admin In developed and cultured societies, Women’s involvement in the social, economical and political environment has evolved at a very outrageous pace. Domiciliary work is a co- responsibility which is to be shared by both men and women, but an utmost part of the world assumes it to be only the responsibility of women. Today also in many parts of the world, women are facing threats to their lives, health, and well-being. They receive less formal education than men and their involvement in decision making is also not considerably valued.
Gender equality which is the Preamble of Fundamental Rights for Women is one of the measures for women empowerment along with traditional methods like providing good education, good medical facilities, and financial independence. And this can be achieved by involving all parts of society and implying them with government policies.
The government should design and implement mechanisms which promote women’s equal participation and representation at all levels of the political entities of each community. The government should focus on making more women vocal of their concerns and needs, and, ensure equal and full participation of women in decision-making in all aspects of society. The Government and civil society should take actions to eliminate attitudes and practices that discriminate against girls and women and support gender inequality.
To design and implement women empowerment policies, the participation of woman into government has to be increased. But, women around the world at different socio-political levels find themselves under-represented and far removed from decision-making levels.
When it comes to ‘good citizen’ activities such as voting and engaging in community groups, the participation of women is higher than their male counterparts. However, women are reluctant (or inability) to attend political meetings, getting involved in party politics and actively campaigning on behalf of other candidates, which results into compromising the number of women in both, serving in elected office and policy outcomes on issues of importance to women.
Overcoming these significant barriers to result in equal participation and representation is not an easy task. The Possible solution could be summarized as:
-Reserving quotas for women in the parliament,
-Reservation in political parties.
-Increasing awareness, educating and promoting role model to increase women participation.
Culturally, there is a belief that women are not supposed to lead. In fact, stereotyped perceptions about women are major barriers. Some of these barriers include the social perception about leadership ability of women and women’s lack of assertiveness. In this regard, traditional attitudes towards gender equality also influence women’s furtherance in politics.
Another point to be noted is that women’s participation in politics depends largely on their access to employment, which gives them not only material independence but also certain professional skills and greater self-confidence. So this access to means of finances has a direct relationship and influence on the participation of women in political organizations.
The global average for women in parliaments is 22.4 %. In Europe its 25.2%, Africa has an average representation of 22.6%, Asia has 19% and the Arab states have it 18%.
But at the end, both male and female legislators must work together in order to solve the problems in their countries. And in order to build strong, sustainable democracies, and to meet worldwide development goals, women must be encouraged, empowered and supported in becoming strong political leaders.
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