Representation

[eumelia]

So hey!

You know which country's Parliament has a majority of women?

Rwanda.
Yes, that's right.
That place.

You know which Parliament doesn't?

Israel.
Yes, that's right.
That place.

In this I've been told that Israel is the only country where the head of the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch are all women.
Whoop di doo.
That's pretty meaningless not what makes the real difference when the those who represent me and other non-"default" people in society is quite a lot less than their/our percentage in the population.

But go Rwanda!

Comments

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

Australia has never had a female Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition, though the deputies to both positions are currently women, and we've had a small number of female state premiers (just one at the moment). Head of three branches is a damn fine start from where I'm sitting!

We do have a Queen, of course, and a brand new female Governor General (who was a well-established judge) but those are ceremonial positions, except for one alarming incident in 1975!

And yeah, go Rwanda! Once a country has women in Parliament, they don't seem to slip backwards.

(edited for date typo!)

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

'Tis true that three women as head of branches is nothing to scoff at, but I don't want extra-exceptional women to be in leadership, I want exceptional women along with exceptional men.

Hmmm, I dunno if I'm clear on my point.

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think "meaningless" is way too strong, especially when a few women at the top in non-ceremonial positions means a large number of women working their way up there - it takes thousands of female lawyers to get one female supreme court judge. I agree, though, that individual exceptionalism is often mistaken for equality, and that's not right.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Fixed to something a little less vicious.

[stateofwonder.livejournal.com]

RE: women in parliament, I think what we're seeing people learn from the whole Sarah Palin debacle is that it's less important to have women in government than it is to have feminists in government.

Rwanda is amazing, though. They've been really aggressive in getting women and women's issues represented in parliament, their economy is doing well, things are peaceful and way more secure than in neighbouring countries. Obviously they're still facing a lot of issues, some related to genocide aftermath and some that are common to many sub-Saharan African nations, but that's a country I have a lot of hope for.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

True, very, very true.

I'm really happy to be aware of what's going on in different African nations, because I like having examples of post-colonial "Third World" nations that have been known to have troubles (understatement) and show how they're better at governance than so-called established democracies.

Just to give the imperialist minded "it was better during colonialism" the metaphorical finger :D

[warlordkittens.livejournal.com]

Rwanda has a majority of women because they decided, after the war, that a majority of women would stop the next war.

That is all. Seriously.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Are we against this?

[warlordkittens.livejournal.com]

We're not, but it's for a certain reason. It's not just because women had this process that made them more powerful, it was a conscious decision that they are less aggressive. It's also a bit stereotypcal.

Also, Rwanda has a larger representation when it comes to women accused of genocide. Just saying.

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

Who are the women at the heads of the different branches of Israeli government? Tsipi Livni, of course, and then, who else?

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Executive: Tzipi Livni
Legislative: Dalia Itzik
Judicial: Dorit Beinicsh.

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

No prob!

:)