The Political Power of Women - Research Paper Example

Political power of women Europe and Asia Politics is one of the most fundamental facets in the society, politics results in the formation of government. This makes political representation important in the creation of viable societies. While this is basic concept understood by leaders globally, the political representation remains relatively lower in most parts of the world. The trend is different in Asia as the continent produced some of the first female leaders. In 1990 for example, Sri-Lanka the first democratically elected female president in the world. However, while women in the region continue to rise into the highest positions of leadership in the region, the rise in the number of such leaders does not result in the protection of the rights of women (Pamela and Melanie 65). The position of women in the two societies contrasts thereby depicting definite pattern of weak political institutions that do not consider the position of women in the Asian societies. The position and participation of women in politics should facilitate the inclusion of their rights and roles in the constitution as the essay below portrays. The democratic processes in the countries are illusionary and use the high political positions as rewards to women who lose either fathers or husbands in political assassinations. The Sri-Lankan female president for example rose to power after the assassination of her husband who served as the president prior to his murder. While the women hold the highest positions in office, they work in heavily bureaucratic systems often working under the influence of men. This explains the inability of the female presidents to improve the status of women in the countries. The status of women in Asia is appalling with some societies showing abject disregard to the fundamental human rights. The rise of specific women into the positions of power does not help address such deeply entrenched social structures that perpetuate the disregard of the fundamental human rights (Pamela and Melanie 231). India, the world most populous nation and a strong economy in Asia has had few women in leadership positions. This perpetuates the traditional stereotypes in the society most of which support the disregard to the rights of women. The recent case of a girl gang raped in a public bus in Mumbai depicts the hopelessness of women in the country. The incident portrayed the fact that numerous rape cases in the country go unreported. The police in the country lack the motivation to investigate crimes against women. The lack of both motivation and resources to investigate cases of crimes against women and bring the suspects to book as depicted by the actions of the police investigating the case of the young girl gang raped in bus shows the lack of representation of women in the society. The political system in the country does not uphold the values and rights of women thus compelling female rape victims to feel ashamed and shun any attempt to report such atrocities. The police force in the country consists of men who therefore uphold the laws that safeguard the rights of men often disregarding the plight of women. The police force in India for example requires effective reforms in order to increase the number of women in the force. The presence of a female president surrounded by male cabinet secretaries and male parliamentarians does not help elevate the position of women in the society. The change in political representation requires enactment of legislations that safeguard the rights of women. Additionally this requires an attitudinal overhaul in order to influence the feelings and thoughts of the populace in order to recognize the rights and roles of women (Gelb and Marian 41). The solution to the social problems in Asia is improved female representation. As determined above, having a female president is not enough since an individual may not influence the political and policy changes required to alleviate the plight of women in the societies. The Asian continent has had several female presidents while such social problems as rape are still evident in the society. Increased political representation of women on the other hand will reverse the situation and improves the position of women in the societies. An increased political representation of women in the countries will help safeguard the rights of women in the constitution of the countries. This way, it becomes possible to alleviate the situation of women in the society. The problems women face in such countries are social and therefore require effective political and social solutions. Politics can easily change societies by developing realistic institutions to safeguard the morality and ethical standards of the society. This validates the push for increased women representation of women in politics. Representation does not arise from participating in the election process. Women must vie for the political positions and deserve the consideration of both the male and female electorate in order to arise to the positions of influence in the societies. The incorporation of women in the leadership of countries is the only realistic solution to the problems facing women in the Asian societies. The police reforms prescribed for the Indian society for example are only attainable if such decisions arise from effective political policies. Apparently, the society shows disregard to women a feature that perpetuates such crimes as rape (Fleschenberg and Claudia 41). Additionally, women in the society do not enjoy equality in the pursuit of education among other fundamental services in the country. They therefore lag behind their male counterparts a feature that sustains the imbalanced political system in the countries. Besides the police reformations, the societies require effective civic education in order to radicalize the mindset of the people in the society in order to improve the appreciation of women in the society. Changing the society’s view to the female gender roles would help the society appreciate women working as police officers among other jobs previously considered masculine. Additionally, through such changes the society would help motivate girl children and improve the literary level among women. The situation differs greatly in Europe. Unlike in Asia, Europe has had very few women serving in top political positions such as the presidency. In the Europe, the governance and politics remained dominated by men until the late 1970s. In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom. Iceland and Norway became among the first societies to have women infiltrate the political landscape. Additionally, the European Union had a female president in 1979 following the election of Simone Weil. Such developments depicted the rise and active participation of women in the region’s poetics. However, the late entrant of women in the region’s politics did not imply that the women lived in poor state, as is the situation in the Asian society (Krook and Sarah 61). The western society appreciated