FROM THE FIELD: Women in Parliament in Francophone West Africa

Today only one in ten of all parliamentarians are women around the world. This alarmingly low figure is demonstrated in Francophone West Africa with female representation in parliament ranging from a low of 6% in Benin to 12.2% in Mali. What measures can be taken to increase African women's participation and representation in parliament? In parliament, how can women heighten their political impact?

These and other related questions were discussed for two days in a workshop in Cotonou, Benin, 31 May to 1 June, entitled Les Femmes au Parlement: au Delà du Nombre (Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers). The workshop was organized by International IDEA in collaboration with the UN African Centre for Women. Both male and female parliamentarians and regional experts from Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Benin, Mali, Niger and Senegal participated in the workshop. Among the experts were: Ms Grâce d'Almeida Adamon, former Minister of Justice in Benin, Madame Joséphine Ouédraogo, Director of the Centre for African Women (UNECA), Madame Aiissata De, African Institute for Democracy.

This workshop is one in a series aimed at advocating the conclusions of International IDEA's handbook on Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, published in 1998 and in this case discussing them from an African perspective. The workshop also aimed at increasing the shared expertise and networks in Francophone West Africa, and more specifically inspiring organizations in the region to include gender policies on their agendas.

Obstacles to women's political participation

In the workshop it was concluded that globally women are under-represented in politics and decision-making bodies, but, in Africa, the situation is even worse due to poverty and illiteracy, which often affect women more than men. Conservative interpretations of religious texts may be another obstacle to women's involvement in politics.

Ways forward

Some of the issues and recommendations for enhancing African women's participation in politics identified in the workshop were the following:

Education – Provide girls with the same education as boys, both in families and schools, and encourage them from an early age to be involved in politics.

The role of civil society – In many African countries, up till now women's movements have been focusing too much on the elite of societies and have for example not addressed rural women's issues enough. This may also explain their lack of impact. Women's movements need to improve their lobbying skills and should also collaborate with women MPs to assist them in improving their capacity to analyse international laws and policy guidelines, e.g., UN Beijing +5 platform, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century". There should also be civic education programmes to inform the local people about these international laws.

Political issues – There is a need for technical help and affirmative action to enhance the political participation of women in Africa. The impact of electoral systems and quota systems on women's participation were discussed.

Quotas – Adopting quotas can have significant consequences for enhancing women's participation, whether by law or by political parties. For Africa, and in particular Francophone West Africa, quotas are a big challenge both from a democratic and sociological perspective: should 50 per cent of all parliamentarians be women in Africa, even if the majority are illiterate? Can there be a democratic society where half of the population (women) is marginalized in decision-making? Almost none of the countries represented in the workshop have quota systems for women's political representation.

Electoral systems – Changing a country's electoral system is one effective way of promoting women's involvement in politics. Proportional representation, where voters choose candidates from party lists according to the percentage of the total vote they receive, is presently the most advantageous system for women. According to International IDEA's Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, of the 10 highest-ranking countries in terms of women's representation, all use proportional electoral systems.