The Question

This question was posted on behalf of Dr. Régis Dandoy, NCCR Democracy at the University of Zurich.

Since 2002, Ecuador has a system with separate polling stations for women and men. I would like to know more about the "uniqueness" of the Ecuadorian system and about the possibility to compare it with other countries. This will feed into a research plan for an upcoming field study in Ecuador following the recent parliamentary and presidential elections. The study includes analyzing voting differences between men and women (such as turnout, invalid votes, voting patterns, preference votes, votes for female candidates, etc.). I would therefore like to ask:

• Which examples are there of countries that use a system with separate polling stations for women and men?
• What academic studies, electoral guides, position papers, etc. are available on this topic?

 
Summary of Responses
Members of the Practitioners’ Network (PN) identified 23 examples of countries that use or have used a system with separate polling stations for women and men. These examples are summarized in table 1 below.  

One member of the PN emphasized that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) encourages the use of measures that facilitate the goals detailed in the convention. Against this background, separate polling station would not be discriminatory but rather a measure to ensure equality of access to, and the secrecy of, the vote.

The PN member further highlighted that polling stations for women can be useful when family or proxy voting is an issue, in cultures where women do not interact with men who are not relatives, and when women wear veils or gloves and fingerprints or faces are checked at the polling station. However, arrangements in regards to separate polling stations need to consider the subsequent increase in the cost of elections and whether it will be effective in increasing voter turnout. Arrangements should also be made early in the planning phase to allow for proper setup, the member noted. UNDP’s upcoming publication “Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide on Electoral Management Bodies and Women’s Participation” will include more information on this topic.

Example of Related ACE Articles and Resources

• Legal Framework - Polling stations 

External Resources

• Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
• Upcoming publication by UNDP: “Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide on Electoral Management Bodies and Women’s Participation”

Names of Contributors

• Agustí Bosch
• Staffan Darnolf
• Lesley Israel
• Dagrou Salomon, BAYORO
• Ibraheem Esam
• Sabahudin Durguti
• Mohamed Mansour
• Francisco Barrera
• Valery Shyrokov
• Horacio Boneo
• Michael S. R. Kinnear
• Thomas Mathew
• Idi Boina
• Jagoda Petrovic-Ukaj
• Abdul Alim
• Aleida Ferreyra
• Guy Cyrille Tapoko
• Georgina Chikoko
• Pipit Apriani
• MCS Centre
• Hadija Miiro
• Víctor Hugo Ajila
• Dr. Noor Mohammad
• Aysha Shujaat

Dear Régis,

As far as I know, Greece was another example of this practice for some time.

In such an environment, I'm sure this may have produced some academic studies. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert in the field and I can’t provide a catalogue of such publications.

Good luck in your attempt.

Afghanistan, Pakistan and many countries in the MENA region have separate polling stations.

I like to tell of the first Afghan election, with separate polling stations.  Because female (and overall) illiteracy is so high, they couldn't find enough women to work as polling station officials, so in some stations imams served, sitting behind curtains which separated them from the voters.  While the men's stations in Kabul (where I was working) had long lines, in at least two women's stations the women broken down the door to get in, they were so excited!  Veils flipped back, the women grew faces, and our big problem was getting them to leave so others could get in - election day was not only a voice for the, but a rare chance to interact.

Algeria and many countries of North Africa also have separate polling stations.

Greetings,

There are many countries with separate polling stations for men and women including Arab states, and including Kuwait, for example.

In my country, Iraq, there is no such phenomenon. Men and women both vote at polling stations scattered across the country.

Wishing you luck in your search on this topic,

Esam Ibraheem

Dear all,

I did elections in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2009 and there are separated polling stations for men and woman. Other examples are Pakistan and other countries in Middle East.

Egypt is such. However, this is not applied all over the country. Some cities have this division, but in the countryside this is not the case.

