Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Women's Legislative Representation in Mauritius: 'A Grave Democratic Deficit' |
Authors: | Yoon, Mi Yung Bunwaree, Sheila |
Year: | 2006 |
Periodical: | Journal of Contemporary African Studies |
Volume: | 24 |
Issue: | 2 |
Period: | May |
Pages: | 229-247 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Mauritius |
Subjects: | parliamentary representation women gender inequality Law, Human Rights and Violence Women's Issues Politics and Government Law, Legal Issues, and Human Rights Sex Roles |
External links: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589000600769983 http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4DD09932F50976E7A662 |
Abstract: | Although the election on July 3, 2005, brought a sharp increase of women in Mauritius's parliament, its female legislative representation is still far short of the 30 percent target stipulated in the Declaration on Gender and Development, adopted by SADC heads of government in Blantyre, Malawi, in 1997. This paper examines the factors that hinder women's legislative representation in Mauritius. It appears that few women occupy high-level decisionmaking positions, let alone leadership positions, within parties; the electoral system and nomination of candidates discriminate against women, as do coalition politics; Mauritius has a patriarchal culture; women suffer from a lack of resources in terms of funds and education. Finally, the paper looks at the probability of quotas for women and concludes - on the basis of interviews with present and past female MPs and views reported in the Mauritian press - that, given the absence of consensus on the issue of gender quotas and the lack of strong political support for a constitutional amendment to introduce them, it is unlikely that Mauritius will adopt them in the foreseeable future. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |