“We have to change the perception that women and politics do not go together”

In the Gulf States, women parliamentarians have decided to address the challenges they face in their relations with the media. Last December, women legislators and political leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen met in Muscat (Oman) to discuss partnership with the media and women's associations. At the opening of the Third Regional Conference of Women Parliamentarians and Women in Political Decisionmaking Positions of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, organized by the Shura Council of Oman and the IPU, Her Highness Dr. Mona bint Fahd Al Sa`id, pointed to the advancement of the status of Omani women and their participation in all areas of economic, social, cultural and political life, particularly since women entered the Shura Council in 1994, a first in the region.

The participants said that by reporting on women's activities in politics, the media not only places the spotlight on the growing and indeed novel role of women, but can also encourage the young generation to enter the political arena. They added that “the media could greatly benefit from reporting on the work and views of women parliamentarians and from consulting them as information feeders”.

As for women's associations, women MPs highlighted that they played a key role in women's political empowerment and were important allies in the promotion of gender issues. An effective partnership would allow women legislators to benefit from pertinent information and support provided by these associations, and in return, women MPs, in their capacity as lawmakers, could defend issues raised by the grass-roots organizations.

During the two-day conference, several participants gave their views to The World of Parliaments.

Women's participation: an essential part of democracy

“The media plays an important role in raising awareness and educating the public about women's participation in political life as an essential part of democracy”, said Mr. Geert Versnick, a Belgian legislator and member of the IPU Executive Committee.

Ms. Faten Ben Amor, a member of the Tunisian Parliament and First Vice-President of the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians, underscored the need for women parliamentarians to build a healthy partnership with the media and decision-makers. “Women should give interesting information to the press and journalists should give space to women politicians in the media not only on topics related to women's issues but also seek their views on major political and economic events and other important issues”.

According to Dr. Gehan Abu Zeid, an Egyptian expert in women's rights and development in the Arab region, women parliamentarians have an extra challenge in this region. “They live in a conservative culture. Their mobility is limited and they do not have financial support from political parties. This prevents a lot of women from running for election or even thinking about it”. She added that the media rarely supports women parliamentarians or women in leadership positions in general.

Dr. Abu Zeid underlines the fact that parliamentarians have first-hand information, the right connections and direct access to local communities that could interest the media. “But politics is also a sensitive issue. Sometimes, we need to speak about politics without using political words. It depends on the political system. We can talk about politics, but what matters is how we do it”.

The ball is in the women's court

Mr. Mohamed Ayich, a lecturer in communication at the University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), stressed that women have to be given a chance to enter parliament. “The image of women politicians is quite new in this part of the world but change is necessary. Society should be aware that women are becoming important actors in different sectors, including politics”.

Should women be more proactive? “The ball is in their court and they have to take action and speak out for their rights. Support from the media is therefore very important”. How can mentalities be changed in order to give women more visibility? “This is a long-term process. Society has to be educated. Citizens have to understand that women account for half of the population and that they have the right to represent the population in their constituencies. Education through the media, the social structures and educational facilities is needed. Women's capacities must be strengthened on how to face the media, how to give interviews and press conferences, how to appear on TV, and how to be convincing and persuasive”, he added.

Ms. Samira Rajab, a member of the Shura Council of Bahrain, who is also a journalist and a columnist, is even more explicit. “Reaching a political position without a solid background and a strong personality is a disaster. We were on the verge of such a disaster with some male politicians so you can imagine what that would be like for women who are not well prepared”. She points out that most of the time, women do not vote for women. This is just one of the challenges they have to face.

Can legislation change the situation? “It will not solve the problem. We have to face it openly. We need different education, information, rules, policies and also different media if we want to see a change. We have to start with young girls. For the women who want to go into politics the only way is to learn and to be trained if they want to face political parties, other candidates, and strong male politicians”, she concluded.

Mr. Peter Knowles, the BBC Comptroller, argued that in general, to give women politicians a better hearing “we have to be more vigilant about making sure we get them on interviews and discussions. But personally, I think that either parliament or the political parties needs to invest far more in helping members become good public speakers - men and women. I can not think of any great or prominent politician who has not had those skills. Barak Obama proves that public speaking does still matter!”

Ms. Bahia Al Jishi, a member of the Shura Council of the Kingdom of Bahrain and Chairperson of the Council Services Committee, recalls that women are contributing a lot to politics but there is insufficient space for them in the media. “We came here to discuss with the media what we can do to enhance the image of women in politics. We have to convince them that women are good politicians. We have to change the perception that women and politics do not go together. We have to be proactive and show journalists that women can talk about politics and important issues such as the environment, the economy, defence, and that they contribute to the discussion in general assemblies but also in committees and behind the scenes”.

She admits that women must understand that journalists work under pressure and women will have to deal with that. Not to mention that increasing the participation of women in parliament in this region is a controversial issue. “Here also the media can be decisive if they present women as strong advocates of pressing issues. It will change the image of women in society and show that women can deliver”.

In Ms. Al-Jishi's view, women do not vote for women “because it is part of the whole culture. It is not that women are against women. It has to do with the image of women among men and also with religious issues. The media can play a major role in changing mentalities”.

Rwanda: How men support women in politics

Ms. Rose Mukantabana, Speaker of the Rwandan Chamber of Deputies - the parliamentary chamber with the highest percentage of elected women legislators in the world (56.3%) - shared the Rwandan experience with participants in Oman.

Q: Rwanda is leading the list of the parliaments with the highest percentage of elected women legislators in the world. What is your next challenge?
Rose Mukantabana: We must show the world that we deserve the situation we are in today and that we can take Rwandans forward on the road to development, in partnership with our brothers, colleagues and spouses. We cannot afford to fail.