Tengo conocimiento que en Chile, existe la separación de mesas de votación, también en Colombia, el tema de separación de mesas obedece a que los documentos de identidad están separados para mujeres y hombres entonces se distribuyen así las mesas, pues es la conformación del registro electoral, pero también se está cambiando el sistema de cupos de los documentos y se están revolviendo los géneros en las mesas que no tienen división de documentos, existen varios países que tienen separados hombres y mujeres para los efectos de la votación 

Libya's recent election (2012) is worth mentioning too in addition to the countries referred to by other experts. The High National Election Commission ruled on differentiating the polling stations pretty late (about a week or so before the Election Day). International election observers had to reshuffle their deployment plans accordingly. Despite the fears that men-men / men-women election observer teams would have difficulties in exercising their duties comme il faut, no problems were reported, - mixed-sex teams were tolerated. 

Unlike the situation in Afghanistan, the HNEC managed to recruit enough women to staff female polling stations.

Argentina is another case.

I believe that in the Weimar Republic, there were some separate polling stations for men and women - I came across this in a Manchester Guardian article in 1932 - 33.

The practice of separate polling stations for men and women are prevalent mostly in Muslim majority countries. To add to the list of countries already mentioned in other messages, you can add Bangladesh also. In Afghanistan there were separate voter registration centers also for men and women.

The biggest disadvantage of the system is that it nearly doubles the number of polling stations required, especially in rural areas, increasing the cost of elections. I do not think it will increase the participation of women in elections, except in Muslim countries. 

I have not come across any study about this practice.

Bonjour,à tous,c'est une autre expérience pour moi,bien que je suis né dans un pays  à cent pour cent musulman, mais on n'a jamais connu une telle expérience.Je crois que c'est beaucoup plus les pays qui appliquent le droit islamique,qui séparent les bureaux de vote pour  homme et bureau de vote pour  femme,si on suit les précédentes interventions.

Bonne continuation.

Dear Dr Regis Dandoy,

It was my first international experience for the first Afghanistan elections, 2004, where I was an international trainer for election procedures. During trainings, in some cases, we had separated classes and consultations, depending on several issues, first of all facilities already made for specific, women purposes and women roll in society, where men's presence is not allowed because of traditional reasons. Same was true with polling stations. The most positive effect was the high level of willingness of Afghanistan people to learn about democracy, about elections with a clear picture of a better future.

Warm regards and successfully researching in this topics, 

Jagoda Petrovic-Ukaj

In Bangladesh, the law has provision to set up separate polling stations for male and female voters. In the 9th parliamentary election held in late 2008, the average number of male voters per polling both was 600, while it was 500 for female voters. Even, in the densely populated city where there is a big school, two separate polling stations were set up - one for male and one for female. This practice has been following in Bangladesh since 1973, the first parliamentary election in the country.

CEDAW encourages the use of special measures to reach the goals set out in the Convention. In some countries, this could mean that the provision of separate facilities (or separate queues) for voting is required to ensure full equality of access to a secret vote for the entire electorate. In such cases, the provision of such separate facilities would not be discriminatory but would be considered enabling for equal suffrage.

Female-only voting centres or rooms may be useful in three situations. In some countries where family or enforced proxy voting is a problem, the use of female voting rooms inhibits men from casting ballots on behalf of a woman. In cultures where women do not interact with men who are not relatives, having a separate space with women staff for all components of the voting process increases access for  women voters’ participation. When women wear a Muslim veil and/or gloves and their face and/or fingerprints are checked 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. Decisions about using women-only voting centres 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 have a history of being effective (i.e. does it actually deter family voting and increase turnout, or not?); and whether women-only polling stations are subject to distinct types of fraud and/or violence (for example, in some contexts it is noted that women-only polling stations are more likely to not open at all on election day, thereby disenfranchising all women registered to vote at these locations). If the decision to use segregated polling stations is made, it should be taken early in the planning stage to allow time to find enough suitable locations, female staff, and related budgets. A change to the law may be needed to allow for separate male and female voting places.

Some examples of the provision of women only polling facilities in other areas are:

• Afghanistan: uses separate male and female voting centres and the female voting centres are staffed by women and only women are allowed to enter them
• Pakistan: uses either separate voting centres or separate voting rooms in combined voting centres. Voting centres designated for women are staffed solely by female personnel. Female polling security is also available from the Government
• Palestine and Egypt: uses separate voting centres in some areas. In Egypt, separate queues may also be used at mixed centres.
• Lebanon, Yemen and Jordan: use separate voting centres
• Chile: separate voting places for men and women. In the few mixed voting centres, men and women place their ballot papers in separate boxes
• Kuwait: legally mandated segregated voting centres for men and women
• Bahrain: there is a separate area in each voting centre for women
• Papua New Guinea: proposes to use separate booths for women to cast their votes in the coming general elections in 2012, after trialing it at a by-election

More information on this will be available in an upcoming publication from UNDP's "Inclusive Electoral Processes: A Guide on Electoral Management Bodies and Women’s Participation".  

