Background Document - Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy

Trainings by NGOs, political parties, educational and political institutions are imperative
in order to secure greater participation of women in local politics to develop
their skills self confidence, gender awareness rights and also for political leadership.
CONCLUSION
We began by emphasizing the importance of local politics at a time when the discourses
on deepening democracy are gaining importance including that of deliberative democracy
that celebrates debate and discussion on matters of policy rather than this
being taken up exclusively by elected legislators. If such practices are indeed gaining
ground, the role of women in local politics cannot be overstated.
Since their experiences are different from that of men they bring in new perspectives
and new ideas, and to ignore this or bypass it would defeat the very purpose of
such a decentralisation process associated with deepening democracy.
Whether it is in the countries that are held out as exemplars of women’s political
participation such as the Scandinavian countries or states in Africa and South Asia
where the hold of patriarchy is palpably more, the phenomena still exists across the
world. This mindset produces a certain sexual division of labor in the household and
corresponding gendered institutions and ideologies that militate against women participating
in local politics.
These are the barriers that need to be identified and removed. This is why the
South Asian resolution around the issue of violence against women in politics concludes:
“We, the people of South Asia, both women and men, collectively challenge patriarchy
and seek to replace it with a culture that actively supports equal participation
of all. We encourage a South Asian forum that promotes such culture and
values through mass communication.”
This will be as true in different degrees for the rest of the world as it is for South
Asia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brownhill, Sue and Susan Halford. “Understanding women’s involvement in local politics.” Political Geography,
vol. 9(1990):4, 396-414.
Chabal, Patrick and Jean-Pascal Daloz. Africa Works. Disorder as political instrument. Oxford and
Bloomington: James Currey and Indiana University Press, 1999.
“Comparative study Women in Local Government in Asia and the Pacific.” http://www.unescap.org/
huset/women/reports/comparative_report.pdf
DasGupta, Sumona. Citizen Initiatives and Democratic Engagement: Experiences from India. New Delhi
and Abingdon : Routledge, 2010.
Drage, Jean. Women in local Government in Asia and the Pacific, Paper presented to the Asia-Pacific
Summit of Women Mayors and Councillors, 2001
http://www.unescap.org/huset/women/summit/substantive_overview/jean_drage_speech_text.htm
Encyclopaedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS). Niikawa, Tatsuro. “Decentralization and Local Politics.”
http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C04/E6-32-03-05.pdf
Farrell, Martha and Mandakini Pant. “Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership: Pedagogical
Challenges.” Participation and Governance. vol 2 (July 2009): 42-56.
Francis, Anne. (not dated) “Why women Succeed in local politics.” http://www.snvworld.org/sites/www.
snvworld.org/files/publications/snv_series_03_tanzania_women_politics_leadership.pdf
Kalpagam, U. and Jaya Arunachalam. (ed.) Development and Empowerment: Rural Women in India.
WOMEN IN POLITICS DANISH INSTITUTE FOR PARTIES AND DEMOCRACY PAGE 34