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Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007
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Commonwealth target yet to be met

Special Correspondent

Despite improvement in women’s participation in decision-making

— PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee with women Parliamentarians during the opening ceremony of the first Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians’ Conference at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Monday said that while a conducive legislative regime was imperative for ensuring equal participation of women in decision-making, it should be accompanied by appropriate enabling conditions and a change in the mental and societal outlook.

Addressing the first Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians’ Conference here, Mr. Chatterjee pointed out that the very idea of representation is incomplete if women, who constitute about half the population, do not take part in the decision-making or political processes.

Though there has been a perceptible improvement in the participation and representation of women in the decision-making process, the Speaker highlighted the fact that it still fell short of the Commonwealth target requiring that at least 30 per cent of those in political and decision-making positions should be women.

The day also saw Kashmala Tariq of Pakistan being elected chairperson of the Commonwealth Women’s Parliament in a fiercely contested four-sided poll. The election saw some tense moments as none of the four contestants secured the mandatory “50 per cent plus one” number of votes after the first round of counting. Since the candidates from British Colombia and the Dominican Republic secured 10 votes each, it was decided that both would be eliminated; leaving the representatives from Pakistan and Canada in the fray.

However, both contested the decision; insisting that the chairperson exercise the casting vote so that three candidates are left in the fray for the second round of counting. Even as the legality of this position was being examined, the matter was settled amicably with contestants from British Colombia and the Dominican Republic bowing out after which Ms. Tariq was declared elected at the end of the second round of counting. Briefing mediapersons about the 53rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) — beginning on Tuesday — Mr. Chatterjee sought to draw attention to the importance attached to gender issues at this year’s meeting.

“This is the first CPC where a Commonwealth Women Parliamentary Conference has been organised; earlier, it was only a discussion group.”

At the 53rd edition of the CPC, there were will be detailed discussions on “Right to Recall as a Strategy for Enforcing Greater Accountability of Parliaments to the People, Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures and The Role of Parliamentarians in Raising Awareness of and Curbing Human Trafficking.”

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