In general, the practice of separate polling station for men and women is common in North Africa. Countries, which are all Muslim majority, with the exception made in the Tunisian case, at least all the other countries, Mauritania, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, apply it. The particularity is that both women and men can share the same polling centers/stations, but will use different queues in some countries like Egypt. However, this is more cultural than political.

Response

Nigeria, during the transition from military to civilian government, had such elections. Zanzibar is another country I can think of with separate voting for men and women.

For Islamic countries this appears to be the best arrangement as their culture does not permit men and women standing in the same line. It would also be difficult for poll staff to identify voters if men and women lined up together. Separation of voting therefore enables women to be attended by fellow women. It also improves the women's freedom of choice when voting.

As for research, I have not any write-up on the issue. It would therefore be an interesting area for research.

This reply is posted on behalf of the MCS Centre.

There were such arrangements in India but slowly over the years this has been given up, though I don't think it has been completely done away with. One of the justifications was that violence in a polling booth scares the women away and since most trouble makers are men, it would be wise to separate the men and women to allow women to vote peacefully. While this argument has merit, with better and effective policing and consequently more peaceful elections this argument has lost its force and slowly separate polling stations have been given up in India. 

So if the situation warrants this in a country there is nothing wrong in having separate polling stations.

I am also aware that in some countries/places where local custom or religious practices prohibit contact between sexes, separate polling stations may be inevitable.

As for statistics, the Indian EMB keeps information on percentage of men and women voters who actually voted in an election in every polling station notwithstanding the fact that there are not many separate polling stations. Experience is that more women vote compared to men almost uniformly all over India.

I am not knowledgeable about Publications on this issue.

Yemen is another country where Voter Registration Stations are segregated by gender.

There is scarce information on voter registration in Yemen. Nonetheless, reference can be made to Article 7 of the General Elections and Referendum Law on the basis of which the SCER designs voter registration procedures, the Voter Registration Manual and the NDI Report on Voter Registration 11-25 November 2008.

Saludos desde Ecuador.

Tengo el agrado de responder la pregunta planteada desde la realidad ecuatoriana. El sistema de votación por separado entre hombres y mujeres responde a razones logísticas y de organización del proceso electoral; pero especialmente, permite incentivar y garantizar de manera más efectiva el ejercicio del derecho al sufragio.

Por otra parte, se debe considerar que en Ecuador el voto es obligatorio para las personas entre 18 y 65 años de edad, incluyendo las personas privadas de libertad que no tengan sentencia en firme.

Lógicamente, si el voto es obligatorio, la clasificación por el género de los votantes permite llevar un registro de quienes no cumplen con el sufragio.

Otro aspecto importante, es que este sistema permite determinar rangos de participación electoral por género. Información importante para tomar medidas y políticas públicas que permitan una mayor participación de los segmentos de la población.

Si desea ampliar esta información estoy a sus órdenes:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Gender based polling stations in India were set up in the past precisely to facilitate voting by women under veil - mostly Muslims and high caste women. With time the scenario is changing and now we see separate queues for men and women in the same polling station rather than separate polling stations for them.

Separate queues but 2 women for 1 man to be taken in the polling station for voting is getting more popular. It helps women cast their vote quickly and go back home to attend to their other works. 

However, if separate polling stations are made the number of voters attached to the polling station is nearly the double and the polling station is divided into A and B with separate polling staff. The same voter list is used by both A and B teams - one allows the male voters and the other the female voters. This will not increase cost in the poll.

And in scenarios like Afghanistan, where voter is not tied to a polling station and registration of women is considerably low, the cost has to go up, but there is no alternative.

Where separate polling stations are a cultural requirement, the close proximity of male/female polling stations could help voter turn out. So in Pakistan we have combined polling centres with gender specific polling stations. This is particularly useful in areas where larger distances are involved to access polling stations.