Women-only voting centers or rooms may be useful, depending on the context. In some countries where family or enforced proxy voting is a problem, the use of female voting rooms may inhibit men from casting ballots on behalf of women. In cultures where women do not interact with men who are not relatives, having a separate space with women staff for the voting process increases access for women voters. When women wear a veil and/or gloves and their face is checked and fingerprints are inked as part of the identification process on voting day, having female staff and a room where there are only women present increases the accessibility of polling.[1]
Decisions about using women-only voting centers or rooms need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of such a choice. Possible disadvantages may include: the added cost and complication involved; whether segregated stations are effective; and whether women-only polling stations are subject to distinct types of fraud and/or violence. Some research has suggested they may create more vulnerability for women in some countries. In some contexts, women-only polling stations are unlikely to open at all on Election Day, thereby disenfranchising all women registered to vote at these locations, and robust protection measures may be needed. In the EMB survey, five of the 35 countries (14 percent) said that they had provided women-only polling teams and stations.[2]
In some places, voting centers may be mixed, but women and men are asked to stand in separate queues as they wait to vote. The primary objective of separate queues is to respond to security or cultural norms and to protect women from contact with men as prohibited by cultural or religious standards. Separate queues may be legally mandated within the electoral law, adopted systematically by the central EMB or implemented in an ad hoc manner at the discretion of the polling station president. In the EMB survey, eight of the 35 countries (23 percent) provided separate queuing arrangements for men and women at voting centers.[3]
Example: In Bahrain, there is a separate area in each voting center for women.[4]
Example: Chile uses separate voting places for men and women. In the few mixed voting centers, men and women place their ballot papers into separate boxes.[5]
Example: Egypt uses separate voting centers in some areas. Separate queues may also be used at mixed centers.[6]
Example: Kuwait has segregated voting centers for men and women.[7]
Example: Pakistan uses either separate voting centers or separate voting rooms in combined voting centers. Voting centers designated for women are staffed by female personnel. Female polling security is also made available.[8]
Example: Lebanon, Yemen and Jordan use separate voting stations.[9]
For more information on this topic, please see related content of the ACE Project, including:
[1] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 77.
[2] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 77.
[3] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 78.
[4] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 78.
[5] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 78.
[6] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 78.
[7] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 78.
[8] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 78.
[9] UNDP and UN Women (2016): op. cit., p. 78.
