There should be more scrutiny of barriers that prevent women from participation in politics, says United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee chairperson Nahla Haider.
Responding to a question posed by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, on why women did not vote for women, Ms Haider said not too many women wished to go into politics.
“I wouldn’t take the statement of the Prime Minister as one that shows there’s no respect or solidarity among the women. I felt there was a lot of solidarity among the women at the talanoa.
“It’s not so much a lack of solidarity, or respect or belief. It may be the electoral system itself. It’s how political parties go about inclusion of women, when the lists are made. When they tick the names at the end of the day, they are not supporting women.”
She said the CEDAW Committee was no longer advocating for quotas.
“We’re saying if we are talking about equality there has to be parity in all decision-making. But the way to get there is different from one country to the other. But there should be more scrutiny of electoral laws, on the way political parties integrate women and there are many other aspects that have to be addressed, structural barriers that prevent women from running (for election).”
In his opening speech at the Pacific Technical Cooperation Session of the CEDAW Committee on Monday, Mr Rabuka said he often wondered about the issue of increasing women’s representation in political and decision-making roles.
Likening it to tokenism, he said government aimed to uphold the dignity of women at the highest level of governance and putting in women for the sake of mere numbers devalued this.
