Paper short abstract:

This research examines the reasons for why the Rwanda Government sets forth policies to promote women. Additionally, it examines how current women in power are using their positions to advocate for women's critical role in the development of the state and the nation's future.

Paper long abstract:

Rwanda has become an international leader in Women's representation within government. After the recent 2018 Parliamentary election, sixty-seven percent of members of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house in Parliament) were women. This continued a trend of women representation in government institutions with previous percentages in the Chamber of Deputies being sixty-four percent and fifty-six percent after the 2013 and 2008 Parliamentary elections respectively. Promotion of women within Rwanda goes beyond the political realm and into other sectors of the economy and civil society. How the Rwanda Government, led by President Paul Kagame, promotes women in most facets of society has earned him and his government international praise. However, there are still questions of whether women are being placed in decision-making roles and whether there is true equal rights and respect for women within society. This research attempts to explain the reasons for why the Rwanda Government sets forth policies to promote women. It argues that current trends stem from three important elements: the historical role of women in the Rwanda Patriotic Front in its formation in 1987 and the Rwanda Civil War (1990-1994); push towards development and logistical role women play within the economy; and trending international norms that favour women empowerment. Additionally, it examines how current women in power are using their positions to advocate for women's critical role in the development of the state and the nation's future. These elements together provide a clear description of the rationale behind Rwanda's strive towards female empowerment in society.

Paper short abstract:

The objective of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of the relative success of the 2010 Senegalese parity law with the 2018 sponsorship law. This paper is based on interviews with female presidential candidates, MPs and local community council members .

Paper long abstract:

In Senegal, the 2010 gender parity law represented a major turning point in that it mandated political parties to apply gender equality for elective positions. This major law allows Senegal to rank 4th in the ranking of African countries , and 12th at the World level. Senegal aspires to become "an emerging country with a society of solidarity in a state of law, without discrimination, where men and women will have the same opportunities to participate in its development and enjoy the benefits of its growth." However, the effects of the parity law on the quality of the social contract is yet to be assessed. In addition, none of the women candidates to the 2019 presidentials passed through the meshes of the net of the 2018 sponsorships measure which requires declared candidates to gather at least 53,000 signatures from Senegalese voters to be able to validate their candidacy. Voters excluded not only women, but also young candidates. This article analyses comparatively the effects of the quota law (the Gender Parity Law for all elective roles) and the sponsorship law on Women Political Participation in Senegal. This paper is based on preliminary analysis of interviews with 4 (out of 5) 2019 female presidential candidates, MPs and local community council members on the one hand, and a desk review of the relevant policy and academic literature.

Paper short abstract:

Illicit money flow has plagued the Nigerian State for long but has become more problematic in recent times because of the significant role it plays in entrenching crooked entities in politics. A few of those who benefitted from illicit money are women. The question that were answered in this paper is the extent to which women in politics have benefitted from such illicit campaign funds and the extent to which they have developed themselves as political participants.

Paper long abstract:

Illicit money flow has plagued the Nigerian State for long but has become more problematic in recent times because of the significant role it plays in entrenching crooked entities in politics. Men have benefitted significantly from using illicit money to secure political positions while women have been marginalized in that regard. Although the law specifies that 30% of women should occupy political posts in Nigeria, women occupy less than 10% of political posts in the country. Factors like cultural and tradition sentiments, funding and fear of failure discourage women from participating fully in politics. The lip service paid by the male dominated political landscape to women’s participation in politics is also a source of discouragement to women. Funding is one of the most vital issues in seeking political posts, women usually bear the brunt of being underfunded and their male counterparts who enjoy the largesse of illicit funds hardly extend the benefits of such funds to them. Evidence from advanced nations like the UK, USA etc shows that the involvement of a reasonable number of women in politics guarantees a better life via better opportunities for women in such countries since their representatives champion their rights. In Nigeria, the impact the women in politics have had on the standard of life of women has been negligible. Questions that were answered in this paper include the extent to which women in politics have benefitted from illicit campaign funds and the extent to which they have developed themselves as political participants.

Paper short abstract:

Women collective voices to demand their rights from duty bearers has been disjointed in Malawi. In the run up to the May 2019 general elections, Malawian Women from all walks of life have mobilised their voices in a social movement organising leading to a compendium of demands, a Women`s Manifesto.

Paper long abstract:

Women political participation and their role in decision making has been low in Malawi. This is despite the enabling laws and policies both at local and international and regional level that Malawi has signed up to. These promote active participation and decision making of women as a matter of rights. One challenge has been lack of organised women voices to speak to power and collectively challenge the continued discrimination in as far as political and decision making participation is concerned.

In anticipation of the May 2019 general elections, Women`s Rights Organisations have mobilised interested stakeholders in the gender justice sector to create a social movement of women collective voices. A Women`s Manifesto Movement has been formed and women from across Malawi has been challenged to raise their collective voice to demand their rights. A range of demands including on duty bearers actions on violence against women and girls, women economic empowerment, access to education, justice and health. However, the issues of Women leadership, governance and participation in decision making had the prominent demands.

Generated from the data on lived realities from women and girls. The paper draws from a range of women voices in both rural and urban areas. In the Women Manifesto generated from the voices, a compendium of demands on women political participation and leadership have been elucidated.

Evident from the compendium is the power that women movement building at local and national level can amplify voices louder enough to tingle duty bearers slackness into desired action.

