Women in Politics

What are the obstacles facing women’s participation in politics and what measures have been introduced to remedy the situation? Choose examples from at least three countries. When our country was constructed in 1776, men had control over most of the significant affairs of this country. It was a drastic notion for women to be involved in anything other than affairs concerning the home and the children. However the feminist movement began the start of females getting involved in politics, as well as all other affairs that only men were including in before.Even though there are an undeniably higher percentage of women in politics today. Women still have to endure more obscurity than men when it comes down to complete acceptance in becoming a true female politician in an other wised male dominated profession. In smaller countries the reproductive element of women was viewed to be very specific and had a more collective importance. Women are always seen as the â€Å"weaker sex. â €  Women were generally viewed as being ambiguous and small-minded when it came to the topic of politics.It is this attitude that has generated apathy from men all over the world, reinforcing the lack of female positions in politics. There is an over whelming difference between view of women in politics from the Philippines, to the UK & down in the Middle East. The game of Politics is the politics of male patronage and personality still dominate the Philippines political landscape. It isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon, but a strategy is in place with steps to change toward a direction where women will have a stronger influence in Philippine mainly about power and control.Within the context of Philippine politics, women have not conventionally been given the ability to be keepers of that power in the Philippine politics. How far these steps are taken depends on the decisions of those in power. In addition, the people of the Philippines must support those women that hav e decided to run. While there has been a considerable improvement in women’s involvement in politics and government, many women are still delayed from implementing their right to participate. Although, there have been a few measures set in place to increase female participation, there has yet to be a true implementation.In 1995, former President Fidel Ramos signed into law Executive Order No. 273, also known as the Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development 1995-2025 (PPGD). This law takes off where the Philippine Development Plan for Women (PDPW) left off after its four-year mandate expired in 1992. â€Å"It is the government’s 30-year framework for pursuing gender equality and development (Stiftung 4). † Lastly, Filipino women must make a conscious effort fight against the typical stereotype. They need to work together to form a stronger political and economic stance that would be noticed by others (especially their male counterparts).It’s all ab out working toward an equal level of social equality. A breakthrough in the recognition of the contribution of women can be found in Section 14, Article II of the Constitution, which provides that â€Å"The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men. † This provision is cognizant of the contribution of women in the overall life of the country, and thus is supposed to signify the State’s support in pursuing the general development of its female constituents (womeninpolitics. rg). This statement was made, but no one truly acted on it. Looking at the United Kingdom, each party is responsible for encouraging women into politics. The Government itself does not consider it would be correct to make such an action required in order to increase the number of women elected. The Government believes that each political party should decide for themselves whether they wish to increase the number of women candidates standing for election in/for their party. If they wish to do so, they must figure out how to achieve this increase.The Government has however legislated so that each party can legally use positive measures for this purpose. One of the most profound acts to facilitate progress towards increasing women’s representation in government was the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act of 2002. It was introduced to remove domestic legal barriers from the 1975 Act and equivalent to the Northern Ireland Order. This solidified stipulations for political parties wishing to adopt positive measures to reduce inequality between the numbers of men and women elected.This act of legislation covers elections to the House of Commons, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the European Parliament and local government elections (excluding directly elected mayors and community councils in Scotland). However, women in the Middl e East often suffer from very sensitive and complicated political, social and cultural conditions that restrict their ability to easily engage in the political arena. Many women are encouraged turn away from political participation to avoid controversy.Traditional religious interpretation sometimes restricts female participation in public life, or literally prevents them from mixing with men or assuming public posts. There is also the family element to think about, with women still customarily responsible for household duties. A life in politics would not be deemed as the best professional choice. In the Middle East women are often viewed as less experienced in public affairs. As a result, voters (both male and female) are less likely to vote for a woman on the ballot.Consequently, women either refrain from running for political office or drop out early from a lack of local support. There is one means of improving women's participation in politic through a quota system. This system allocates a percentage of seats for women. In countries where such measures have been adopted, such as Tunisia, Iraq and Jordan, we see more women in politics Despite obstacles, women are showing that they are equally capable of being politicians. That is why the percentage of women in the politics is continually rising.Works Cited Gumba, Romy Fay. â€Å"Philippines. † http://www. onlinewomenin politics. org/phil/fes-ph. pdf. 3 Nov 2001 Iraq Updates. â€Å"Where are the Women in Middle East Politics? † http://www. iraqupdates. com/p_articles. php /article/24281. 23 Nov 2007 Stiftung, Friedrich Ebert. â€Å"FES Young Women’s’ Leaders Network Conference. † Bangkok, Thailand. 4 Nov 2000 Women in Politics. â€Å"Women's Representation in Politics† http://www. womenandequalityunit. gov. uk/public_life/parliament. htm. 19 Nov 06