Though often less formal in nature, caucuses of women parliamentarians have proven to be useful mechanisms for building consensus among women representatives across party lines on a variety of issues. These forums provide a space for women to exchange ideas, to form collective platforms on particular policies and to support one another in the traditionally male-dominated parliamentary environment.
This handbook is designed to assist parliamentarians in carrying out their oversight role on gender by developing a better understanding of the concept, providing a summary of the budget cycle process, discussing gender budgeting, and examining the gender dimensions of parliamentary committees, as well as suggestions for changing attitudes as a strategy for achieving gender equality.
Nepal is making a new constitution, which will be a culmination of the People's Movement, and thus must be based on the aspirations of the people of Nepal. However gender-friendly Constitution may seem, it will not automatically lead to an increase in gender equality, but the process of constitution making creates an opportunity for women to make some significant progress towards the realisation of their rights. Women should not miss this chance.
There is significant number of women members of the Constituent Assembly. Some of these members are women with great knowledge and experience and understanding of the possibilities that the Constituent Assembly opens up for women. Some of the others may have a less clear idea of what a constitution is and how they can, through this process; contribute to the improvement of the position of women. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues that women members of the Constituent Assembly, and those who in the broader society will be supporting them and hoping to work through them, will need to address in order to achieve a good constitution for the women of Nepal. It is not a paper of answers - it is more an agenda.
In February and March 2001 the CPA, with the assistance of the CPA Malaysia Branch and the approval of the CPA Executive Committee, arranged a Study Group in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Gender-Sensitizing Commonwealth Parliaments. The aims of the Study Group were set out as:
Becoming a member of parliament is a great honor, but it also entails great responsibility. Certainly, the House Members are expected to not only listen to the people, but also represent them and respond to their needs in a timely and effective manner. The UNDP Parliamentary Support Programme gives its full support to the Secretariat of both Houses and all the House Members in the representation of their constituents.
Indonesia has a strong commitment towards gender mainstreaming, as committed in the Human Development Goals and Beijing Declaration. It enables the Indonesian Parliament to have more women representatives in the various House bodies. This book illustrates the meaning of a gender perspective and the reason why it is important. Furthermore, the book also explains the importance of having a gender responsive legislation and budgeting process, which will better represent the needs of women. Other issues important to gender mainstreaming are also discussed in the book, such as women roles in the working committees, women caucuses, and DPD groups.
This guide demonstrate that women’s collective efforts in the legislature are crucial not only because of their impact on public policies that effectively respond to citizens’ demands and interests, but also because of their effect on the consolidation and progress of women’s leadership. Nonetheless, cross-party work within the legislative branch faces many challenges: building consensus while maintaining equilibrium between commitment to gender issues and party visions; keeping gender issues on the public agenda; and creating a sustainable critical mass of women legislators committed to advancing a gender equality agenda.
Women in legislatures worldwide have used diverse practices to make progress on priority issues and decrease the gender gaps in their countries. This should serve as an incentive to increase the number of women in parliaments and support their efforts so they can propose actions that ensure the continuation of the achievements of their predecessors.
