Women MPs and the IPU

Mrs. Isabel Allende, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, opened the Meeting of Women MPs in Santiago de Chile. Photo IPU/ J. Inostrosa

More and more women MPs attend IPU conferences and hold high-level posts within the world organisation of parliaments. In Santiago, some 140 women parliamentarians from 93 countries debated the issue of the Iraq war and expressed their deep concern at the consequences of the war on women and children.

They urged the parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and human rights and recalled the fundamental role of women in the aftermath of an armed conflict in relation to reconciliation. They also pointed out that the United Nations had a major role to play and requested the IPU to participate actively in the peace-making process.

"At the IPU, countries have the possibility to defend themselves and give their point of view"

The Speaker of the Saeima of Latvia, Mrs Ingrida Udre, referred to the role of the world organisation of parliaments in the context of the war in Iraq:

Q : How do you assess the importance of parliamentary assemblies in such a difficult international situation ?
Ingrida Udre: They are very important, because representatives from different countries who hold different views can sit down together and discuss different issues. Moreover, countries have an opportunity to defend themselves and express their point of view. Adopting the resolution showed unity and also democracy, because even if we have different points of view, we found a compromise. It showed to the rest of the world that there is always a way to compromise and solve conflicts in different ways.

Q : Is it difficult for a woman to be Speaker of Parliament ?
I. U.: It is different ! Certainly. At the beginning, men looked at you like a woman. The men were behaving differently. Now men in parliament display proper behaviour, they are more polite than before, when we had a man as Speaker of Parliament.

"We have good working rules so we managed to deliver"

As a sign of the times, the "Twelve Plus" geopolitical group at the IPU is currently chaired by a woman, Norwegian MP Oddbjorg Starrfelt. The Group of so-called Western countries is composed of the following 43 parliaments: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Finland, France, Germany Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, United Kingdom, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey. (Observers: Serbia and Montenegro, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, European Parliament).

Q : You are the Chairperson of the Twelve Plus Group. Is this a difficult job in the present international context ?

Mrs Oddbjorg Starrfelt: Of course we had an extra challenge with the war in Iraq and because we are divided as a region on that question. But we have good working rules so we managed to deliver. In the drafting committee for the resolution on the war in Iraq, we had one MP from a country in favour of the war and one MP from a country against the war, and they managed to produce a joint draft resolution.

Q : The Nordic countries always have the most women in parliament. What is their secret ?

O.S.: I am not sure, but it is in a way a self-reinforcing process. I think that the Nordic countries apply rules, first within the political parties or at least some parties, then within the different bodies of our democracies.

"I do not know what Norwegian politics would have been today without a good balance between the genders"

Q: Q : The Nordic countries are always at the top of the list when it comes to women in parliament. How do you explain this ?
F.M.V.: I think that women have had a strong position in Norwegian society for centuries. It took some time though before they were able to exercise their full rights in the political system. But this happened some one hundred years ago. We still have a way to go, but I think it is imperative that they make their contribution, because women often have a slightly different insight into problems and I think that this is very valuable. I do not know what Norwegian politics would have been today without a good balance between the genders.
Mr. Finn Martin Vallersnes
MP, Norway - President of the Committee on Middle East Questions

"I am deeply saddened by the war in Iraq"

I am deeply saddened by the unjust war in Iraq, whose consequences are destruction and death affecting thousands of human beings, including women and children. On the other hand, I am absolutely delighted to have you here in Chile and to welcome you in my capacity as President of the Chamber of Deputies, which is a post held only for the second time by a woman since 1811, the year our National Congress was established.
Isabel Allende, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile
President of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians

"In Santiago, we have worked in response to the demands of international public opinion"

Iranian delegations to IPU meetings almost always include a woman MP. The Santiago Conference was no exception, with the presence of Mrs. Soheila Jelodarzadeh, one of the 12 Vice-Presidents of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Q : The Santiago Inter-Parliamentary Conference comes at a time when the international situation is tense because of the war in Iraq. What is Iran's position in this respect?
Soheila Jelodarzadeh: We have always said that the international community must do its utmost to strengthen the role of the UN in order to try and solve all conflicts at the international level. We have been the worst affected by the regime of Saddam Hussein, our neighbour. But we wish to underscore that dialogue and peaceful mechanisms are the keys to conflict settlement. As has been the case here in Santiago, we deem it important to work in response to public opinion. This is what must be done, and I believe that here at this Conference, we have worked in response to international public opinion.

