Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Chairperson highlights gender-sensitive Parliaments at 68th CSW
The Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), Hon. Dr Zainab Gimba, MP (Nigeria) attended a joint UN Women-IPU parliamentary meeting on ‘Gender-sensitive Parliaments: Advancing gender equality to end poverty’ in the margins of 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York.
The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Dr Tulia Ackson, Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania opened the session stating that it is only by working together that Parliamentarians can tackle inequality, violence and discrimination against women and girls. She also said that Parliamentarians have the power and duty to translate the needs and interest of women into practical policies, ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’.
Senator Hon. Julie LaShell Adderly, President of the Senate of The Bahamas also spoke at session on 'Prioritising poverty reduction to achieve gender equality', giving an insight into the initiatives introduced to address poverty and the economic inequality of women following the impact of Hurricane Dorian in 2019, one of the worst natural disasters in the Caribbean Region.
A further session was held on 'gender sensitive institutions breaking the poverty cycle' in which the CWP Chairperson spoke about how Commonwealth Parliaments are engaging with other stakeholders, including civil society and grassroots movements, to enhance their effectiveness in addressing gender inequalities and poverty.
The discussion looked at how women’s parliamentary caucuses have been advancing this agenda across party lines. Other panellists included: Ms Beatrice Duncan, Policy Advisor, UN Women; Hon. Véronique Riotton, Member of the National Assembly of France; Ms Priskila Arulpragasam, Co-lead, Delete Nothing; Ms Daniella Cicardini Milla, Second Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile.
In the margins of the CSW68, the CWP Chairperson also met with Hon. Adetola Kafilat Ogbara, MP (Nigeria) and Esther Eghobamien-Mshelia, Vice-Chairperson of the UN CEDAW Committee (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) and Nigeria’s representative to discuss women’s political empowerment and the elimination of discrimination in Nigeria.
Discussions also focused on strategies needed to help support efforts to pass a Gender Equality Bill and the need to collaborate with key stakeholders to help realise this.
The CWP Chairperson also met with Hon. Neema Lugangira, MP (Tanzania) for discussions about ensuring women’s meaningful representation at all decision-making levels including political parties and combating violence against women in politics. The Member of Parliament from Tanzania is an innovative global campaigner for women in Parliament who recently wrote for The Parliamentarian on the challenges of online visibility for Women Parliamentarians.
The Parliament of Tanzania recently passed a ground-breaking Bill, The Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Bill (awaiting Presidential assent) which recognises violence against women in politics and criminalises harassment during elections. It is hoped that this new law will help to address the multiple challenges facing both women and men when exercising their political rights.
The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) network is an active advocate for women's representation in Parliament and seeking to ensure Parliaments are gender-sensitive institutions. The CWP network has produced two complementary publications to help Parliaments through the gender-sensitisation process.
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The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) was founded in 1989 to increase the number of female elected representatives in 180 Parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth and to ensure that women’s issues are brought to the fore in parliamentary debate and legislation. The network campaigns for gender equality in all spheres. For media enquiries, please contact communications@cpahq.org.
