The Question

This question was posted on behalf of Nathan Wilkinson, Senior Communications Officer, Pact, Namibia

Dear ACE Practitioners' Network,

In response to Mikael Fridell's excellent consolidated response on gender quotas in African countries, I am curious about what aspects of the political environment initially spurred and allowed African legal systems and party platforms to implement quotas so extensively. (Is it fair to say that Africa is one of the leading regions in gender quotas?)

J. Ballington's The Implementation of Quotas: African Experiences gives the following background: "The United Nations (UN) International Women’s Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985 provided a mobilizing opportunity for women on the continent, especially in East Africa. This was supported by the recommendations of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action ... Measures have been successfully introduced in some countries, with Southern Africa taking the lead."

What local factors contributed to East Africa taking the lead on mobilization after 1985, then to Southern Africa taking the lead on introducing measures?

Thank you for your insight.

Summary of responses
A number of factors are cited to explain why sub-Saharan Africa countries in particular have introduced gender quotas so extensively. Among these are women’s role in liberation movements, liberation ideology of political parties, post-conflict reconstruction, and the growing power of the women’s movement at the domestic level (which was further strengthened by the aforementioned international conferences). Uganda and South Africa are mentioned as cases where women’s participation in liberation struggles earned them more political space.  More than one practitioner stresses the importance of post-conflict or post-revolutionary environments as creating an opportune moment to introduce gender quotas and other reforms.

The chief reason given for the introduction of gender quotas in the case of Senegal is that of its parallel electoral system, which has facilitated the usage of a zipper system, i.e. alternating male and female names on a list of candidates. The Maputo Protocol of 2003 is also said to have strengthened the demands for affirmative action. This protocol, together with the one from Beijing, are both cited as having put pressure on politicians in Tanzania to increase women’s representation in parliament and local government.  

Examples of related ACE Articles and Resources
Encyclopaedia:
• Legislated quotas 
• Advantages and disadvantages of legislated quotas for women’s representatation

External Resources
• Quota Project, Global Database of Quotas for women  
• Gender parity law, Government of Senegal law register  

• Extract from Senegalese Electoral code

Names of contributors
1. Manuel Wally
2. Amon Emmanuel Chaligha
3. Salima Namusobya
4. Kisimba Albert
5. Susana Dione Ngole Epie
6. Hadija Mirro
7. Atem Oben Henry Ekpeni
8. Nyambura Ngugi
9. Epiphanie Meteteiton  Houmey

10. Shameme Manjoo

Dear Nathan,

I am replying from Senegal, a 95% Muslim country, which adopted an exemplary gender parity law that applies to all partially or fully elected state institutions:

http://www.jo.gouv.sn/spip.php?article8213

The parity legislation was subsequently mainstreamed into the Electoral Code: 

http://www.au-senegal.com/IMG/pdf/senegal_code-electoral_2011.pdf

A presidential decree defining the application of the legislation further specified that the powerful Bureau of the National Assembly, as well as its 11 standing committees be composed of equal numbers of men and women. The decree is not available on line, but I will upload it herewith. Today, the election of the Bureau followed the parity law's zipper system.

In an attempt to answer your question, Senegal has eclipsed France in introducing a parallel electoral system, which eased the application of the zipper system. While countries like Italy, which also uses a mixed electoral system, can't seem to cross the 20% women mark is beyond me.

The coming into force of the 2003 AU Maputo Protocol seems also to be taken seriously. The protocol expressly demands affirmative action measures to assure women participation in electoral processes.

Feel free to contact me through ACE, if you are interested in further details on Senegal.

