of the twentieth century. Under her effective leadership Britain witnessed significant progress.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Africa)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s response to the West African ebola virus outbreak (2013-2016) reflected her leadership skills. She led the country through the ebola crisis which began in Liberia, with the peak of outbreak and to no transmission which was officially declared on june 2016.
Sirleaf is the first woman in Africa who was elected as President of her country. She won the Nobel prize in 2011 in recognition of her efforts to further women’s rights.
Ellen Sirleaf (Twitter): https://twitter.com/maellensirleaf
Tammy Duckworth (America)
Tammy Duckworth is the first Thai American woman elected to congress. Also she is the first disabled woman to be elected to the US House of Representatives.
Duckworth served as US Senator and is an Iraq War Veteran. Tammy spoke for her fellow soldiers and helped to create tax credit for employers who hire veterans. She inspires women by her courage, perseverance and integrity.
Tammy Duckworth (Twitter): https://twitter.com/senduckworth
Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar)
Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most courageous women in the world’s history. Her peaceful protests for her country gained her worldwide recognition.She spent nearly 15 years in detention by the military for protesting.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese politician, Nobel laureate, state chancellor of Myanmar, human rights activist and an author. She led non violent movements to ensure democracy and human rights.
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (India)
Even if I died in the service of the nation, I would be proud of it. Every drop of my blood will contribute to the growth of this nation and to make it strong and democratic
Indira Gandhi
India’s decisive victory over Pakistan in Indo-Pakistan war 1971 was pulled off by Indira Gandhi.
She was the first female Prime Minister of India. She inserted the words ‘socialist‘ and ‘secular‘ to the constitution of India by 42nd amendment. Her contribution to world peace and disarmament are manifest in her protests against the flawed NPT. Her courage and conviction never left her even when her assassins took her life. She is called the Iron lady of India.
Michelle Obama (America)
Michelle Obama is the founding Executive Director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies. She also won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. Let’s Move! was a public health campaign in the United States led by Michelle Obama.
She served as First Lady of the United States.She was also an American Attorney and author. Her education related initiatives gained worldwide attention. She advocated for healthy families, higher education and international adolescent girls education.
Michelle Obama (Twitter): https://twitter.com/michelleobama
Sheikh Hasina Wazed (Bangladesh)
The most significant achievement of Sheikh Hasina was the signing of the ‘Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord‘ in 1997. This peace agreement ended decades long violence between the government and tribes of those regions. The thirty year Ganges water- sharing treaty with India was also a huge accomplishment.
Sheikh Hasina served as the eleventh Prime Minister of People’s Republic of Bangladesh. She is the ‘Mother of Humanity’ for her countrymen. She held up democratic ideals and promoted human rights.
Sheikh Hasina (Twitter): https://twitter.com/sheikhhasina
Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand)
Jacinda Ardern took action on climate change with the landmark, Zero Carbon Bill. She fought to close the gender pay gap by providing free period products in school.
Jacinda Ardern is the fortieth Prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the labour party. The way she handled the crisis of Christchurch mosque attack was highly acclaimed. She played a significant role in dealing with the deadliest covid pandemic situation. New Zealand’s response to the pandemic has been praised worldwide. She works specifically to deal with the housing crisis, child poverty and social inequality.
Jacinda Ardern (Twitter): https://twitter.com/jacindaardern
Kamala Harris (America)
I may be the first woman to hold this office. But I won’t be the last.
Kamala Harris
Her work with LGBTQ community led to the SCOTUS decision in favour of marriage equality. During the housing crisis,she won a historic mortgage settlement case which helped more than 84,000 families.
Her historic acceptance speech inspired women and children across the globe. Kamala Harris is the first female Vice President and highest ranking female official in the history of the United States. Her primary focus is to make America, a country of possibilities for its citizens.
Kamala Harris (Twitter): https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris
Mamata Banerjee (India)
‘Kanyashree Prakalpa‘ is a scheme established by Mamata Banerjee with the aim of improving the life and status of girls in the state. She laid the foundation stone of the Kolkata Metro extension project.
Mamata Banerjee is an Indian politician who is serving as ninth and current Chief Minister of West Bengal. She is the founder of All India Trinamool Congress Party. She advocates girls’ education and improvement of the health sector. She is often referred to as ‘didi’.
Mamata Banerjee (Twitter): https://twitter.com/mamataofficial
Women who made significant impact in politics is an endless list and it is quite impossible to mention all of them. Even if there are never ending examples of how women can bring changes to the society, society should give them more opportunity and acceptance to rise to the positions of world’s leaders. The least we can do is, next time when we vote, let’s consider voting for women. Let’s give them a chance to prove themselves before the world.
Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments: https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=4&year=2021
