Commonwealth Parliament Must Involve More Women in Politics- Akwa Ibom State MP

A Member of Parliament for Uruan State Constituency of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, Hon (Dr) Itorobong Francis Etim has urged the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) to step up efforts to involve more women in politics and parliamentary leadership.

She expressed concern about the regrettably low participation of women at all levels of decision-making in national and international politics, even though they constitute the greater size of the world’s population.

Speaking to EXPRESSNEWSGHANA at the 66^th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference in Accra on Thursday, October 5, 2023, Dr Etim said women are better managers of the economy when given the opportunity and should be encouraged to participate in political decisions actively.

The six-day 66^TH CPC was held in Ghana under the Theme: “The Commonwealth Charter 10 years on; Values and Principles for Parliaments to uphold.”

The event brought together over 500 parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from 52 countries, including youth representatives and civil society organizations.

The participants were Speakers, Clerks, Presiding Officers and Members of Parliament from across the membership of the CPA. The CPA is the only parliamentary association to bring together national, state, provincial and territorial legislatures. The CPA’s membership includes almost 180 parliaments and legislatures across the Commonwealth.

“You will agree with me that, women world over, where they are heads of state or other top positions, they are doing well. So I believed if women are given the right position, we can do well and do it better than the men,” Dr Etim said.

She stressed that, with the emerging issues on political fronts across the world, members of the state assemblies should be given opportunities to join the CPA to contribute following the importance of the role of parliaments in states in creating a stable democratic society.

“As the cornerstone of our democracies, our Commonwealth ought to be exemplary institutions leading the way towards ever greater equality and inclusivity. Being inclusive and gender-sensitive, the CPA become more effective as engines of change to enact inclusive and equitable legislation and accelerate the continuing social and economic development which we are committed to at local levels,” she added.

In her considered view, democracy has to be about inclusion, participation, empowerment, and accountable representation.

**DR ITOROBONG ETIMINTERVIEWED BY GHANA PARLIAMENTARY PRESS MEMBER**

Dr Etim who attended the 66^th CPC as an observer, shared her knowledge, first-hand experiences and the need for inclusion of members of state assemblies for effective leadership and the challenges and strategies needed to encourage the retention of women in Commonwealth parliaments.

She said she was impressed with the entire CPC event and that, even though it was her first time attending the CPA conference, she has learned a lot and believed the Commonwealth secretariat should take steps to

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), she said must be commended for taking the initiative to further gender equality and equal representation in Parliaments.

At the 66^th CPC, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network held a meeting and discussed women’s representation in Parliaments, gender sensitization and quotas amongst a wide range of topics.

It was the first Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference where the CPA introduced new measures aiming to ensure equal gender representation at its annual conference resulting in a 60/40 male/female gender ratio.

The CWP Business meeting was opened by the CWP Chairperson, Hon. Dr Zainab Gimba, a Member of the House of Representatives at the National Assembly of Nigeria.

She pledged to renew the effort to increase women’s representation and political participation in Parliaments across the Commonwealth.

Delegates debated the time and format of future CWP Business meetings and conferences as well as the methods for reporting CWP activities through the Regional Secretariats, with a motion passed by delegates containing further recommendations for the CWP Steering Committee.

The CWP President (2023), Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, MP from the Parliament of Ghana spoke to delegates about her experience as a legislator.

Panelists also included Hon. Donatille Mukabalisa, Speaker of the Parliament of Rwanda and Ms Marsha Caddle, MP, House of Assembly of Barbados.

Dr Beatrice Duncan, Senior Policy Advisor, Rule of Law and Maureen Shonge, Policy Specialist WPP from UN Women spoke about the recent trends in discriminatory laws, successful reforms and how they were achieved.

There were discussions and reflections on women’s parliamentary representation in the Commonwealth, the challenges women face accessing leadership positions in parliament, their political experiences and hurdles of getting re-elected – particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stephen Twigg, Secretary-General of the CPA said: “Within the Commonwealth, we have some of the parliaments with the very best records when it comes to electing women such as Rwanda, Namibia, New Zealand and South Africa and we also know that we have other parliaments where the numbers of women are still deficient and that’s why initiatives such as this are important to share best practices.”