Q: Are men supporting you in this initiative?
R.M.: Yes, because we consider the question of gender to be a tool of development rather than a means of turning the tables. That is why Rwandan men have continued the process - because the women are not aggressive about promoting their rights. Our intention is not to take the place men previously occupied or to put men in the place we held in the past. Our aim is to be their partners with a view to our country's development. We complement each other and we make progress together. We want equal rights, as provided for by our Constitution and international conventions. We are striving for equal opportunities and for the removal of all obstacles to development.

Q: What are your expectations of the media?
R.M.: The role of journalists is crucial in all areas, particularly women's participation. In the past, the media has played a negative role. In our society, the image portrayed in the media was that of women poisoning their men or fighting with other women. Women used to be portrayed in less than flattering tones. For example, radio commercials - which are a medium used by public agencies and civil society - used to send negative messages. Someone who was unable to clearly decipher the message could easily misinterpret it. We struggled to put an end to that kind of negative publicity. It is possible to send the same message to people using positive language and we are seeing the results of that. Showing naked women or bizzarely dressed women in the media is not the best way to promote women. Rather, it is a way of keeping them in a degrading condition. Today, when women's associations want to put an ad in the media, that is taken into consideration.

“Education is key”

Najla Faisal Al Awadhi is a member of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates. She is also the Deputy CEO of Dubai Media Inc., Dubai's most powerful media group, and manages one of the network's six channels - the English-language one.

Q: What is the major challenge for women in the Arab world?
Najla Faisal Al Awadhi: The major challenge we face is a lack of awareness about women's rights and responsibilities in society. Education creates in women the drive to go out and become part of the political system and to be actively engaged in it. Many women are not aware of their rights enshrined in the constitutions of our countries and in most constitutions of the Gulf States. Educating women is one thing but it is also important to educate the rest of society: the men. This is because we often have gender roles that are set in stone: the role of the woman is usually limited to the home and raising children and the role of the man is to deal with issues such as politics and the economy. This is changing slowly. In the UAE, women entered the parliament in 2007. We have women ministers and one of them has the portfolio of foreign trade. Women are moving into this field but they still represent a minority. There must be an emphasis on establishing education systems that make women conscious of their rights, their political participation and the importance of their engagement in all fields. Most Arab countries are moving today in the direction of sustainable development, which is tapping into all of our human resources, regardless of gender. We need to educate not only women, but the public in general, because Arab societies are traditionally patriarchal, which means that most of the decisionmaking roles remain with the men. We also need to win over the men and convince them that women are their allies and their partners and that if we work together, we can achieve more.

Q: Are men prepared to accept women working with them?
N.F.A.: Some enlightened men are. In the UAE we are blessed because if it were not for the efforts of the country's leaders - all of whom are men - to empower women, we would not be nine women in parliament. There is a large group of men who support women, but there is also a large group of men and women who do not believe that women can actively contribute to politics as men can. This is changing slowly and the best way to change things is to lead by example and let the results speak for themselves. We should just show that women can do exactly what men can. It is all about access to education, equal opportunities and role models. This is the best way to change things.

Q: Do you give space to women parliamentarians in your media?
N.F.A.: We don't give them enough space and I am the first one to say that! I am proud to say that in the channel that I manage, women hold all of the senior strategic posts. Not because they are women but because they are highly competent and work very hard. These women are Emiratis from the country and not expatriate women. We are working on doing more programmes that deal with social issues. Media companies always have to strike a balance between public service and profit. It is not an easy task because most people prefer movies and music and it is up to us as media people to also create content that is intelligent and present important issues in an entertainingway so we do not lose our audience.

Q: Do journalists give space to women?
N.F.A.: It is a problem, because in our societies, a lot of the political programmes which could interview women parliamentarians happen to be produced by men. In the media industry, on serious shows, we need to create a better gender balance to include women.

“Women have to face social and traditional challenges”

Mr. Nasser Alsarami, Head of Media at Al Arabia TV Station, encourages women to come and speak to the media. He is also interested in developing with them and with the IPU a database of women legislators who could be interviewed by Al Arabia on pressing issues, at any time.

Q: What are the main challenges for women MPs in the Arab world?
Nasser Alsarami: They have to face social and traditional challenges. The image of women in politics is not understood by people. They still think that women can do only certain things and not others. For example, people look at business women more seriously. They think that business women are doing something great, but when it comes to women in politics, that is a different matter. Women in the region need to do a lot to prove their ability in politics and justify their participation in social issues. They have to be in the picture and for that they have to speak out to the media, to the people. They should not stay on their own and only organize their own meetings, but they should participate in conferences and other activities, be it in the region or outside the region. They have to show what they can do and achieve, because in this region, the image of women is that they can only do limited things.

Q: Are the different societies in the Arab world ready to give women political space?
N.A.: Compared to five years ago, a lot of things have been achieved, but there is still a lot to do. If you wait for people to be ready, you will not get anything done. Things just happen and women have to deal with it.

Q: Are these societies ready to vote for women in politics?
N.A.: I think that they are not ready to fight for a woman to be elected, but that does not mean that women cannot be in parliament. It is a great idea to have women in parliament. But we have to start with fair elections, otherwise people will not understand why women are brought into the election directly.

Q: Does the media give sufficient space to women politicians?
N.A.: Yes. At Al Arabia, we invite women politicians on our different programmes. It is also up to women to come and speak to us about their agendas and programmes. During the recent elections in the region, we had women candidates on our screens. But women also have to campaign by themselves. Maybe from this gathering ideas will come out and women will benefit from training to deal with the media.