Time to rock the patriarchal boat, says Mona Makram Ebeid Nowhere in the world has the rate of increase in the political representation of women been as fast as in Sub Saharan Africa in the last four decades. The number of women legislators increased tenfold between 1960 and 2003, jumping from one to 14.3 per cent. Rwanda became the country with the highest female legislative representation when, in 2003, women took 48.8 per cent of parliamentary seats -- surpassing even the Scandinavian countries. One of the main factors behind the increase is the use of quotas. Some countries, including Egypt, consider quotas to be a form of discrimination while others view them as compensating for structural barriers in conservative societies that hold a traditional view of women. In Morocco, where the electoral system was reformed ahead of the 2002 polls, proportional representation was introduced. The reform allowed women to mobilise and press for the inclusion of a quota system. The result was that the number of women increased from 0.6 per cent in 1997 to 10.7 per cent in 2002. Morocco now ranks second, after Tunisia, in terms of the number of women represented in Arab parliaments In 1979 Egypt was one of the first Arab countries to implement a quota system. It was dropped in 1986, following which the number of women in parliament dropped from ten to 2.2 per cent. While no quota system is perfect, it is better to have an imperfect system than no system at all. Egypt has come a long way from the days when parliament was an exclusive club for men. But much remains to be done before women achieve a critical mass in the highest decision making institutions. The winds of reform should encourage them not to shy away from rocking the patriarchal boat. Margaret Hassan, an embodiment of the tragedies that befell Iraq over the course of the year, is implanted in our hearts.