their women; they incorporated women in the development of the continent by upholding the rights, privileges and responsibilities of women. Through the provision of equal opportunities, men and women became equally viable for appointment into positions of service within the society. This explains the difference in the social structure of the two societies. Women did not hold top political positions but they served in various roles in the society alongside their male counterparts. The current state of affairs in the western societies helps portray the development of the societies regarding the position of women and the specific female gender roles. Unlike in Asia, the western society does not have several stereotypes against women. Instead, the society provides women equal opportunities to seek quality education and obtain employment alongside their male counterparts. Women in Europe lived in conducive societies. They had equal access to education with the constitution safeguarding their rights. They therefore enjoyed both liberty and equality two fundamental features that contributed to the development of the societies into the strong economies they are today. Besides the effective constitutional representation of women, the society had effective social mindsets (Ford 121). The people appreciated the value of gender equality. This implied that the societies appreciated the fact that women could serve just as good as the men did. With appropriate qualifications, women served in various positions including the law enforcement and the judicial service. With such effective infrastructure coupled with free and fair press, the society enacted and implemented stringent policies that sought to curb gender based crimes. Currently the European countries have effective law enforcement that investigate and apprehend perpetrators of gender based offenses. Rape in the European society is a capital offense that attracts stringent punishment a feature that improves the status of both women and girl child in the society unlike the situation in Asia. Women’s political participation in Islamist politics Islamic societies have stringent social structures. The fact that most of the Islamic countries in both the Middle East and parts of Africa remained under dictatorial political regimes impaired the role of women in the creation of democratic societies. However, the wave of revolution in the Islamic societies epitomized the need for the population to free themselves and develop democratic societies. Women in the societies have therefore adopted various means to help curtail the oppressive political regimes and help turn their societies into democratic societies. The oppressive nature of most of the Islamic social structure requires specific strategies to help infiltrate and change the nature of politics in such societies (Pamela and Melanie 401). The women in some of such societies appreciate the role of the constitution in upholding their values. Some of the greatest women movements in the Islamic societies thus endeavor to change the constitutions of their countries thus improve the position of their fellow women. Morocco is an example of an Islamic society in Africa in which women are actively engaged in various roles striving to change their constitutions in order to uplift the position of women. Women in Morocco have organized various non-governmental organizations through which they seek to uplift the position of women. Among the organizations are PJD and the Justice and Charity Islamist group both of which share the mission of uplifting and safeguarding the value of Moroccan women. The two organizations have different political ideologies but they both seek to cushion Moroccan women from gender-based crimes such as rape and encourage women in the society to appreciate education in order to improve their standards. The groups use religion to liberate both the society and the women from gender-based crimes thus improving the appreciation of women in the society. Increase in the number of women in power Most governments have adopted the quota systems through which they seek to increase the number of women in politics. Among the commonly employed quota systems are sex quota system, which is a method of through which governments seek to monitor the changes in the various economic and political sectors in order to improve the number of women in positions of power. The government creates a particular critical level below which the composition of a state body becomes unconstitutional. Such levels vary depending on the demographic factors in a country. Besides the sex quotas, most countries also employ the legal quota system. Through such, the government influences the governance of state parties. This way, the governments influence the composition of political parties in order to improve women participation in politics. Among the evident examples of the application of such quotas includes the equality law passed in 2007 in Spain. The law required the inclusion of about 40-60% of either gender in political positions. As an example of the legal quota system, the law requires the participation of a minimum of 40% of either gender in electoral processes among other political activities in the country. Finland also had a similar law in 1995 requiring the composition of both genders in all state bodies and political parties. This way, the countries safeguarded the position of either gender in the national constitution. The requirement thus cushions either gender from exploitation by the other. In doing this, the governments safeguard the position of women in the societies. In retrospect, women participation in governance is included in the constitutions of the western countries. Even though their participation in such position is low, they enjoy liberal social structures as the constitutions safeguard their roles and privileges in the society. this is unlike in the Asian societies which have often produced female presidents but the condition of women in the societies still remain poor with a country like India still subjecting their women to weak security parameters that do not investigate into cases of rape. This therefore validates the claim that the rights, responsibilities and privileges of women just as those of any other person in the society should be entrenched in the constitution in order to achieve ideal societies. Work cited Fleschenberg, Andrea, and Claudia Derichs. Women and Politics in Asia: A Springboard for Democracy?Berlin: Lit, 2012. Print. Ford, Lynne E. Women and Politics: The Pursuit of Equality. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2011. Print. Gelb, Joyce, and Marian L. Palley. Women and Politics Around the World: A Comparative History and Survey. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print. Krook, Mona L, and Sarah Childs. Women, Gender, and Politics: A Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. Pamela, Paxton and Melanie, M. Hughes. Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective. New York: SAGE Publications, 2013. Print. Read More