INTERVIEW WITH PHILIPPINES' SENATOR PIA CAYETANO

Senator Pia Cayetano

"There needs to be recognition that violence against women and children in armed conflicts exists"

More than 160 women legislators from 120 countries attending the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in Manila - as part of the 112^th IPU Assembly - celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of the Meeting. The Meeting was called "symbolic of women's struggles" by Philippine Senator Pia Cayetano, who was elected president of the Manila session of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, and also selected to chair the Assembly's panel on violence against women and children in armed conflicts. Interview.

Q.: How would you describe the situation of women today?
Senator Pia Cayetano : In many countries women are still deprived of their rights and are victims of oppression. Only 14 countries meet the IPU's goal of 30 per cent women parliamentarians. Nonetheless, there have been some significant achievements. Twenty years ago, women parliamentarians met on the fringes of the IPU Assembly. Now they have their own meeting. A great number of women parliamentarians are present this year. In the lower house of the Philippine parliament, 15 per cent of members are women, in the upper house the proportion is 17 per cent, and 25 per cent of ministers are women. In addition, the Head of State is a woman. President Arroyo is promoting a gender equality agenda. Women's voices will be heard at the Meeting and solutions will be found to their problems.

Q.: What would you recommend to solve the problem of violence committed against women and children in armed conflicts, for example?
P.C.: First of all, it is a question of information and awareness. There needs to be recognition that this special situation affecting women and children exists. In any war there is death and injuries, but the majority of civilian victims are women and children. They are more defenceless and there are specific sex crimes that happen to women and children which a lot of people either do not recognize, or just turn a blind eye to. In a lot of areas the situation arises where such crimes are almost tolerated, because men are occupying the field and men have needs. It has to be made known that it is absolutely not acceptable. Information should also be given to peace forces that come in, because some studies have shown that even peacekeeping forces can be the perpetrators of abuses, and particularly of sexual abuses.

Q.: Is this just a fait accompli, or can we act to make a difference?
P.C.: Let me give you a case in point on the information aspect first. In some countries such as the Philippines and Korea, many years ago in the 1940s, during the Second World War, the situation arose. Today, part of my constituents are these old women who were called “comfort women”. You would think that this is something that happened only 60 years ago, but it is happening now. There seems to be a lack of understanding, a lack of awareness because this is still happening now. There are international treaties already in place, but we may need local laws in different areas to strengthen these international treaties. It is important to inform legislative bodies in each country. Agencies have to be strict about implementing this. Parliamentarians and persons of authority should continue to be very vocal about condemning these acts. A specific recommendation would be to go on nationwide TV and condemn the persons involved, whether military or civilian.

	IPU AND UNICEF LAUNCH HANDBOOK ON WAYS TO COMBAT CHILD TRAFFICKING I n Manila, the IPU and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) launched a handbook for parliamentarians entitled Combating Child Trafficking. UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy urged legislators to use their power to protect children from exploitation, saying "they can make decisions that ensure the protection of children, or they can make decisions that leave children vulnerable to being exploited and abused. The first choice virtually guarantees strong national development; the second choice virtually guarantees the continuation of poverty". From left to right : Mr. Franklin M. Drilon, President of the Philippine Senate and President of the IPU's 112th Assembly, Ms. Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director, Senator Sergio Páez, IPU President, and Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, IPU Secretary General.

WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS MARK 20 YEARS OF PROGRESS ON THE POLITICAL FRONT

In 1889, no women were among the founders of the IPU; at that time only a few countries had granted women the right to vote and stand for election. In 1921, two women, from Germany and Denmark, were the first to take part in the deliberations of an IPU Conference, along with 108 men. If the beginnings may sound inauspicious to women's participation, the situation is strikingly more positive today: women parliamentarians now account for nearly 30 per cent of participants at IPU Assemblies.

One of the driving forces of this progress is the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, which celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its establishment during the 112^th IPU Assembly, held in Manila. In an atmosphere of solidarity and pride, the Meeting took stock of past achievements, but also of future challenges in the fight for equal opportunities and rights.

The history of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians is that of a constant struggle, marked by steady progress. When the first Meeting organized by the IPU Secretariat was held in Lomé in 1985, only 26 women legislators were present, and women's concerns and rights were considered marginal to the IPU and mainstream politics in a great number of countries. Fast-forward now to the Manila Meeting: 160 women from 120 countries were present to debate practical issues such as domestic violence and the impact of HIV/AIDS on women's lives.