[email protected]

In Tanzania, both international gender protocals (Beijing, AU (50/50) and particularly SADCC's Maputo protocal which set a minimum 30% women representation) together with local NGO's representing women interests (TGNP, TAWLA etc) have put pressure on the government that has pushed up women representation in Parliament and at Local Government Authorities. Before the 2010 General Elections the Government of Tanzania amended the law and the women quota was raised from 30% to 40 % of all constituency (elected)seats in Parliament. These seats are apportioned proportionally to all parties which secured not less than 5% of all valid votes. Because some women also won in constituencies, women representation in the current  National Assembly (Parliament) is not less than 44% of all seats.

This reply is posted on behalf of Salima Namusobya.

Dear Nathan,

Aside from the international wave of advocacy for women’s emancipation as you note in the question, several factors at the domestic level in sub-Saharan countries contributed to the increased women’s participation. These factors ranged from the role of women in liberation struggles, post conflict reconstruction, and the growing power of the women’s movement at the domestic level.

In the case of Uganda, some women fought alongside or collaborated with the National Resistance Army during the liberation struggle. This therefore created a need for the new regime to recognize the contribution of women. Therefore when the local council system was started by the NRM, there was a secured space of secretary for women. It is said that the role of women in the liberation struggles in South Africa also earned them some political space. Secondly, there was a strong women’s movement locally that was increasingly made stronger by the international conferences and targeted trainings that were taking place worldwide. Women became very vocal in Uganda and it became difficult to ignore them. Also the NRM government recognizes women as strong allies for voting purposes such that they are willing to grant some of their wishes. The current government is also known to care about its international image, so it is believed that part of the concessions were meant to build good international reputation. The ultimate opportunity came with the process of drafting of the 1995 that entrenched the idea of quotas for women. It is now a constitutional requirement that nobody can run away from. Of course as we know, numbers do not equal to effective participation, but this is another matter altogether.

Salima

Je considère que cette question de parité est un processus qui nécessite une sensibilisation de prise de conscience de la femme elle même et surtout de son environnement immédiat, la sortir de la tradition et la ramener dans la logique d’une prise en charge personnelle, cela pourrait lui donner plus chance de voler aux cotes des hommes qu’elle considère encore comme étant supérieur.

La grande campagne doit commencer par l’envoie de la jeune fille à l’école, son environnement immédiat, comme dit plus haut, doit lui faciliter la taches et a terme avoir des filles capable de porter haut ses idées sans complexe. Aussi il faut avoir à l’esprit que parfois les catastrophes naturelles ou les guerres et autres trouble internes et externes peuvent suscités le leadership de la femme, ce qui arrive dans certains pays africain où la femme occupe plus au moins 40% de la classe politique et technique du pays.

Au delà des caucus, ONG, groupe et autres associations des femmes qui existent déjà dans nos pays, la prise de conscience de la femme est importante pour sa participation à la parité.

Hello,

If I understand your quota to be data, then it should mean measuring the degree of gender progress. In Cameroon, as in many African Countries, the participatory rate of women in the political arena has increase tremendously, owing to the objective in the Beijing plan of action which is 30% and that of European Union 50%, only data, can determine if objectives are met. Talking gender in terms of quotas, only helps to assess progress, makes matters more interesting, as progress is easily pint pointed. Gender has become the talk of the day, as such; it is the target of the various meetings and capacity building trainings being held here and there.

It has to start from, knowing the number of the number of women in that country, so as to know if progress is being made or not. From the 2010 population census published by (BUCREP), it was noted that women constituted 50.6% of the global population of Cameroon. So what role do they play in politics, seeing that they make the majority of the population?

A lady Minister of Women Empowerment on the 07^th of June 2012, when analyzing the Cameroonian Woman in how best her participation in politics is, termed the woman as, mere animators combing hard to get to the highest political echelon.

It is very important to note that, before the last presidential elections of 2004, no lady ever showed up to the post of President. So it is really a great leap forward to find that of the two (2) ladies that were vying for the Unity Palace both of them had their candidature retained during the 2011 Presidential Elections. They were Walla Edith Kahbang of the “Cameroon People’s Party” (CPP) and Dang Bayibido Esther of the “Bloc pour la Reconstruction et l’indépendance Economique du Cameroon” (BRIC).

Looking at their performances from the positions they occupy at the final overall classification, one can hold a positive impression on the role of the woman in the political environment. Walla Kahbang Edith of the “CPP” came out 6^th while Dang Esther Bayibidio of the “BRIC”, was 11^th out of the 23 Candidates. Women are slowly gaining confidence in the world, with time, they will rule the world.

Women have also made a drastic move forward at the National Assembly, of the country. Out of the 180 seats in the parliament, the women folk occupy 13% of the total seats. Women occupy 25 seats, while 155 seats are occupied by the male folk. This is the number recorded as of 2012. There are also women in many Ministerial positions, women as Governors and Mayors. In a total of 40 970 Counselors, 4 796 are women, making a percentage of 15.6%. This increase can be compared as far back as 2007 when only 23 women making 5% of women occupied the position of Mayors. These positions can only be occupied through campaign and elections, meaning, women are gaining the people’s confidence. Very important.

This number though very low as compared to that of Rwanda with 56% of female participatory rate in the political arena, that of Angola with 37% as well as Senegal with 22%. It is consoling when we look at the great leap, from 5% in 2007 to 15.7% in 2012, for women as Counselors and Mayors.

Mainstreaming gender is not only the pre-occupation of the masses; it has also been that of the Electoral Management Body of my country. Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) had as priority to ensure equal access to all electoral operations, during all the stages of elections, ensuring that both men and women have the same priority. As a result, when taking into consideration the number of women who registered in the voters’ register in 2007, one would remark a very great progress. Of the 1.729.563 women who registered in 2007 making a percentage of 35%, owing to the special attention paid on gender, the number rose to 3.853.208 making a percentage of 51% in 2012.

This is a simple indication that, if more attention is given to gender, much shall be realized, even in our political arena. The realization can only be felt, if Africans’ progress, are published in the form of gender quotas.

Susan: ELections Cameroon (ELECAM)

Yes, it is fair to say that Africa is leading in having higher percentages of women in parliament as a result of having mandatory gender quotas in the constitution and other legal frameworks. It is still difficult to increase women in the decision making process without a gender friendly legal framework. The longest and more difficult route is sensitization, advocacy and lobbying. The shorter route is through women quotas.

In Uganda 30% of the local councils, which are body incorporate and have both legislative and executive powers are made up of women, the youth and persons leaving with disabilities. Of the 10 members of the executive of each council, at least 4 must be women making a minimum 40% women representation on the local governance executive body which is the highest political authority in its area of jurisdiction.

Initially, men would elect themselves in all the positions that were deemed as high profile (Chairperson,Vice Chairperson, Finance, Secretary etc). Nonetheless, being elected on the executive regardless of the position gave women opportunities to prove themselves. Now many are at the same standing as men.

In addition to the factors earlier mentioned that contribute to increased women participation in Uganda (Participation in the armed struggle, Good political will, strong women movement etc) each of the 111 districts elect a women member of parliament plus a women from each of the divisions of the capital city. Hence of the 385 members of  the 9th parliament, at least 116 must be women elected from the 116 districts. There are additional women who come on the general ticket competing directly with men in each constituency and others who elected to represent other special interest groups (workers, youth, PWD and the army)

The best time to institute women quotas is after a revolution (When the Constitution and or other legal instruments are being amended. Many countries that missed out this opportunity have found it extremely difficult to increase women participation at the decision making level. All efforts should be made to support women groups to advocate and lobby for increased women representation through women quotas. These efforts need to be enhanced by the internal community that largely fund the constitutional amendment process especially in post conflict situations.

The disparity between the percentage of women voters and women candidates in elections especially in developing democracies remains worrisome. Statistics have that women form over 40% of the voting population in many African countries but less than 20% are candidates except for cases where quotas are used. As much as we advocate for the implementation of quotas, it is equally important for political parties to demonstrate strong commitment by introducing gender dimensions in an electoral cycle approach to give the subject a solid foundation at political party level. 

