Women, individually and collectively, need to fight for their right to take a place in the political system, writes Mona Makram Ebeid Political participation offers opportunity to various groups in society to promote, articulate, advocate and defend their interests and views. Women are as vital a human resource as men. Excluding them from political life risks not utilising fully and efficiently their knowledge, skills, experience and distinct vision of world and society. Political participation empowers people to understand and influence decisions that affect their lives. The time has come to move from recognising women's contribution to challenging those factors in the family, in communities, and in the country and the Arab world as a whole, that make it difficult for women to play their full part in democracy and development. Is it a male or a female issue? The answer: it is an issue for society, as society ascribes different roles to both men and women. We should not forget that women constitute 50 per cent of the total population of the Arab world. Women are the foundation of the transformation underway in Arab societies. Our societies cannot ignore the fact that women are the mothers and educators of the nation, the companions of men, and fighters for prosperity and development. In this respect, we believe that the quota system is one useful strategy to guarantee that the voices, knowledge, experience and skills of women impact the development of the nation. Resistance to women entering politics via mechanisms -- such as quotas -- that make it possible to correct democratic dysfunctions is largely explained by the attitude of the political class. It does not look favourably upon female representatives, who are not yet considered key players in the effort to bring about democracy and sustainable development. Yet evidence from around the world shows that voluntary quotas adopted by political parties and regimes to increase the number of women candidates in elections have been effective, especially when applied in proportional representation-based electoral systems. In the Arab world, however, there are relatively few successful examples of political parties adopting and enforcing internal party quotas and the participation of women remains limited. Although no quota is perfect, it is better to have an imperfect system than none at all. While quotas alone will not solve the problems of patriarchal systems, attitudes and stereotypes, the mere presence of women changes the face of decision-making and provides opportunities for substantive input. As a former member of parliament, I have participated in three different elections with different electoral systems. In the 1980s a new law was introduced which reserved 30 new seats for women. Three women won elections on their own steam and two more were appointed by President Sadat, so there were 35 women in parliament, representing nine per cent of the body. In 1987, the reserved seats were abolished but the government retained the proportional representation system and 18 women gained seats in parliament. The proportional representation system was also eventually abolished. In 1990, women constituted only two per cent of parliament, most of them appointed. There has been a lot of talk lately of empowering women and encouraging their political participation, and many activists have demanded a return to the proportional representation system, or the quota system. Parliament, however, with a majority of chauvinistic and short sighted members, has registered its strong resistance to both systems. It is now up to women's associations, women politicians and party members, and writers to stand fast and demand what is their legitimate right. Women need to mobilise on a larger scale within and outside of political parties. Let us remember, that thanks to Doria Shafik, the courageous political activist and her supporters, women obtained the vote in 1956. Can we expect that her daughters and granddaughters be as courageous as her?