The initial purpose of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians was to provide women with a space of their own to meet and join forces in bringing forward questions generally ignored in IPU debates and on the international scene – such as cultural obstacles hampering women's lives, or gender equality in politics and in the workplace. "As long as women are underrepresented in positions of power, there will be a need for them to get together to encourage each other and to work together" declared Senator J. Fraser of Canada.

Down the line, one can say that the women's movement at the IPU has been a definite factor of progress and change. Over time, the Meeting has gained in legitimacy and force. Its objectives have been materializing at the global political level, with a quantitative and qualitative improvement in the political participation of women. The Meeting has also given the IPU a trademark absolutely its own: it is the global reference point for statistics on the participation of women in political life. It has also helped to change mentalities and pushed male colleagues to mainstream gender issues in declarations and resolutions of the IPU. The Meeting has pressed for gender analysis of parliaments' budgets – including that of the IPU.

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary and pay tribute to all the women and men that contributed to this success, an exhibit on the history of women at the IPU was inaugurated.

	THE HISTORY OF THE MEETING OF WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS: Research topic at the University of Geneva 1978-1999: The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in the Inter-Parliamentary Union was the title of a dissertation presented in April 2005 at the University of Geneva's Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences by Ms. Annalisa Sauli de Gironcoli as part of her postgraduate certificate in gender studies. This work highlights the struggle of women active in the transnational field to use their participation to end "exclusion" and ensure their "presence" in the political arena. It explains the success of this struggle by a combination of four factors: the very active presence of a group of women parliamentarians; the desire for openness of the IPU, which seeks a greater sphere of influence; the favourable international situation resulting from a period of political calm; and the dynamism of feminist circles following the Decade for Women. This study aims to demonstrate that the change of policy in respect of women at the IPU is the fruit of interaction between the work of a few women sensitive to gender equality issues and a particularly favourable international situation, along with an organization that hoped to increase its sphere of action within the international community. The work of women parliamentarians fits perfectly well with the international movement for women's rights launched by the United Nations. It provides a new impetus to numerous studies and discussions on the status of women in the world, making use of the Union's enormous potential for information and its structures, as well as its political authority. For its part, the Union has seen its cooperation with the United Nations enhanced by its will to tackle gender discrimination issues.

KUWAIT GRANTS WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND STAND IN ELECTIONS AND APPOINTS A WOMAN MINISTER

"I wish to congratulate Kuwaiti women on their efforts, as well as Kuwaiti legislators and authorities on their decision. Modern societies will only be more humane and more equitable when all of their citizens are actively involved in the decisionmaking process. The IPUis ready to help if the parliament and the women request it" said the IPU President, Senator Sergio Páez, during his official visit to Kuwait, after the decision taken by the National Assembly of Kuwait to grant women the right to vote and to stand in elections.

One month after this historic decision, Mrs. Massouma al-Mubarak, a political science professor and columnist, was named as Planning Minister and Minister for Administrative Development. She told AFP news agency it was "a great honour for Kuwaiti women and a symbol of appreciation of their struggle" for her to be named to a cabinet post.

"Democracy has prevailed"

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait gave The World of Parliaments his views on the impact of such a decision. Interview.

Q.: Was it difficult to convince the members of the National Assembly to grant women their political rights?
Speaker Jasem Mohammad Al-Khurafi: We are proud that we have achieved what we have achieved in a democratic way, and that it has not been forced on the country or decided by the Emir or by one person. It went through the constitutional process. It took time, but in the end, those who were in favour of the decision and those who were against it are convinced that democracy has prevailed and that we all have to accept what the majority has decided.

Q.: Is there a chance that women will participate soon in parliamentary life?
J. M. A-K.: It will take time, because our country is in an area where we have traditions and we have different thought processes from a religious point of view. But time has matured us and gave us the opportunity to accept progress. Although our women obtained the right to vote only recently, I am sure you have noticed that they are present at different levels of government and that they have reached top positions in the private sector.

What do you expect from the IPU?
J. M. A-K.: The IPU has done its job by bringing pressure to bear in following up on the rights of women. It will now be in a position to follow up on the successes the women have achieved in Kuwait.