The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls - UNFPA

the decisions take place. Women constitute only 12.7 per cent <strong>of</strong> parliamentary
seats all over the world. 95 Although the United Nations, including UNESCO and
the World Bank, and other international organizations such as the Council <strong>of</strong>
Europe and the European Commission have all produced resolutions and
formulated policies for the inclusion <strong>of</strong> women at all levels <strong>of</strong> decision-making,
they have not succeeded in significantly increasing the numbers <strong>of</strong> women in
their own structures. Indicative <strong>of</strong> this disparity can be shown in the number <strong>of</strong>
seats held by women and men in the Parliament <strong>of</strong> the Council <strong>of</strong> Europe where,
<strong>of</strong> 10,183 seats in 43 countries, women hold 1,698 seats, or 16.7 per cent.
Establishing a quota system is strongly recommended as an initial
strategy, although there is no guarantee that the increased representation <strong>of</strong>
women in parliament will change the political landscape. Most women tend to
side with policies <strong>of</strong> their political parties. <strong>The</strong> changing situation in post-conflict
areas and transitional countries, however, <strong>of</strong>fers excellent opportunities to
develop new and equitable environments. One example is in South Africa,
where the use <strong>of</strong> a 30 per cent quota resulted in considerable increases <strong>of</strong>
women in parliament. This, in turn, had a positive effect on heightening concern
about population and gender issues and on the passages <strong>of</strong> three far-reaching
laws, the Termination <strong>of</strong> Pregnancy Act, the Domestic Violence Act and the
Maintenance Act, which improves the positions <strong>of</strong> mothers who depend on
maintenance from former partners). Another significant initiative is the
international campaign <strong>of</strong> the Women’s Environmental and Development
Organization (WEDO). It has launched a global initiative (Title 50-50) to achieve
women’s equal representation in decision-making positions by the year 2005.
Democracy-building is also an important entry point, and in all countries,
civil society has played a significant role in its promotion. Women’s NGOs
became especially involved in election campaigns using various strategies to
connect democratization with other issues, such as poverty alleviation, healthcare
provisions and employment. In Bosnia, 140 NGOs built “Coalition Glas
1999,” urging citizens to vote. <strong>The</strong> Institute <strong>of</strong> Peace and Democracy in Baku
produced a “Guide for Journalists” covering the elections in Armenia in 1999, and
established an election web site in Serbia. Women in Black were active in the
three-month electoral campaign that resulted in the defeat <strong>of</strong> Milosevic. In
Bosnia, B.a.B.e. organized group discussions for citizen participation in the 1999
elections, resulting in and increase in the percentage <strong>of</strong> women in parliament
from 7.5 per cent to 20.5 per cent; Index Foundation in Bulgaria carried out the
campaign “Women can do it!”, encouraging people to vote for women.
Another entry point for women’s mobilization is through established
landmark dates. Since 24 May 2000, the International Women’s Day for Peace
and Disarmament has been an occasion for women’s mobilization on a global
scale. <strong>The</strong> Women’s Forum for Peace and Unification in the Republic <strong>of</strong> Korea
95 “Cross the Lines,” February 2001.
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