LITERATURE REVIEW
2.26 CORRUPTION AS A BARRIER FOR WOMEN TO JOIN POLITICS
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access to financial resources and there are enormous obstacles placed on their path by the family, education system, media and the civil law, customary and shariah (Aryan, 2012: 84).
Valdes (1998) argues that the parties of the centre and left have also failed to support their female candidates financially.
Women often come to politics later in life due to childbearing demands (McGlen and O’Connor, 1998: 88). Some women would have a guilty conscious when they do not spend enough time with their families (Franceschet, 2005: 90). There is a need to challenge the idea that a home is where women belong and argue that she is a human being but with different capabilities and needs to men (Koolaee, 2012: 141). Many women constantly challenge patriarchal gender relations and despite all the barriers, women are systematically struggling for change (Aryan, 2012: 87). Sometimes the way women speak and their conduct does not work in their favour, which results in them not seen as participant in meeting and therefore unable to air their views (Franceschet, 2005: 91). Dandavati (2005: 26) warns that women should not choose to be discriminated and humiliated in political spaces and should not relinquish the power they have at home by changing their interests. Women are more likely to live under a lot of poverty compared to their male counterparts (Lovenduski, 2002: 22).
Most political parties have not been in favour of the adoption of tools which would increase the number of women candidates to contest positions using gender quotas (Franceschet, 2005: 85). The electoral system shapes candidate selection in a way that disadvantages women (Franceschet, 2005: 85). A second way in which parties are a barrier to women involves the cultural practices and dynamics in a traditionally male-dominated environment (Franceschet, 2005: 85/6). Thirdly, political parties continue to monopolise formal politics, undermining any attempts by women who want to participate in the political process independently of partisan organisation (Franceschet, 2005: 86).
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a shortage of economic resources for women to join networks which is good for women as it allows them to stay out of all corrupt networks base on traditions and cultures.
2.26.1 Progress Made in Nordic Countries
Most progress has been made in Nordic Countries, least in the Pacific and the Arab world (Bennet, 2010: 28). One of the Nordic countries Norway celebrated its 100 years of giving women the right to vote. Bystydzienski (1995: 20) argues that Nordic countries granted women the right to vote earlier than other Western nations. Norway was the first nation in which political parties voluntarily set quotas, stipulating that ‘no gender should have more than 60 percent of slots on a party’s nominating slate’ (Bayes, Hawkesworth, 2006: 13). It must be noted that Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, form part of the Nordic countries with more than 23 million people. Nordic countries also include territories of the Faeroe Islands, Greenland and Aland (Aseskog, 2003: 147). There is a Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministries where all the governments participate as equal partners.
Gender equality has been one of the areas they wanted to focus on especially after the Beijing conference. The activities have focused on equal access to all structures that take decisions;
equal financial position and gender equality in relation to work to name a few (Aseskog, 2003: 147-8).
2.26.2 Violent Attacks on Women
The poor status of women in the workplace and their situation in communities has been connected to their harassment. (Wilson and Thompson, 2001: 61). It is said that when sexual conduct is invasive and unwanted it is referred to as harassment as it is not comfortable to the other person because it upsets and intimidates that person (Wilson and Thompson, 2001, 62).
Harassment normally takes place in most cases when women enter workplaces where males are dominant. This is sometimes caused by the fact that women are seen in the workplace as females first before they are recognised as workers and harassment can spread in that fashion (Wilson and Thompson, 2001, 64). Ramzanolgu (1987) mentioned some practises of violence against women such as abuses, stares, scorns, intimidations, verbal abuse, and dirty jokes as mechanisms to show women where they belong.
In some Islamic countries such as Iran, Pakistan and Nigeria, women are sentenced to death if they have been found to have committed adultery by the leaders (Kerr, 2004: 21). Many have
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been subject to attacks or threats of violence. As Mary, said ‘it dangerous to be in politics, it can be a threat to your life…my sister had a gun attack after standing for the council’ (Sales, 1997: 177). In India, a women activist in Maharashtra was kidnapped, confined and repeatedly raped by the activist of a rural political party (Patel, 1993: 32).
2.26.3 Women’s Involvement at Lower Level
Gender is socially constructed definition of women and men (SDC, 2003) and thus gender perspective takes into account men’s and women’s differentiated roles and powers within society (Byrne, and Schnyder, 2005: 5). This has been a trend all over the world, which means that practically women should be at the forefront in terms of governance at local level.
However, UCLG in 2005 pointed out that women participation is far from equitable and it is estimated that women councillors only constitute 20% worldwide. Karam (2000: 71) pointed out that some women have indicated that governments have assisted them in ensuring that they have rights as women. Women in Tunisia especially those in parliament have mentioned that they would not be in parliament if there was no commitment from the State to ensure that they progress and represent themselves in parliament. Lange (2008: 1124) argue that participation from decentralised level to national level was mostly by women or liberal feminists, who wanted to use the state to pursue their needs. When women activists move from local to central level they leave a vacuum without grooming any other women. When people have not heard anything about local government reform and decentralisation, especially women, no one would question about rights and the elite group would use the opportunity to empower themselves. In addition, Lange (2008: 1139) mentioned that
‘grassroot’ women often find it hard to take the floor in public meetings as they are being ignored or ridiculed. According to Mugisha (2000: 1), women have indicated that women are not enjoying any support from men in their homes and their communities in order to participate publically in politics especially at local government sphere. This affects women participation to improve development as where there are gender inequalities experiences of poverty, illiteracy, and child mortality rate, are general attributes. There is a belief that power plays a big role as women are still marginalised and overlooked when decisions are made. It is the voices of the few elite group that are heard, poor people and women lose out in the participation process. (Mosse, 1995; Cornwall, 2003; McEwan, 2005: 973). Furthermore, research by Urban Governance (2000: 102) found women to be less corrupt and more
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responsive to the needs of the communities. Therefore, there is a need to involve women at decentralised level of governance. There are some countries where women have fought for participation by organising themselves.