Women in politics

The country has had a woman for president. The Vice President is a woman. There are women in both chambers of Congress, the Cabinet, the judiciary, in local governments. More and more women are becoming actively involved in charting the nation's course. The Filipino woman has come a long way since the time of Maria Clara, the tragic heroine of national hero Jose Rizal's novels.

And yet women's involvement in Philippine politics and government, as in most parts of the globe, is still minimal. Participants in a three-day Global Forum of Women Political Leaders, which is ongoing in Manila, noted that in the 1970s, women accounted for only 11 percent of lawmakers worldwide. The percentage rose to just 12 percent in the 1980s and 13 percent in the previous decade. One forum delegate noted that despite major changes in most aspects of life in the past three decades, little has changed in women's position in power.

To encourage more women to enter politics, some governments such as the one in South Korea require a certain percentage of legislative seats to go to women. Most governments, however, have no program to encourage women's involvement in politics. And women themselves, although they make up half the world's population, often do not see themselves devoting their lives to politics and government, thus depriving themselves of a significant voice in national affairs.

Often, women are thrust into the world of politics through force of circumstances. Except for a handful of women such as Britain's Margaret Thatcher, most of the world's women political leaders rose to power on the wings of a male relative -- an assassinated father or husband, for example. Some women run for the legislative seat or government position vacated by a male relative who can no longer seek re-election.

Forum delegates see the need for women to take matters into their own hands. Apart from this, women political leaders are pushing for information sharing on how women can get "guns, goons and gold" out of politics, win elections honestly and even drive away dictators. Change has been slow, but it can move faster as more women realize that political involvement will reduce gender discrimination and open up more opportunities for them.