Women's Political Participation in Papua New Guinea (original) (raw)

WOMEN'S POLITICAL STATUS: PROBLEMS AND CONCERNS

Woman is the companion of man gifted with equal mental capacities. She has right to participate in every minute detail in the activities of man and she has equal right of freedom and liberty with him. She is entitled to a supreme place in her own sphere of activity as man in his .This ought to be natural condition of things and not as result only of learning to read and write. M ahatma Gandhi 1 * It is generally agreed upon by all social scientists that the course, direction and pace of all human progress in the next few decades will be determined by the empowerment and enablement of women. Empowerment stands for gaining of power by the vulnerable sections in diverse sectors.

Women's Political Empowerment

Advances in Electronic Government, Digital Divide, and Regional Development

Political participation by women is central to development and the empowerment of all citizens. This chapter argues for the recognition of opportunities for women in leadership, political participation, and the strengthening of democracy at the level of subnational governments. A key reason for focusing on gender equity in political life is that women constitute slightly more than half of the world's population, and they contribute to the social and economic development of all societies to a greater degree than men because of their dual roles in the productive and reproductive spheres. At the same time, their participation in formal political structures and processes, where they can contribute to decisions on the use of societal resources generated by both men and women, remains far below parity. Drawing examples from a range of national parliaments and countries, this chapter demonstrates lessons for increasing political participation by women in subnational governance.

To make a difference: realities of women's participation in Papua New Guinea politics

2002

Women's involvement in a sphere of life can bring new perspectives and priorities into decision-making processes and make a difference. Persistent gender inequality in the national political arena does not reflect well on a state that claims to be democratic. As long as women are denied access to the corridors of power, the quality of leadership that is essential for effective and meaningful democracy, as well as for national welfare, is being stifled. The two crucial components of a democratic system are a democratic state and a democratic civil society. The prevailing conditions in Papua New Guinea (PNG) do not allow such a system. The state is weak and the society is characterised by a great deal of turbulence. Without economic and social rights, political rights continue to be denied to a great majority in civil society. Women are by far the majority of those denied their political rights. This presents a fundamental challenge for PNG in the next decade or more. Within this...

PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN POLITICS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS: A WAY TO GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

International Conference on Recent Innovations in Science, Agriculture, Engineering and Management held in University College of Computer Applications Guru Kashi University, Punjab (India) 20th November, 2017., 2017

According to the World Bank, gender equality enhances economic development, improves prospects for future generations and strengthens political and social systems. Though women now comprise more than 40 percent of the world's labor force, they still lag behind men in terms of possessing power, earnings and productivity. Women also face greater obstacles when it comes to participation in social and political institutions. Particularly in developing nations, the gender gap hinders economic and social development and destabilizes the political environment (World Development Report 2013). Women have the right to participate in political processes that affect them, their families, and their societies. Countries with increased women's participation and leadership in civil society and political parties tend to be more inclusive, responsive, egalitarian, and democratic. When women meaningfully participate in peace processes, they can help to expand the scope of agreements and improve the prospects for durable peace.

Role of Women in Politics and National Development

NIU International Journal of Human Rights, 2021

There is no contemporary democratic state where women have not made a socioeconomic and political contribution that is both important and indispensable Women's engagement in Indian politics and national development is the subject of this article. In the inquiry, secondary information were used to enhance primary data. Women's active engagement in politics is hindered by cultural, environmental, educational, and gender issues, according to this research. One of the project's objectives is to increase the number of women who participate in national politics. Enlightenment campaigns at all levels should be launched to encourage more women to pursue and appreciate education. As a result of this, more women will participate in politics. According to the experts, all types of discrimination against women should be criminalised at all levels. In order to incorporate women into global economies, it is necessary to better their position and contribution to total development. The Gender and Development (GAD) approach recommended that rather than focusing just on women's issues, a larger emphasis be placed on gender relations.

Women and Politics in Presence- Case of Papua New Guinea.pdf

Thesis published by Ohio University , 2014

One area that presents challenge for democracy is women representation, an important dimension for gender equality. However, there are major variations among countries. Papua New Guinea is one of the countries with the lowest number of female representatives in parliament. Two questions are asked in regard to the representation of women. First, why is it difficult for women to be elected in Papua New Guinea? And second, how do we explain where women were able to challenge others to be elected? Formal institution such as the electoral system is just one way to discuss gender equality. There are other areas of gender inequality that interact with the formal system relating to social, cultural, and economic factors. An analysis of these factors shows that even improving formal institutions to increase the number of women in political participation, gender inequality is still a challenge within and outside the legislative office.

Political representation in Papua New Guinea – The status of women in a Big Men’s World

Equal representation of women in the political arena and decision-making processes of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most pressing issues in PNG at present. Since political Independence on the 16th of September 1975, women continue to feature less in the formal political and decision-making arena of the country. Though PNG’s constitution recognizes the rights to vote and stand for public office, little has been achieved due to the entrenched discrimination against women in PNG’s political system. The patriarchal notions of male leadership simply negate the progression of talented women into positions of leadership at the national level of politics. This paper provides an overview of the political issue of greater women representation in the political and decision-making processes of the PNG. The urgency of having women in this process of decision-making is fundamental to the progression of the country in all spheres of its development. And this can come about through civic-mindedness and the advocacy work, not only of women groups and associations, but equally through men taking ownership of the issue of women empowerment in the areas of decision-making and political representation.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Women you brought with you a new song but we did not let you speak out although yours is the voice of half the earth" Fedrico Mayour Every human being is considered to be equal in Democracy and our constitution assures and promotes equality of gender. After Independence, the framers of Indian Constitution ensured that women get the equal status in every sphere of life. But in practice the women has to face discrimination and intolerance at different stages of her life. Women considered to be equaling important in our society and as well as their participation. Women's issues being always a talk of concern particularly in the country like India. Although Development planning and the special status accorded to women in the Indian Constitution, there has not been an extensive qualitative progress in the position of a hefty majority of women living in rustic areas. To remove the inequality from the society, it is important to women's get political participation and their empowerment. Women Empowerment is not new; it has been there throughout history in almost all societies. But still it's at the lowest. In this chapter we would try to discuss and evaluate the problem, reasons and remedial measures for this problem. Meaning and Concept of Women Empowerment Empowerment means decentralization of power and authority. The aim is getting involvement of depressed sections of citizens in decision making process, in other words you can say trying to give voice to voiceless. Activist wants government to empower poor people including women by legislative measured and welfare programmers. Unless capacity is built in these sections in reality, the power is used by others rather than the section for which they are meant i. Empowerment is the progression by which the disempowered or weak people can change their conditions and instigate to have control over their lives. Well women empowerment is not a new movement. It has been throughout history but been shift and modified from many stages and phases, for e.g. earlier the discussion was on the welfare of women then it was development and now its women's empowerment. This matter and its importance is now globally acknowledged and more recent is the growing realization and recognition that empowering women is absolutely important. It is also been realized and accepted that genuine commitment and efforts have to be made by each country at the government, non

Women and Politics: A Global Perspective

http://indusedu.org/

The role of women in modern politics is a subject that needs further insight, considering the growth in number of women that nowadays have relevant political positions on the international stage. There are studies today that emphasize the equality issue and all that is gender role related, but our interest is to analyze the women representation in power related positions. This paper attempts to analyze the political status of women in world, identify internal and external conditions and factors that facilitate or hinder the creation of an enabling environment for women's political empowerment. The development context of women's political participation at the community and national levels will be reviewed for nuanced understanding of the nature of women's participation and their share in development processes and outcomes.