Asian, African and Arab Women Demand Equality

Women make up about 50% of the population in many countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, but their ability to participate in all aspects of society is often limited due to discrimination, societal restrictions, and a lack of access to education and job opportunities.

According to the 2018 Global Gender Gap Index Report, the gender gap in politics remains challenging to bridge. On political representation, women are greatly underrepresented. In order to further address this issue, the Arab Liberal Federation (ALF), in cooperation with the Africa Liberal Network (ALN), VDD International and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), organized the seminar, “Empowering Women: starting in your political party” during the ALN & ALF General Assembly in Marrakech last 8 – 9 March 2019.

The two-day seminar was well-attended by the different participants of the Women’s Leadership Programme. The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) was represented by its CALD Women’s Caucus Chair and International Network of Liberal Women President, Datuk Jayanthi Devi Balaguru. She facilitated the breakaway sessions and delivered the opening address where she discussed about the continuing gender gap in Asia and best practices in promoting and enhancing women’s political participation and involvement. She noted: “Political parties, as we all know, are training grounds for future leaders. If these leaders, through their respective political parties, are oriented properly on gender equality and women empowerment, we can expect them to embody these same principles and values once they enter the corridors of power.”

She also served as one of the speakers during the first series of expert forums of the Liberal International Human Rights Committee (LI HRC) where they united global liberals to promote and advance gender-based inclusivity in political parties. She was joined by Dr. Mayada Swar El-Dahab from the Arab Liberal Federation and Rosemary Machua from Africa Liberal Network.  The group discussed the different existing challenges for politically active women in their respective regions and shared their own experiences from across their political parties.

Balaguru, also a member of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, said: “It is not about how many women are put forward as candidates but [it is] about promoting more women in winnable seats. Women should be treated for their credibility — not for their gender — and in this sense, women politicians shouldn’t have to restrict [themselves] to just women’s rights issues”.

“When women rights cease to be an issue of women exclusively and become ingrained in society – that is the time when we can say that gender equality is achieved.”