For Immediate Release: 23 November, 2010

Contact: Tina Lee

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
Ph: (66) 53 284527 │ Fax (66) 53 280847

tina@apwld.org│www.apwld.org

Papua New Guinea Approaches Crucial Vote on Increasing Women in Government

Women across the region are rallying to support the Women’s Equality and Participation Bill

Chiang Mai – Across the region, women are hoping that this Tuesday will finally mark the beginning of their increased representation in Pacific Parliaments. Wide support from across the region began in June when Women MPs and aspiring MPs came together through the region’s largest feminist network, APWLD, to draft a statement in support for the Bill.

Regional efforts have continued this week as PNG’s Parliament has reconvened for its budget session. Women gathered to make it clear that they wanted the Equality and Participation Bill, which would reserve 20% of seats for women, tabled and debated. It has been widely speculated that tomorrow’s budget session will continue and the Bill will make it to the floor.

The proposed law aims to improve the equality, participation, and representation of women in Parliament and in provincial assemblies. The Bill would mean that each of the 22 provinces would directly elect two people to Parliament; one seat for which both men and women could contest and one for which only women could contest.

The Bill is being sponsored by PNG’s Minister for Community Affairs and only elected woman MP, Dame Carol Kidu. Given the gross under-representation of women in the 109 member house, this new law could set a standard for Pacific Island Nations. As such, women across the region have been rallying to muster the 82 votes necessary for the constitutional amendment.

Pacific Island Nations comprise the region with the lowest level of women’s representation in parliament with a dismal 4%. Women in the region also suffer from some of the highest rates of maternal mortality and rates of domestic violence are estimated at close to 75%.

Women’s rights groups in the region point to the imbalance of power in PNG society as contributing to the abuses faced by women. “As women’s rights are seen as private issues, the public sphere of government falls short of addressing them” says Christina Palaby member of the Philippine GABRIELA party. “Women’s voices need to be represented in the halls of Parliaments in order to effectively address the realities of the oppression and subjugation they face in their daily lives.”

Despite the need for women in Parliament, and many women running for election, barriers such as cultural perceptions about leadership, gender role stereotyping, intimidation in volatile electorates, resource limitations and lack of political party support prevent women from gaining power.

Women’s rights groups and political leaders across Asia-Pacific have been campaigning for quota legislation in PNG Parliament, citing PNG’s obligations to CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) as support for the Bill which is also backed by the United Nations.

In other countries in the region, similar measures have proved to be giant steps forward in forging women’s equality. In Nepal, where reserved seats for women has been recently guaranteed in their constitution, the government has started gender responsive budgeting and allocated 17% of national budgets to women’s issues. “It is huge step to empower women in all sectors of the state as well as society” reports Binda Pandey, a Member of Parliament in Nepal and signatory to the APWLD joint statement, “I hope countries around the world will make progressive provisions on women’s participation; one third is a critical mass.”

In Timor Leste, MP and also a signatory to the regional statement, Aicha Binte Umar Bassarewan, reiterated the need to table, debate and pass the Bill in PNG, “women’s voices are best represented by women; to achieve our goals we must lead the struggle from a position of political power.”

This week could prove to be a milestone achievement for PNG leadership, not just for its women, but for women across the region that are hoping that the largest Pacific Island Nation can set the standard for women’s representation.