From left to right, Mrs. Gwen Mahlangu, Mrs. Angela King, and Mrs. Isabel Allende. Photo: Hector Yañez.

Launching of a joint IPU/UN Handbook to combat discrimination against women

In Santiago de Chile, the IPU and the United Nations launched a Handbook for parliamentarians on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.and its Optional Protocol. The Handbook was financed with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA).

They said :

The Convention is the most comprehensive instrument that exists on women's rights, considering that it encompasses the full range of the vital aspects of the human person. Our parliaments have a major part to play in implementing the Convention and its Optional Protocol. We have to set about sensitizing the governments that have not yet ratified the two instruments.
Mr. Sergio Páez
President of the IPU

Few causes defended by the United Nations have generated more intense and widespread support than the campaign to promote and protect the equal rights of women. The Charter of the United Nations prominently reaffirmed the equal rights of men and women. Since then, the United Nations has helped to build a structure of internationally agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.
Mrs. Angela King,
UN Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women

The guide published by the UN and the IPU is a very good idea, because in some countries, these issues are very important. If in some others they may seem less important, even in the Nordic countries, when we speak with our colleagues from those countries, we find violence against women in the families and some hiring-related discrimination.
Mrs. Ingrida Udre
Speaker of the Saeima of Latvia

This Handbook is very important. First of all, it is important for the new democracies, because they can see what can be done and how it can be done. It can also be important for these countries which have come a long way in this respect like my country, because we have to have things written down and remind ourselves of the different steps. On the other hand, I think that this is one facet of democracy that we will always have to work on, because we did not win that battle once and for all, we have to win it every day.
Mrs. Oddbjorg Starrfelt
MP, Norway - President of the Twelve Plus Group

As a woman, I am of course in favour of such a Handbook. I think that 50% of the inhabitants of the planet are women, and we have to include children also. We still do not have all our rights and women are in many cases treated as objects of men. This should not be the case. This is another good role for the IPU: to push all of the world's parliamentarians to campaign and to improve the policies which lead to a better quality relationship between men and women. And also to try to reduce violence against women and children within the families. The ones who should be educated should be the men ! It is their mentality that causes these tragedies.
Mrs. Pensak Chagsuchinda
MP, Thailand - Member of the Committee on Middle East Questions

As parliamentarians, we form the backbone, so to speak. We have to make sure that in our countries, all the international conventions are ratified in time. We have a great job now that we have the Handbook. We have the bible and we have to know the bible in order to preach the bible. So we have to make sure that we know what the Optional Protocol is all about and to make sure that laws are passed in all our countries in order to eliminate all sorts of discrimination against women and children. This handbook will make a difference for countries that are not very familiar with the CEDAW and its Optional Protocol. Now there are guidelines telling them what parliaments have to do, and we as parliamentarians have to debate these issues, to look at all the programmes in our countries to see whether there are hearings, to examine the laws to determine whether they are discriminatory and also to make sure that governments submit reports on the status of women to the CEDAW Commission in New York. Today women have a better tool.
Mrs. Margareth Mensah
Deputy-Chairperson of the Namibian National Council

Mr. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita President of the National Assembly of Mali "Anything we can do to promote women is a good thing" I.B.K. : Anything we can do to promote women, in my country and in my Assembly, is a good thing. I am also here as President of the African Parliamentary Union, and we are receptive to anything that can help to promote women on the African continent. This is why we welcome and fully support this IPU initiative. We cannot do too much to back the promotion of women and convince people once and for all that the woman is man's equal with regard to every human activity that we can undertake on the earth. This must be acknowledged, without any hint of paternalism that we are being "soft" on women. We are not being "soft" on them – they are simply getting what they deserve, what they have achieved by dint of unfailing efforts down through the centuries. This is why I am pleased to see that the culmination of the initiative taken by the IPU is set down in a document. Q : At the Ouagadougou Inter-Parliamentary Conference, a large share of the discussion was devoted to the issue of female genital mutilation. In your opinion, has progress been made in this respect ? I.B.K: A lot of progress has indeed been made. We have been discussing this question for decades throughout the world. This concerns us first and foremost in Africa, because on our continent, a majority of women are still affected by this practice. We must make absolutely sure that in the 21st century, this is only a memory. We run campaigns all over Africa to show the harm done by female genital mutilation so that everyone will understand that there are no benefits for anyone but only various types of frustration. And it is good for the woman to preserve her body intact, just like the man. Here as well, there exist culturally-determined practices, not only in Africa but elsewhere. As far as women are concerned, let us join forces to ensure that they safeguard their bodies.