03 August 2009

African Women Making Progress in Legislative Politics

Partnerships key to helping individuals realize full potential

 

Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, seen here at the United Nations in 2006, was the first woman elected president in Africa.

Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, seen here at the United Nations in 2006, was the first woman elected president in Africa.

By Jane Morse
Staff Writer

Washington — When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visits Africa starting August 4, she will be meeting with one of the continent’s foremost success stories for women in politics: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Sirleaf became the first elected black female head of state in 2005 when Liberia’s voters elected her president with a margin of nearly 19 percent, a triumph that came only after she endured house arrest and exile during the country’s turbulent years.

Women in Africa increasingly are making their presence felt on the political stage, but they still have a long way to go, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). IPU is a Geneva-based international organization established in 1889 to foster worldwide parliamentary dialogue and the firm establishment of representative democracy.

IPU figures show that women hold an average of just 17.5 percent of legislative seats in sub-Saharan Africa. Women would need 30 percent of legislative seats to have a real influence in parliaments, IPU maintains. Even so, democratic elections, according to IPU, are a fact of life across most of Africa; the challenge now is ensuring that women have equal opportunities to vote and to run for office.

GREAT PROMISE FOR AFRICAN WOMEN

Of the African countries where women have made great progress in politics, the Republic of Rwanda stands out. It is estimated that millions of people died in Rwanda during the 1990s as a result of ethnic conflict. But today, women play a leading role in the country’s struggle to heal. According to IPU, Rwanda currently has the highest percentage of women lawmakers in the world — just more than 56 percent.

 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai was elected to the Kenyan Parliament in 2002 by an overwhelming majority.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai was elected to the Kenyan Parliament in 2002 by an overwhelming majority.

Odette Nyiramilimo, for example, was Rwanda’s minister of state for social affairs from 2000 to 2003 and a senator from 2003 to 2008. In a recent interview with IPU, she credited the strong presence of women in Rwandan government to strong affirmative action laws in the country.

Women played a great role in rebuilding Rwanda after the conflict, she said, by taking care of the orphans and bringing communities together. “Everybody could see women were key players,” Nyiramilimo said. “After that, the reality fell upon us that women’s voices need to be heard.” But she added that cultural barriers have yet to be completely overcome. Both women and men must grow accustomed to seeing women in leadership roles, Nyiramilimo said.

The East African Community (EAC) — the regional intergovernmental organization that includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi — has renewed its efforts to promote gender equality via its campaign for an East African Declaration on Gender Equality. The aim is to have all five countries establish a single binding legal instrument to close gender-based gaps in government decisionmaking. The Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), a women’s rights organization headquartered in Kampala, is leading the campaign.

A common, binding law is necessary if member countries are serious about ensuring gender equality, according to Marren Akatsa-Bukachi, the executive director of EASSI. “Rwanda is our role model, so let us all in East Africa be at the same level,” she told the Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS). Work on the draft document was to begin shortly, with the goal of having all the governments accept the gender declaration at the end of two years.

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

That Secretary Clinton’s trip to Africa comes just three weeks after President Obama’s trip to Ghana underscores the Obama administration’s commitment to building partnerships with African governments, nongovernmental organizations and private citizens. The goal is “to build societies where each individual can realize their full potential,” according to Ambassador Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary for African affairs at the U.S. Department of State, who briefed reporters July 30.

In his speech to the Ghanaian Parliament July 11, Obama said “the true sign of success” is whether the United States and African nations “are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) operates 23 bilateral missions on the African continent and provides assistance to 47 African countries. Among its activities is increasing the awareness of the need for women’s justice and empowerment through high-level engagement, conferences, public awareness and education via a $55 million program launched in 2005.

See also “Clinton Plans Seven-Nation Africa Trip” and  Africa: Partnering for Peace and Prosperity.