Paper short abstract:

There is a link between education and political participation in society. The realization of this fact amongst women is under threat given a high level of female dropouts in Nigeria. This study explores the effects of female dropouts and political participation in Nigeria. VAR model shall be adopted in the estimations using data (1970-2017). Women’s Political Empowerment Index (WPEI), female drop-out rates, enrolment rates are principal variables in the study and shall be drawn from UNESCO and V-med databases.

Paper long abstract:

Education is a weapon of man to waged war against destructive elements in society. The realization of this fact amongst women is under threat given a high level of female dropouts in Nigeria. Existing statistics show that Nigeria is the world’s capital of out-of-school children UNESCO (2017). Failure to complete basic education does not only limit the career chances of women but also leaves them with feelings of anxiety, inferiority complex, and deprivation in political participation. There is a link between education and political participation (Ogiri 2016). In Nigeria, women form bulk of the registered voters but their number is abysmally low in both elected and appointed positions in government (INEC 2018). Nigeria is a signatory to the Beijing Declaration of 1995 especially the affirmative action of 36% political positions for women. Sadly, Nigeria has not made appreciable progress in the political empowerment of women. This is largely attributed to illiteracy on the part of women. This study is designed to: (1) examine the relationship and effects of female drop-outs on the political participation of women in Nigeria. (2) Compare political participation outcomes of female drop-outs and their non-drop outs counterparts. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) Model shall be adopted in the estimations using data covering 1970-2017. Women’s Political Empowerment Index (WPEI), female drop-out rates, enrolment rates are principal variables and shall be drawn from UNESCO and V-med databases. The descriptive analysis shall also be applied to give insight as regards patterns of female drop-out and women in government in Nigeria.

Paper short abstract:

Drawing on evidence from Africa, this paper examines whether, and how, women on parliamentary committees are able to act as 'critical leaders,' shaping decisions on health spending, heath policies and legislative initiatives in the health sector.

Paper long abstract:

A large body of literature examines the factors that influence the adoption, design and impact of gender quotas, which are designed to increase the inclusion of women in parliaments. Far less research examines what those women do within parliaments, and the extent to which their inclusion in parliament translates to impact on the political decisions that affect women. This paper helps to fill that gap by examining how the political inclusion of women can reduce inequality in the health sector, and identifying the circumstances under which this is most likely to occur. It explores these issues in the particular context of Africa. It seeks to answer three core questions: (i) How does the inclusion of women in parliamentary committees vary between countries and over time in Africa? (ii) What is the impact of including women in parliamentary committees, as both members and leaders, on the health sector? (iii) What contextual factors facilitate the success of women as 'critical leaders' within parliamentary committees? These questions are answered using a combination of methods. A new dataset (covering an initial sample of 13 African countries) provides insight into the inclusion of women in parliamentary committees, both numerically and in leadership roles. A series of three qualitative, comparative case studies sheds light on whether, and how, women on parliamentary committees are able to act as 'critical leaders,' shaping decisions on health spending, heath policies and legislative initiatives in the health sector

Paper short abstract:

This paper considers the impact of women's inclusion in politics as creation of normative resources for young women's empowerment. Ultimately, it questions how female political elites enhance women's ability to challenge oppression and whether they contribute to fighting intersectional inequalities.

Paper long abstract:

This paper contributes to the scholarship on the impacts of women's inclusion in positions of political power by analysing their role model effect on young women (see for example Wolbrecht and Campbell, 2017; Beaman et al., 2012). Women's political representation is argued to contribute to increasing gender equality, by enabling women to overcome their internalized patriarchal gender norms (Alexander and Welzel, 2011). However, much of the political science role model scholarship has been limited by western conceptualisations of politics and power (M'Cormack-Hale, 2015; Tadros, 2015). Therefore, this study expands the analytical scope of the role model debates by reframing the role model function as a process of using social norms for one's empowerment (Kabeer, 2012). Thus, it examines the political elites' potential to contribute to the transformation of gender-based, intersectional oppressions.

Based on interviews and group discussions with women at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, conducted in 2016-2017, this paper argues that women in politics contribute to the students' construction of their ideal self, which is attached to the notion of a female political elite. The empowering resources for the students' decisions about their education and future employment are therefore not the women in politics themselves, who often fail to meet the normative expectations, but the ideal that emerges from the observations and engagements with a variety of women both in and outside of politics. Consequently, interventions focused on women's inclusion in politics ought to focus on increasing young women's exposure and connection to a diverse set of women.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the contribution of development projects initiated by women representatives to the improvement of livelihoods of local communities.

Paper long abstract:

The clamour for the passing of the two thirds gender principle in the Kenyan national parliament has reignited debate on the relevance of women legislators in general and Women Representatives in particular. There has been public outcry about the constitutional provisions setting out that women must be included in the parliament to meet certain thresholds. This has raised issues regarding the role of an open and competitive political system. Furthermore there is public perception of a lack of clearly defined roles as that of Members of Parliament; their relevance, contribution and constituencies raises many questions. Allocation and use of the funds to their offices is subject to scrutiny leading to allegations of financial misappropriation. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the developmental impact of the increase of women in the national legislatures and whether there is enough evidence to highlight their position as leaders. An examination of whether these women aid in improving the livelihoods and their impact of their visibility in society is essential in building public confidence.