No real participation of women in public life in the absence of political will

Contrary to what some women advocate groups hoped for, a comparison conducted by CRTD,A on the results of the 2010 and 2016 municipal elections in terms of women’s representation, has shown no significant change to this effect. This conclusion comes despite numerous initiatives launched by civil and women organizations as well as repeated calls by various political circles to support the participation of women in public affairs. 

Figures compiled by CRTD.A, indicated that women’s share out of the total number of seats in 2016 stood at nearly 5.39% compared to 4.69% in 2010, which represents a mediocre rise of 0.7%. Also, women’s share of total candidates for the 2016 elections recorded 11.7% same as the figure for 2010. As such, and based on a close observation of positions and developments accompanying the election process which we published on our news portal, we would like to put forward some conclusions in our attempt to explain these low results

-         Civil initiatives and campaigns have thrived in the field of awareness-raising and capacity building, but were not really successful in increasing the level of participation of women in public life 

-         The low credibility the political forces enjoy, and who, despite their claimed support for women’s participation, have largely shied away from nominating women on their electoral lists

-         The relatively high proportion of winning women candidates compared to men, which clearly underscored women’s high capacities and this notwithstanding the level of actual support that they received

-         Some key public figures continue to reject women representation quota on the ground that it supposedly degrades the capacities of women. These positions largely overlook the fact that women are still constrained by male patriarchal mentalities and practices that undermine women’s public aspirations

-         Last but not least, there is a clear absence of any strong political will to improve women’s political representation, in the midst of political and confessional bickering, and with the total disregard of the interests of citizens.