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Sub-Saharan African Countries With Fewest Women In Parliament

Sub-Saharan African Countries With Fewest Women In Parliament

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Many African countries have made great strides in gender equity in government, the economy and society. Women are notoriously underrepresented in government, occupying on average just 21.9 percent of all elected parliamentary and government positions worldwide. In the U.S., for example, that number is even lower, at just 18 percent.

In the following sub-Saharan African countries, women are still underrepresented in the political arena.

The percentages listed below represent the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, World Development Indicators, and World Bank for 2014.

For a list of the sub-Saharan African countries with the most women in parliament, click here at AFKInsider.com.

These are the 12 African countries with the fewest women in parliament.

Sources: Conectas.org, MakeEveryWomanCount.org, IPSNews.net, WomnesENews.org, NDI.org, OSISA.org, IPU.org, Africa4WomensRights.org, AITOnline.tv, AllAfrica.com

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

12. Guinea-Bissau – 11%

Guinea-Bissau has actually seen a decrease in female participation in government in recent years. In 1998, 20 percent of seats in parliament were held by women, and that number has dropped drastically as of 2014. A woman, Adiato Djaló Nandingna, served as prime minister for several months in 2012, but was deposed in a coup. The country has no quota incentives or economic support initiatives to increase women’s participation in government, but some are hopeful that attitudes are changing. For instance, parliament finally banned the practice of female genital mutilation back in 2011, an important step for women’s rights in the country.

GhanaWeb.com
GhanaWeb.com

11. Ghana – 11%

Ghana has also regressed in terms of the number of women who hold seats in its parliament, and unfair party nomination processes discriminate against women, with “closed cycles” that usually leave them out of the process altogether. Ghana has yet to adopt a quota system, and societal norms perpetuate the notion that politics is the realm of men, as are advertising, religion and film.

MapsofWorld.com
MapsofWorld.com

10. Zambia – 11%

The reasons behind Zambia’s struggle to elect women to parliament can be traced to unequal access to education. No quota system is in place to increase women’s participation in government, and political parties are said to have discriminatory practices when nominating candidates. Like many other countries on this list, the conventional mindset of Zambians sees politics as men’s work, and women who engage in political matters are often associated with prostitution. Having said that, Zambians just had a presidential election in January 2015. President Edgar Lungu appointed Zambia’s first female Vice-President. Inonge Wina replaced Guy Scott.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

9. Democratic Republic of Congo – 11%

The fact that the lack of women in government in the DRC has been noted by the current administration. President Joseph Kabila acknowledged the problem in 2013 and encouraged discussions on how to amend it, but the country has not seen much progress in increasing female participation in politics. There is still no quota system, and violence against women remains a problem across the country, demonstrating the lackadaisical attitudes towards women’s rights in the DRC.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

8. Mali – 10%

Women’s groups and human rights organizations have long advocated for a quota system to be adopted in Mali, but parliament has yet to successfully adopt this measure. In the 2013 elections, women constituted 14 percent of candidates and won just 14 seats of the available 147. Malian women have pointed out other obstacles they face to political participation, including unequal access to education and laws that limit gender equality. For instance the country still has the Family Code, ratified in 2011, that names men as the heads of households and states that women must be subservient to their husbands.

WorldAtlas.com
WorldAtlas.com

7. Botswana – 10%

Interestingly, more women in Botswana vote in elections than men, as well as volunteering and working campaigns. Despite this, women still are underrepresented in parliament. Many attribute this to income disparities between men and women, and, in a country where political parties are not funded, a lack of funds makes a political bid an unattainable goal for impoverished women.

WorldAtlas.com
WorldAtlas.com

6. The Gambia – 9%

In addition to the fact that the Gambia has not adopted a quota system to increase its female participation in parliament, it also struggles with endemic corruption that undermines the system as a whole. In the 2012 elections, six opposition parties refused to put up candidates at all, claiming that the entire voting process was rigged, further limiting the chances for women to take more seats. As the 2016 election approaches, however, it is the hope that more women will be able to make successful runs for office.

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Wikimedia.org

5. Côte d’Ivoire – 9%

Though they are few and far between, the female MPs in Côte d’Ivoire have made a caucus to increase their solidarity and influence on women’s rights. They are also focused on increasing women’s political participation, potentially through lobbying parliament to enact quotas, and to increase literacy and political engagement among women countrywide. Many have pointed to the necessity of women in the reconciliation and reconstruction process in the country, a key goal of the caucus.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

4. Benin – 8%

Though Benin has adopted international standards to prevent discrimination against women, enforcement and awareness campaigns of the law are minimal. Local traditional customs often prevail instead, marginalizing the female population. In 2011, the Beninese National Assembly tried to pass quota legislation to ensure that at least 20 percent of seats in parliament were reserved for women, but the law was struck down before the election by the country’s constitutional court.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

3. Republic of Congo – 7%

The Republic of Congo constitution has an article that provides for women’s “representation in all political, elective and administrative functions.” But the country has yet to pass quota legislation that would ensure 30 percent of seats are held by women — a move that would easily make the constitutional provision a reality. In the meantime, women are underrepresented and given fewer opportunities for education and employment in other arenas. Women also suffer from high rates of violence in the Republic of Congo, a problem that is largely ignored at the governmental level.

MapsofWorld.com
MapsofWorld.com

2. Nigeria – 7%

Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is a poor leader with regard to female representation in parliament. Just 7 percent of the Nigerian parliament was represented by women as of 2014. Affirmative action programs have been funded to reserve 35 percent of seats for women, but they have not yet been implemented. The 2015 election is expected to get underway in late March, and the country can only hope the next administration will bring reform to gender equity in government.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

1. Swaziland – 6%

Swaziland’s 6-percent female representation is a far cry from the gender protocol target of 50 percent women in all areas of decision-making by 2015. The target was proposed by the Southern African Development Community. Following the elections in 2013, just one woman was voted into parliament. King Mswati III appointed three more. This represents a sharp decline from 2008, in which 22 percent of parliament was represented by women. Some people blame women, saying this is a testament to poor performance by female MPs, but a multitude of other societal factors are at work. In Swaziland, women must get permission from their spouses to run in electoral races, and conventional customs still deem women in politics to be out of line.