Somalia: Women Demand More Parliamentary Seats

Women’s rights groups, prominent businesswomen and female politicians in Somalia have called on the country’s male-dominated parliament to pass a bill reserving 30 percent of seats for women in the 2021 general election.

Women, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), hold 24 percent of the 329 seats in Somalia’s lower and upper houses of parliament.

The country’s lower house, in June, approved a bill allowing for 30 percent of parliamentary seats to be reserved for women, but the bill has not been tabled before the upper house for approval.

‘We want this commitment on reserving 30 percent seats for women to be passed as legislation’, Reuters quoted Hear Women CEO, Deqa Abdiqasim Salad, as saying.

‘We are happy to have achieved 24 percent in the current parliament, but legislation is necessary to ensure that we do not lose the seats we have and help strengthen democracy by providing for a more representative voice in policy-making’.

Supporters of gender quotas point to African countries such as Rwanda, which leads the world with 55 percent of women occupying parliamentary seats, as an example of progressive governance.

It is understood that the East African nation has high rates of child marriage and violence against women, including rape and female genital mutilation (FGM).

According to the United Nations, 45 of women are married before 18, while 98 percent have undergone FGM.

Women’s rights groups say a stronger voice at the top would have a trickle-down effect, helping women at the grassroots level fight abuse, discrimination and inequality.

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Photo source: AMISOM Public Information

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