Jordan Times
Sunday, July 2, 2006
60.7% support increased
political participation of women — poll
By Victoria Macchi
AMMAN — The majority of Jordanians support
increased political participation for women at the local level, according to a
public opinion poll released last week.
The most recent figures by the Jordan Centre for Social Research (JCSR) on June
25 revealed that 60.7 per cent of respondents agreed with the establishment of a
20 per cent quota for women in municipal councils as suggested in the draft
municipalities law.
“The poll results mark a new stage for women’s participation in political and
social life,” said Senator and Secretary General of the Jordanian National Forum
For Women (JNFW) Mai Abul Samen.
“We think this means that the society is ready for women to participate as full
partners,” she added.
Abdul Samen attributes majority support for women in elected office to two
factors: “The success of women in key political roles in the past 10 years” and
the struggle of women’s organisations and pressure groups to change legislation
and public mindset.
Currently around 8 per cent of municipal council seats are filled by women, with
the majority appointed by the government.
Women’s activists launched a nationwide campaign in December calling on the
government to designate 15-20 per cent of municipal council seats for women in
the next elections slated to take place this year — a figure which would double
their participation.
Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit in April said no less than 20 per cent of the seats
in municipal councils were allocated for women in the draft municipalities law,
which the government forwarded to Parliament.
In a recent interview with The Jordan Times, political analyst Amal Sabbagh
described the municipalities quota as positive. She added, however, that
although she welcomed the step, “I would still hope that the Parliament quota
will be maintained in the Lower House because the Jordanian population still
requires such an electoral system before it totally overcomes its psychological
barrier about women’s political participation.”
JCSR polls have revealed consistent majority support of women’s role in politics
since the series of surveys began in September 2005.
Although the June JCSR poll was the first to specify the 20 per cent minimum, in
the centre’s September 2005 survey, 70.7 per cent of respondents agreed that
there should be a quota for women’s positions in municipalities.
In December, 74.5 per cent of respondents supported a quota for women in
Parliament in another JCSR study.
The caveat, according to JCSR director Musa Shteiwi, is that support in polls
does not necessarily translate to votes on the ground.
In the 2003 municipal elections, only 5 of the 46 women who ran won, prompting
the government to appoint 97 women to the local councils.
Women’s representation is currently highest in the Upper House at 12.7 per cent,
compared with 5.5 per cent in the Lower House.
“We have seen gradual but significant progress over the past five to six years,”
Shteiwi said of the consistent support in the polls, explaining: “People
realised women can’t make it on their own.”
A weak political party system and the dependence on individual relations in
politics make it difficult to break through to elected positions, he added, and
“quotas provide a platform for women to gain practical political experience.”