By FRED OLUOCH

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Women political representation and participation in elections in the Great Lakes region remains dismal despite being the majority of registered voters in most countries.

As the region prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Resolution 1325 of the year 2000, meant to increase the participation and representation of women at all levels of political decision making, most countries are still struggling to increase their representation.

Experts at a UN-organised workshop in Addis Ababa said that women participation in politics and electoral process in the Great Lakes Region has been discouraged by violence and discrimination within political parties as well as the continued patriarchal approach to politics, based on culture.

The workshop was held on November 12 and 13, and the theme was “Participation, Representation and Protection of Women in Electoral Processes in the Great Lakes Region”.

The discussion was timely, as three member states of the International Committee of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)—Burundi, Tanzania, Sudan and the Central African Republic—prepare to hold elections in 2020.

Peace and security expert Gerard Nduwayo said that as Burundi approaches the 2020 elections, attacks by rebels and political intolerance is discouraging women in the provinces from participating in politics.

Minata Cessouma Samate, the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs said that some countries in the Great Lakes region like Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania, have bypassed the 30 per cent women representation threshold, but there was still a need to push for 50 per cent representation by 2030, which is part of the AU Agenda 2063.

Participants at the workshop reviewed relevant provisions between regional electoral institutions and Great Lakes participants to ensure that gender is a key element of elections.

While countries in the Great Lakes region have made some positive steps in improving women representation to an average of 27 per cent against the global average of 24 per cent, some countries are lagging behind.

Rwanda leads the 12 member countries of ICGLR with 61 per cent women representation in parliament, Tanzania (36.9 per cent), Burundi (36.4 per cent) Uganda (34.9 per cent) and Angola at 30 per cent.

Member states who are yet to meet the threshold include South Sudan (28.5 per cent), Sudan (27.7 per cent), Kenya (21.8 per cent), Zambia (18 per cent), Republic of Congo (11.3 per cent), DRC (10.3 per cent) and Central African Republic at 8.6 per cent.

Training support

Huang Xia, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, offered to help in mobilising resources to train 12 people from ICGLR countries to increase women participation in politics and election management.

Despite the existence of global, continental and regional frameworks, the progress on women’s representation in elective and appointed positions has been slow, with their share in lower Houses’ of parliament being 24.3 per cent on average. This situation falls short of the gender balance requirements highlighted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

As at January 1, 2019, only 6.6 per cent of heads of state and 5.2 per cent of heads of government were women. Compared with global figures, the Great Lakes Region’s representation in parliaments is encouraging, with an average of 27 per cent.

Eliane Berthe Mokodopo, the director of gender and children at the ICGLR, said that challenges arise from persistent sociocultural beliefs against women.

She recommended that the allocation of resources for women initiatives adopt a regional approach in peace building and invest in training for political governance.

The workshop resolved that ICGLR member states be encouraged to undertake a gender-responsive audit of electoral laws for more gender-sensitive legal reforms.

Member states are also required to ratify and expedite the implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol).

Zachary Muburi-Muita, the ICGLR executive secretary, said that the low representation of women shows that, after many conflicts in the region and the advent of multiparty politics, instead of changing, the game has instead contributed to relegating women to a role of “grass roots activists” whose sole duty is to mobilise members of political parties without actually occupying high positions in the hierarchy.

Lydia Gachoya, the deputy chair of the ICGLR Women Forum, said that the problem is that parties only pick women in areas they know they cannot win.

“We need legislation that gives criteria on how to nominate women candidates. In most cases, those who are nominated are not the ones we have trained on political leadership,” she said.