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Constitution and Legislative Reform

In transitional states, the creation of a new constitution and legislative framework can be a concrete first step towards establishing democratic governance. A constitution, the highest legal authority of a state, outlines the fundamental principles and framework of government and enshrines the basic rights of individuals.

In the post-conflict environment, the process of drafting constitutions has become increasingly transparent and often includes civic education and public participation through roundtable meetings, constitutional commissions and referenda. Women’s presence in these structures and their participation in such consultations are vital to create constitutions that not only facilitate a sustainable peace, but also guarantee gender equality.

Women’s participation in official capacities as legislators is equally important to promoting their rights and addressing their needs. Experts attribute the increasing number of women in post-conflict legislatures to mechanisms established in the transitional period — quotas, reserved seats, political party lists, indirect elections and other tools — and to the fact that women were present from the outset of the reconstruction process in these countries.

From the Library

Women Members of the Constituent Assembly: A study on contribution of women in constitution making in Nepal

Cover art by Chirag Bandel

The election of 197 women to the Constituent Assembly of Nepal was a historic achievement and raised hopes with regard to ensuring gender equality in the constitution-building process. The elected women members comprise almost 33 per cent of the 601 members and include old-time politicians, women activists, professionals, former combatants and war widows.

This book presents the stories of the women Constituent Assembly members, which reflect their struggles, their hopes and their perseverance in struggling to bring equality to Nepali society. Their stories include journeys from battlefields to politics and from student politics to national politics, transformations from oppressed village girl to prominent politician, and life-long engagements in political movements, social work or professional life.

A Practical Guide to Constitution Building

A Practical Guide to Constitution Building provides an essential foundation for understanding constitutions and constitution building. Full of world examples of ground-breaking agreements and innovative provisions adopted during processes of constitutional change, the Guide offers a wide range of examples of how constitutions develop and how their development can establish and entrench democratic values. Beyond comparative examples, the Guide contains in-depth analysis of key components of constitutions and the forces of change that shape them.

Chapter 2 includes a section on "Principles related to gender" and Chapter 3 includes a section on "The rights of women".

The WCRO/WILP Gender Jurisprudence Collections

The Gender Jurisprudence Collections (GJC) includes judgments, decisions, orders, and other documents relating to the treatment of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) issued by eleven of the international/ized courts and tribunals included in the WCRO’s broader Jurisprudence Collections. It does not include submissions by the parties and others involved in the cases. Although you may conduct a general search of the WCRO Jurisprudence Collections, the GJC allows researchers to search the jurisprudence solely for documents containing gender-specific issues and keywords. This jurisprudence has been catalogued and coded based on a review of the documents for any SGBV issues, eliminating the need for researchers to sift through irrelevant documents when conducting a search for these issues within the international/ized courts and tribunals. You may search one tribunal, or you may search across several tribunals.

Women's Rights and Agenda To Be Incorporated In The New Constitution

This publication was prepared after studying the preliminary drafts and reports of the thematic committees of the Constituent Assembly and of the Constitutional Committee to assess whether or not all of the issues to do with women’s rights have been incorporated. Discussions were also held with honourable women parliamentarians and suggestions received from party leaders, women’s rights activists, organisations from across the country and various experts.  

Chapter 1 of this publication contains a short overview of the women’s movement in Nepal to illustrate the necessity of ensuring women’s rights. It then presents the main agenda of women in the Constituent Assembly focusing on the issues of women that have been overlooked by the 10 thematic committees of the Constituent Assembly and the Constitutional Committee. Chapter 2 sets out the rights and issues included in the reports of the thematic committees and the Constitutional Committee. Chapter 3 contains the reforms suggested by the Women’s Caucus to protect women’s rights and interests in the new constitution.

The Arab Quota Report: Selected Case Studies

Debates on women’s issues and gender relations in the Arab region have been going on for some time now. Such matters are often the most difficult to resolve and, in this age of economic and cultural globalization, they continue to create the same paradoxical situations as they did during the colonial era more than a century ago. To complicate things further, these debates frequently lead to accusations and counteraccusations about cultural authenticity and the degree to which attempts to improve the status of women are indigenous or foreign. Within this environment, Arab women, sometimes assisted by their governments and leaderships, have been trying to pave the way for their political participation.

This paper first summarizes the socio-political and economic situation in the region. It then moves on to a discussion of the political status of Arab women, highlighting their representation in legislatures. The third section looks at the key challenges that confront Arab women who wish to enter the political domain, and the final section focuses on some of the opportunities on offer and the mechanisms that have been employed successfully to enhance women’s political participation.

Pathways for Women in Democratic Transitions – International Experiences and Lessons Learned

This is the keynote address by Vidar Helgesen, Secretary-General, International IDEA, at the Roundtable in Cairo on June 2, 2011.

Participation in Constitution Making: Making Women Voices Heard

Th e Women and Constitution Building Initiative in Nepal was initiated (June 2008) in the spirit of a newlyformed Constitution Assembly (CA) which saw the election of a high percentage of women.  International IDEA, together with its partners, identifi ed a need for a greater understanding of how a constitution aff ects women's lives and how women can contribute to the process of making a new constitution. Strategies were needed to support the creation of an inclusive political environment in a crucial period of Nepal's history.

Th e discussion paper topics are identifi ed by a national group of experts. Th ese focus on the following topics: agenda setting, rules of procedure and public participation. Expert groups with the ability to draw on international expertise are established at the national level. Th e member represents CA members, political parties, lawyers, civil society and academicians. Th ese groups both draw on and inform International IDEA's gender work.

Designing for Equality: Best-fit, medium-fit and non-favourable combinations of electoral systems and gender quotas

This publication provides an overview of the ‘fit’ of the various electoral systems with different kinds

of quota and thereby assesses how increased women’s representation can be achieved under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas. It aims to serve as a reference tool for all those who work to increase women’s representation in politics.

Constituent Assembly Procedures from a Gender Perspective

This paper raises issues about how the Constituent Assembly will work, and how its procedures will have an impact both on the way in which women members will be able to play a part in its work, and on how women’s issues will dealt with in the new Constitution which it is the purpose of the Constituent Assembly to draft. This paper does not deal with public participation – which is the topic of the next paper in the International IDEA Gender Folder. Most of the procedures of the Constituent Assembly will be laid down in its Rules, a draft of which is currently before the relevant committee.

The Constituent Assembly of Nepal: An Agenda for Women

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.