Women involvement in politics at International Level
Balanced political participation and power-sharing between women and men in decision-making is the internationally agreed target set in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Most countries in the world have not achieved gender balance, and few have set or met ambitious targets for gender parity (50–50).
There is established and growing evidence that women’s leadership in political decision-making processes improves them. For example, research on panchayats (local councils) in India discovered that the number of drinking water projects in areas with women-led councils was 62 per cent higher than in those with men-led councils. In Norway, a direct causal relationship between the presence of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage was found.
There is growing recognition of the untapped capacity and talents of women and women’s leadership. Over the last two decades, the rate of women’s representation in national parliaments globally has incrementally increased from 11.8 percent in 1998 to 17.8 percent in 2008 to 23.5 percent in 2018. Some regions have seen particularly dramatic increases, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where in the last 20 years the number of women in parliaments has risen from 11 to 23.6 percent, and the Arab States region, which has seen an increase from 3.1 to 17.5 percent. Total global representation is still well below the 30 percent benchmark often identified as the necessary level of representation to achieve a “critical mass” – a considerable minority of all legislators with significant impact, rather than a token few individuals – not to mention falling short of women’s representation as half of the world’s population.
Women demonstrate political leadership by working across party lines through parliamentary women’s caucuses—even in the most politically combative environments—and by championing issues of gender equality, such as the elimination of gender-based violence, parental leave and childcare, pensions, gender-equality laws, and electoral reform.
As of 19 September 2022, there are 28 countries where 30 women serve as Heads of State and/or Government. At the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. Just 13 countries have a woman Head of State, and 15 countries have a woman Head of Government. Only 21 per cent of government ministers were women, with only 14 countries having achieved 50 per cent or more women in cabinets. With an annual increase of just 0.52 percentage points, gender parity in ministerial positions will not be achieved before 2077.
There is good news, of course. We have women of Muslim background becoming more visible in politics. We have the first female Muslim ministers in France, in the UK, in Sweden – the youngest-ever minister, who's 29, is from a Bosnian Muslim background. She became the deputy mayor of her city at 23, which puts all of us to shame, I think. In the UK, in the last elections, we had our first female Muslim MPs, three who were elected out of eight, so that's not a bad proportion. In fact, out of all the Muslim candidates, 24 per cent of them were women.
Women in Politics: An Islamic Perspective
There are a number of precedents in which women were consulted or their opinions prevailed. It is widely known that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) consulted Hazrat Umme Salma (R) on the occasion of Treaty of Hudaibia and he followed her advice. Prophet Muhammad also followed the advice of Khadija (R) at the very beginning of revelation when he was frustrated.
Following the Prophet Muhammad’s death, Aisha’s role became increasingly important. When the third Caliph Othman ibn Affan was assassinated, the Muslim community’s underlying political system was jeopardized by internal division and conflict. Aisha raised a leading and quite public voice against Ali, the fourth Caliph, in 656 CE. She delivered a public address at a mosque located in Mecca where she swore to avenge the murdered Caliph’s death.
In point of fact, Aisha’s life represents a powerful model for Muslim women’s excellence in scholarship, political engagement and even military leadership. She excelled in public speaking, commanded an army on the battlefield and instructed both men and women in Islamic jurisprudence.
Hazrat Aisha (R) corrected Hazrat Abu Huraira (R) in respect of traditions on the basis of their contradicting the Quran. A lady interrupted Hazrat Umar (R) successfully with regard to his proposal about fixing the dower (Mahr) at a low level. After the assassination of Hazrat Umar (R) the board appointed by him for selection of a Caliph consulted women too. In this view of the matter it can easily be said that if there had been a defect in their intelligence women would not have been consulted by the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions nor Imam Tabari (R) and Imam Abu Hanifa (R) would have given opinion in favour of their appointment as judges.
Muslim women started their political activities the moment they embraced Islam. They defended the new religion against fierce opposition from both their own families and society at large; they endured abuse and ill treatment and when pressure mounted against them they decided to leave home, seeking refuge with their fellow Muslims rather than abandon their belief and faith. All these actions are regarded as political activities in contemporary terms since they include a challenge to the old political system, a protest against unjustified abuse and torture, and a rejection of suppression and denial of freedom of belief and expression. With establishment of Islamic state, the role of women in the political affairs of the society gained momentum. They became part of the nation and effective members of community, and fully involved in public affairs. For instance, right from the beginning, women, like men, gave support and allegiance to the political system which was set up under the leadership of Muhammad.
Women who stand out as rulers include Arwa al-Sulayhi, an eleventh century Yemeni who ruled for 71 years and was known as the Noble Lady; and Sultana Shajarat al-Durr, who took control of Egypt after the death of her husband in the thirteenth century. Dhayfa Khatun, the niece and daughter-in-law of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, after the death of her son, King Abdul Aziz, became the queen of Aleppo and ruled for six years.[4] During her reign, she faced threats from the Crusaders, Khuarzmein, Mongols and Seljuks. In addition to her political and social role, she even sponsored education in Aleppo where she founded two schools.
Sitt al-Mulk was a Fatimid princess from Egypt, whose expert administration was in accord with Islamic laws.
Queen Zubayda, wife of the ninth century Caliph, Harun Ar-Rasheed, is famous for her contributions building water resources and guest houses for pilgrims along major routes leading to Makkah. She was an intellectual who expressed her political views in public and even supported poets and writers regardless of their religion, religious scholars and the needy. The famous Zubayda spring in the outskirts of Makkah still carries her name.
Closer home in India we had Razia Sultana, the only female to sit on India’s throne in Delhi for four years in the thirteenth century. Firishta, an eighteenth century historian, writes: “Razia, though a woman, had a man’s head and heart and was better than 20 such sons.”
Hurrem Sultan (1500CE), also called Roxelana, was enslaved in the Crimean Turks raids on Ukraine, during the reign of Yazuz Sultan Salim and was presented at the Ottoman palace to King Suleyman, who later married her. She is the founder of a number of institutions which include a mosque complex in Istanbul which is home to a Madrasa and a public kitchen;cifte hamam (double bathhouse for both men and women), two schools and a women’s hospital. She also built four schools in Makkah and a mosque in Jerusalem.
Women of Al-Andalus
Labana of Cordoba (tenth century, Spain) was well-versed in the exact sciences of mathematics and could solve the most complex geometrical and algebraic problems known at that time. She was employed as the private secretary to the Umayyad Caliph of Islamic Spain, Al Hakam the Second.
According to the authentic Islamic tenet, women, like the counterpart - the man- allowed to participate and to play in public life, whereas in political sphere. The reason why it is important to include women in politics is not only because Islam dictates it, but because it brings a woman’s touch into political decision-making. It is argued that women have a different perspective to men in the political debates and that women bring on board their experiences in the role as a caretaker for children and family into politics. There is an emphasis on the complementarity of roles between men and women. The underlying reasoning behind women’s inclusion into public sphere and particularly decision-making, is that they because of their biological make-up represent different values and interests to men.
References
Rizzo, H., Meyer, K., & Ali, Y. (2002). Women's political rights: Islam, status and networks in Kuwait. Sociology, 36(3), 639-662.
Kazemi, F. (2000). Gender, Islam, and politics. Social research, 453-474.
Joseph, S., & Naǧmābādī, A. (Eds.). (2003). Encyclopedia of women and Islamic cultures: Family, law and politics (Vol. 2). Brill.
Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women (2021). Women in politics: 2021.
United Nations: Retrieved from https://www.unwomen.org