IPU launches project in support of Burundi's women parliamentarians

What can parliament do to promote gender equality? How can parliamentarians use their legislative, budgetary, oversight and representative functions to act in favour of equality between men and women? These questions were discussed by Burundian parliamentarians and their counterparts from Rwanda, Spain, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at a seminar on "Parliament and gender equality" held at the seat of Burundi's National Assembly, the Palais de Kigobé, from 18 to 20 June 2007.

The participants and specialists attending the seminar exchanged experiences about the functions of parliament. They considered the means and resources needed to enact laws and strengthen parliamentary initiatives. They underscored the need for parliament to be an open and transparent representative body that integrates citizens into the legislative process through hearings, open houses, debates on current affairs and modern communication media.

There are many ways of ensuring government oversight, but they are often thwarted by governments and hamstrung by a lack of administrative and technical means. In terms of budget, the participants discussed the benefits of mainstreaming the gender perspective in the draft budget. They also debated the challenges facing Burundian women, in particular the inequalities they suffer. The seminar served to identify legislative priorities, such as the revision of certain articles of legislation on individuals and the family, the penal code, the labour code and the rules on nationality. Other acts of law need to be drafted and enacted, including laws on inheritance, matrimonial regimes, gifts, and a special law on preventing and punishing acts of gender-based violence. Parliamentary action to mobilize stakeholders and promote the participation of women in the preparation of programmes and legislation concerning them also appeared key to the adoption, evaluation and monitoring of policies relating to women.

The seminar concluded with a special meeting, open only to women parliamentarians, on the specific challenges women face in their work as parliamentarians. The women discussed the political and associative interference hampering action by women parliamentarians and how to deal with it. They emphasized the need for women to work together with a shared vision in order to improve the situation of Burundi's women and to ensure that the legislative, oversight and representative activities of women parliamentarians have an impact. This crucial discussion for Burundian women parliamentarians and Burundian women in general was enhanced by the input provided by the women's parliamentary associations of Rwanda and the DRC.

The seminar was the first activity of the project being conducted by the IPU, with funding from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), in support of Burundi's women parliamentarians. The project is intended to respond to the needs of parliament as an institution and of women parliamentarians, who, since the 2005 legislative elections, have held more than 30 per cent of seats in parliament. Its principal objectives are to support parliament as an institution, to heighten parliament's gender awareness and knowledge so that it is better able to meet women's and men's expectations fairly and equitably, to help women parliamentarians strengthen their capacity for effective and sustained participation in political life, and to support solidarity and coordination among women parliamentarians and between them and civil society.