Macho culture impedes women’s political participation in Lebanon as well as in Algeria

The minister of state for women’s affairs, Jean Ogassapian, disclosed during Friday’s Cabinet meeting, that discussion is underway to adopt the 30% women’s quota in Parliament. The Minister pointed out that the Future Movement shall turn down any electoral draft law that does not include the said quota, in nomination as well as in Parliamentary seats. Ogassapian indicated that everyone should reconcile with the idea of women’s presence in Parliament and in the state administration, adding that this can be realized only through the representation quota. “The issue is a cultural one…. the quota is an inevitable stage to ensure the presence of women in all sectors,” he stated. In this respect, The Daily Star highlighted today the Algerian Law of 2012 concerning women’s quota representation, which requires that the next Parliament be made up of 30% of women. Political parties affiliated with the Algerian government pain to bring sufficient women candidates, despite the considerable number of accomplished and educated Algerian women out there, The Daily Star wrote. The reason, the newspaper added, has to do with the dominant male culture which largely considers politics as a male arena. According to political sociologist, Nasser Jabi, the macho culture of local political parties prevented these parties from involving women in political life. It is a culture that is totally cut off from the natural evolution of society, where girls have become a majority in universities as well as in some businesses, Jabi explained. To note, the NLF has received up to 6,228 applicants for the upcoming May 4 elections, only 100 of which are women. (Al Diyar, The Daily Star, March 4 and 6, 2017)