Because women have a colonial; social, economic and cultural disadvantage as oppose to men with respect to political leadership, quota systems remains the most appropriate means of enhancing and or catapulting their representation and participation as candidates in electoral processes. Mere propaganda without formal legal instruments in an Africa where press freedom is judged can not increase female participation beyond the critical mass. Quotas remain the answer.

Trust and confidence in state institutions is assured when the concept of gender equality is taking as a priority in leadership. The issue of gender quota in Africa's election can be viewed as a tool to inject good governance and reduce tension among contestants for political power (especially in multi-member constituencies) that has increasingly become the order of the day in Africa. It is also viewed as a means to balance or "compensate" women for the barriers and abuses that exist and continue to exist in favor of men. The existence of hundreds of women advocacy organizations may justify these reasoning.

Advocating for quota should be timely and backed with facts, ideally when considerations are been made for constitutional or electoral law review. In most cases complains are made after the process is completed. I took keen interest during the consolidation and review process of the single electoral code in Cameroon and witnessed that little emphases or pressure was made by political actors and even women advocacy organizations  on government or parliament to examine female participation as candidates. In many countries, one would only hear of female representation when it comes to celebrating international women's day or other national and international days reserve for women. The introduction of quota is usually a sensitive issue for most African governments and parliaments to deal with. Implementing quotas means reducing men in parliament, councils and other decision making positions. Countries with complex political systems are less likely to implement quotas especially Francophone Africa as oppose to Anglophone Africa. This may be a subject for discussion.

Strong women's movements and long term advocacy; parties with a strong liberation ideology and long standing record of women's meaningful involvement (beyond tokenist positions);  legal reforms such as constitutional reviews or amendment of electoral legal frameworks; post-conflict mediation becoming an opportunity to address the exclusion of particular groups; 

Legal reforms following conflict or a return to democracy probably account for many of the quotas currently in use in several of the E.African countries - take the case of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya.

Bonjour à toutes et à tous

Les femmes ayant été longtemps écartées de la gestion de la cité, le système de quoto a été envisagé pour corriger progressivement les disparités entre homme et femme. trente sept ans après la Conférence de Nairobi, on peut se s'interroger sur l'efficaté de ce système dans le contexte africain. Les Etats ont-ils pris les dispositions nécessaires pour traduire dans la réalité les principes du système?

 La quasi totalité des pays excepté le Rwanda et le Sénégal , ont des parlements à dominance masculine. Des actions fortes et efficaces peinent à être prises. Pourtant, des femmes compétentes existent sur le continent. Il faut davantage de formation pour les femmes afin de les préparer à assumer les missions qui leur seront confiées de sorte à permettre l'accélération de l'instauration de la parité.

Bonne réception

This reply is posted on behalf of Shameme Manjoo, Electoral Commission of South Africa

The Electoral Commission of South Africa aims to continually improve the voting experience of differently-abled and challenged groups. This is achieved through on-going consultation with persons with disabilities, who are a critical strategic stakeholder group.
From an on-going Civic and Voter Education perspective as well as when training all electoral staff , improving access to electoral processes for persons with disabilities and being sensitised to their needs receives continual attention.
The Commission also provides training to civil society organisations representing persons with disabilities to ensure that the approach used is piloted amongst these groups and that information is disseminated in partnership with the groups. 
For the Local Government Elections in 2011 we introduced a Universal Ballot Template (UBT). Previously, in the 2009 National and Provincial election, we used a cardboard tactile template, which has since been discarded in favour of the 2011 UBT.

Our approach is summarised below.

