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PGA’s vision is to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, sustainable and democratic world.

This International Women’s Day, become a Champion for Women’s Equality and Equal Participation in Public Life

To build peaceful, just, inclusive and sustainable societies, women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential. However, data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide and that achieving gender parity in political life is far off.

PGA members around the world are championing gender equality:

  • Hon. Mariam Solaimankhil, MP in Exile

    Afghanistan

This International Women’s Day, remember the women who watched decades of progress vanish overnight, a reminder of the fragility of progress. Their resilience in the face of such adversity calls out for global solidarity. It’s our collective responsibility to stand with Afghan women, to reignite the flame of hope and drive forward the change that was so brutally taken away. Hon. Mariam Solaimankhil (Afghanistan)
Dip. Margarita Stolbizer (Argentina) – Leader of Generation for a National Encounter Political Party

  • Hon. Émilie Béatrice Epaye,

    MP (Central African Republic)

A lack of justice is leading to a decline in democracy. Our parliaments are weakened. Celebrating March 8, International Women's Rights Day, gives us hope for a new awareness that women parliamentarians are vectors of change.


Dep. Beatrice Epaye (Central African Republic), President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

  • Hon. Rozaina Adam, MP

    Maldives

Investing in women is not an option! It’s a must! Building productive women is equal to doubling economic growth! Hon. Rozaina Adam (Maldives), Member of the Human Rights and Gender Committee

  • Hon. Bamidele Salam, MP

    Nigeria

One of the surest routes to combating poverty, ignorance and disease is for governments all over the world to give priority to funding girl-child education, providing affordable maternal health care and improving access to finance for women entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Evidence abounds to show that investment in women reflects on the quality of life for children and the family as a whole.

Hon. Bamidele Salam (Nigeria), Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee

  • Sen. Emilio Álvarez

    Icaza (Mexico) – Secretary of the Committee on Human Rights

Investing in the human rights of women and girls benefits us all. It advances the country, it advances democracy, but above all it advances dignity.

Fighting the poverty of women and girls, investing in them as subjects of rights and stop seeing them as objects, will lead us to move faster and more effectively in the fight against inequality, inequity and injustice. It is more than proven, if we invest in women and girls, the whole society wins.

It is very good that there are conventions and laws in favor of women's human rights. However, we have to advance in public policies that make equality a reality. We have to advance in parity and in stopping violence against women and girls.

We urgently need to advance in the construction of new masculinities and put an end to a patriarchal and sexist culture that causes so much pain and suffering.

Enough violence. Enough abuse!

Sen. Emilio Álvarez Icaza (Mexico) – Secretary of the Committee on Human Rights

  • Hon. Bernard Georges,MP

    (Seychelles), Leader of Government Business at the National Assembly

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we are reminded that, while women bear a higher burden than men in the home and workplace, they still lag behind men in remuneration and recognition in too many places. Investing in women, recognising their equality, putting them on a par with men, makes good all-round sense. My call today is for a renewal of efforts all round to recognise that women are equal partners in development and for necessary measures to be implemented to ensure that words are translated into action. Invest in women today! Hon. Bernard Georges (Seychelles), Leader of Government Business at the National Assembly

According to 2023 data from PGA’s Parliamentary Toolbox for Democracy Defense

  • Only 26.5 percent of parliamentarians in single or lower houses are women, up from 11 percent in 1995.2
  • Only six countries have 50 percent or more women in parliament in single or lower houses: Rwanda (61 percent), Cuba (53 percent), Nicaragua (52 percent), Mexico (50 percent), New Zealand (50 percent), and the United Arab Emirates (50 percent).3
  • A further 23 countries have reached or surpassed 40 percent, including 13 countries in Europe, six in Africa, three in Latin America and the Caribbean, and one in Asia.4
  • Globally, there are 22 States where women account for less than 10 percent of parliamentarians in single or lower houses, including one lower chamber with no women at all.5
  • At the current rate of progress, gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be achieved before 2063.6
  • Women hold 36 percent of parliamentary seats in Latin America and the Caribbean and make up 32 percent of parliamentarians in Europe and Northern America. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are 26 percent of women legislators, followed by Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 22 percent, Oceania with 20 percent, Central and Southern Asia with 19 percent, and Northern Africa and Western Asia with 18 percent of women Members of Parliament.7

Recommendations to parliamentarians to promote safe environments include:

  • Supporting and launching sensitization campaigns and programs to raise awareness about gender equality.
  • Tailoring, developing, and strengthening national policies, programs, and laws that protect women’s and girls’ rights and promote their full potential. Parliamentarians are encouraged to repeal discriminatory provisions against women and girls and/or amend laws to ensure they address their lived realities and align them with international human rights standards. Sensitizing government officials to carry out existing standards in domestic legislation is essential to advancing this goal.
  • Opposing and refraining from using hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation.
  • Promoting the establishment of women caucuses in parliament and creating multi-sectoral working groups to address violence against women at the national level and coordinate effective actions and programs to tackle it.

Members of Parliament should also:

  • Investigate thoroughly and prosecute those responsible for attacks, harassment, and physical, sexual, verbal, and/or psychological violence against women.
  • Abide by international and regional human rights treaties on women’s rights, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Belem do Para Convention), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), among others.
  • Secure fair, equitable, and peaceful elections and transfer of power.
  • Urge a responsible use of information and communication technology (ICT) to prevent further abuses against women, including through the adoption of legislation that would not permit users to shield their responsibility behind fake names or identities, nicknames, or other forms of anonymity, bearing in mind that a clear attribution of public interventions or direct messages to their authors may have a significant deterrent effect as it raises the legal and reputational cost of violent, defamatory or otherwise unlawful conduct.
  • Collect disaggregated data to understand better the extent of harassment and violence against women parliamentarians for policymaking.
  • Use their leadership role to build solid partnerships with governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, the private sector, and other key actors to place women’s and girls’ rights at the forefront of discussions on sustainable development, democracy, and peace.
  • Ensure there are policies against harassment within their parliaments, secure and effective complaint mechanisms, and protection for “whistleblowers.”

The PGA Secretariat stands ready to assist you in these or other actions. For technical assistance, please contact:

Ms. Melissa Verpile
Director
E: 

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