GENEVA, March 6: Women held a record 18.3 per cent of all parliamentary seats worldwide in 2008, the Inter-Parliamentary Union said on Thursday.

The number of 8,094 women lawmakers is a 60 per cent increase since 1995, when they held just over one in 10 seats, it said.

The trend is uneven with Asian, Arab states and Pacific Island states, all showing lower proportions of women in parliament than the global average.

“It is unfortunate that we are not seeing progress being made across all parliaments of the world... more needs to be done in those countries where women are largely absent from decision-making bodies,” said Theo-Ben Gurira, president of the IPU.Asia, where access to women was 17.8 per cent, registered “the slowest rate of progress in terms of women’s access to parliament over the past 15 years.”

The Pacific Island states showed the lowest number of women being elected to parliament last year – just four per cent. Arab states posted nine per cent in the four parliamentary renewals that took place in 2008.

Latin America registered strong gains last year, with women taking over a quarter seats in the 12 chambers that were renewed.

In Europe, women were elected to one in five seats on offer in the 19 chambers that were renewed.

In Africa, Rwanda shone with more than 56 per cent of women members elected to its lower house.

Violence against women

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to end violence against women in their countries, in a speech ahead of International Women’s Day.

“Violence against women cannot be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstances, by any political leader or by any government,” said Mr Ban.

“We must unite. The time for change is now. Only by standing together and speaking out can we make a difference,” he said on Thursday, ahead of Sunday’s events to mark women’s economic, political and social achievements.

The United Nations has also launched a database to document violence against women and follow global efforts to combat the violence.

According to Mr Ban, one woman in five has been a victim of rape or attempted rape, and that in some countries one woman in three has been beaten or subjected to some kind of violent act.

“Violence against women is an abomination. I’d like to call it a crime against humanity,” he told ministers from over 50 countries and more than 1,000 representatives of women’s groups attending the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women from March 2 to 13.

“This is alarming, this must stop.”

He singled out testimonies he had heard from women victims of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying: “I was shocked ... I was saddened almost beyond expression. I was also very, very angry.”

Mr Ban has just returned from a visit to the country following unrest that erupted in August, sparking a humanitarian crisis and displacing more than a quarter of a million people.

He visited a clinic where women were being treated, and also held talks with Congolese President Joseph Kabila.

“I spoke forcefully about this when I met President Kabila of DRC ...

Eighty per cent of these (acts of) sexual violence are perpetrated by the other armed groups, the rebels,” Mr Ban said over sustained applause.

“But I told President Kabila, ‘that doesn’t make any excuse.’ —AFP
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