Ensuring accessible and inclusive voting for Persons with Disabilities (PWD)

1. Legislative Framework
• Constitution of the Republic of South Africa - s3, s9, s10, 19, 20. s9 Equality – no unfair discrimination on grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, language, culture, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.
• Electoral Act (1998), Municipal Electoral Act s47 (6) (b))
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 25 -  The Right to Participate in Public Affairs, Voting Rights, and the right of Equal Access to Public Service.
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Article 29 – Participation in political and public life
• Bill of Electoral Rights for Citizens with Disabilities – International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and International Institute on Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

2. Obligation to "Overcome Specific Difficulties"
We benchmark our work against the principles below:
• States are obligated to take "effective measures to overcome specific difficulties" to ensure that citizens are able to exercise the universal right to register to vote, as well as the right to vote in public on equal terms with others.
Election Management Bodies (EMBs) must:
• Conduct voter education, voter registration, and voting at sites which are accessible for citizens with physical and other disabilities
• Ensure that voters who reside in short-term or long-term institutions, and those home-bound by disability, can exercise the right to register to vote and the right to vote.
• "Overcome language barriers"  - for example, sign language interpretation and braille should be  available throughout the entire electoral process. Voter education materials are available in braille, large font, audio etc. 
• Overcome communications barriers – consult with disability organizations to identify and use diverse  means to facilitate communication (such as Braille, large print, radio for the visually impaired, and audio or electronic devices)
• Educate the public about civil and political rights of PWD
• Consult with organizations of persons with disabilities to identify and make use of new and appropriate technologies and mechanisms.
Violations of these rights shall entitle the victim to seek an effective administrative, legal, or judicial remedy.

3. The Right to a Secret Vote in Public
• The right to vote in secret is a cornerstone of any free and democratic society. Denying that right to voters with disabilities undermines democracy. It also violates the universal right to participate freely and on equal terms in public life, guaranteed by international human rights law.
• A person with a disability must be able to complete his or her ballot in a manner which is absolutely private, and consistent with his or her intended selections.
• During the process of casting a ballot, it is ideal that no assistance from others should be required, and no election official, or other person, should be able to view the selections made by a voter.
• Ideally, every voter should have a completely reliable means of privately and independently verifying each selection, and should be able to correct an unintended selection. 

4. Assistive devices: The Universal Ballot Template (UBT)
• The aim of the template is to facilitate the equitable participation of visually impaired and all South Africans in the voting process and the right to a secret ballot for all.
• Assisted voting mechanisms must include safeguards to protect the right to vote, to protect the voter from manipulation, and to ensure the secrecy of the ballot. These safeguards include the right of the voter to decide who provides assistance, and to refuse the assistance if not needed .
• SA is a signatory to the UN Convention on PWD – accordingly we focus on removing barriers to citizenship for Persons with Disabilities. 
• The template has been acknowledged by the South African Council for the Blind (SANCB) and the Commission as a positive development and a laudable achievement, and has achieved a regional benchmark in catering for the needs of VIPs. The Commission’s partnership with the SANCB has been experienced as a successful and empathetic partnership.
• The SANCB would prefer to avoid having the blind person rely on the IEC official to read the candidate list. The Commission is exploring ways to ensure that all blind people get accurate information as it appears on the ballot so that there will be less dependence in trusting that an official is reading the list accurately and fairly. The Elections call Centre will also be used to provide information. Electoral staff will be continually trained on the concerns in relation to privacy and a secret ballot.
• The IEC training manual for electoral staff makes the various options clear (see attachment).
• On-going sensitisation is provided to the Commission’s officials in relation to VIPS (Visually Impaired Persons) and persons with low vision.
• The UBT has been designed for multiple use - the elderly, persons with low literacy, those who may have problems with dexterity, or blind persons who are not braille literate may also benefit from using the UBT to cast their vote.

5. Election Observers
• Civil society organisations representing persons with disabilities are encouraged to accredit themselves to observe elections.

6. Terminology
• The Commission uses terminology as used in the UN Convention viz. ‘Persons with Disabilities’, not ‘disabled people’.