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A blog about the social movements worldwide that CNN doesn't tell you about. Includes feminist and social commentary.
The Political Notebook: The Prospects for Women in Politics in 2012: From the US to Afghanistan →
United States: 2012 is a general election year in the United States, and it’s a fairly certain bet that no woman will head the country come next January, but what are the prospects for the Congressional seats and governor’s positions across the country, and where exactly do women stand in the political sphere at this point? Did Hillary break ground in 2008? Yes. Do women stand a fair chance now that they’ve proved their mettle on the national scene? No.
The fight for representation is an important one: as a result of the 2010 elections, the level of representation for women in Congress fell for the first time in three decades. HERvotes, a collective effort by 40 different US women’s rights groups, was created for this election to ensure that women vote and that women’s economic and reproductive rights are preserved. The National Organization for Women also has a PAC dedicated to supporting feminist candidates (take a look at their endorsements here). Sen. Barbara Boxer has also created a PAC, called WinWithWomen2012, intended to up the numbers of female representatives.
Women’s issues (although honestly, aren’t they everyone’s issues?) are also a focus in the upcoming elections: reproductive health being high on the list of worries. As I reported before, 2011 was a banner year for states passing abortion restrictions (like waiting periods) into law and reproductive health has repeatedly come under fire both nationally and in the states with shutdowns of Planned Parenthood and moves against access to birth control. Economics is also a gendered issue: the job gains since 2008 have been predominantly by white men and from 2007-9 while men were making job gains, women were actually posting losses. Women accounted for 64% of public sector layoffs (making up 57% of public sector workers).
Afghanistan: Where women stand in the upcoming transitional and negotiation period is a critical, but inadequately addressed, question. There have been considerable gains in the past decade on the gender equality front, but gains aren’t necessarily permanent. One of the great fears of the activists who have worked long and hard to improve women’s rights and health and wellbeing is that the progress will evaporate as Karzai and the international community reach out to the Taliban and the warlords in an attempt to make peace. But what kind of peace will exist if women are ignored? The outcome document of the Bonn Conference this past December expressed vague admonitions to maintain gender equality and increase women’s role in political participation, but few Afghan women were themselves even present at the conference and the words seem at best like half-hearted moves toward a goal seen as secondary, even tertiary to the supposed goal of peace. Read more here on the issues that women face in Afghanistan.
North Africa: The North African countries that overthrew their dictators in 2011 are now facing transition in 2012 and where women will stand both politically and culturally is a big issue. In Tunisia, women and women’s rights groups have been very politically active and expressed great concern and trepidation over the consequences of the growing power of the Islamist Ennahda Party. They have been exerting great pressure on Ennahda to remain moderate and commit to maintaining women’s rights. The protests and the insistence that women’s issues remain a central part of the discussion and the women’s rights groups’ commitment to political activism all are incredibly positive elements. Egyptians have similar worries about the post-Mubarak political clout held by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists, and Egyptian women continue to challenge the patriarchal elements of their culture and politics. In Libya, the debate is right now over a quota in the new constitution. As it stands women are tentatively granted a quota of a mere 10 percent, although they are protesting and organizations like The Voice of Libyan Women are pushing for 30%.
Europe: Women’s representation in parliament increased across Europe in 2011 (actually tripling in Slovenia), which is great momentum. Average representation in OSCE member states in Europe is 22% (the global average is 19.8). There are a number of European elections in 2012, hopefully offering the chance to keep the trend moving. Two of the French presidential candidates this year are women: Marine Le Pen of the National Front and Eva Joly of the Green Party will be battling the top candidates, incumbent Nicholas Sarkozy and challenger François Hollande. However, Martine Aubry of the Socialist Party, who openly swore to make gender equality a priority in her campaign in the hopes of addressing gender discrimination, is out. Serbia will undergo presidential and parliamentary elections this May and expects to hear from the EU about its possible accession in March. The pressure from the European Union to implement electoral reforms and progressive policies has meant the institution of a quota system to ensure a minimum representation of 30% for female parliamentarians. Elsewhere - one woman, Eva Biaudet is in contention for the Finnish presidency, and Turkey (holding presidential elections this year) may be sliding worryingly backwards on women’s rights.
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