Formerly the Temporary Special Measures Working Group, the local women’s group said by taking this action, these provincial leaders have acknowledged that there are significant entrenched barriers to women’s fair participation in government and that these barriers can only be overcome in the near future by affirmative action.
PNG’s positive experience in Bougainville, where there are three reserved seats for women, has inspired the nation’s provincial leaders to support the extension of this policy nation-wide.
PNG is one of more than 99 countries across the world, which has established temporary special measures.
“These countries understand the benefit of men and women working together in government decision-making.
“Countries with a Parliament that has more balanced representation of men and women are generally less corrupt, more peaceful and make more effective government decisions for the benefit of all their citizens.
“With no women in National Parliament and only five women serving in the Provincial Assemblies, Solomon Islands remains at the bottom of the world in terms of women’s participation in Parliament.
“The only way to effectively address this inequality in the near to medium-term is to establish elected reserved seats for women in National Parliament.
“Like the Provincial Governors at the PNG National Leaders Summit, the Women in Shared Decision Making (WISDM) Working Group believes that the most practical and fair system would be to allocate one seat per province plus Honiara.
“The WISDM Working Group continues to advocate this policy as one of its central initiatives in its program to support women’s participation in all levels of government decision-making,” the statement said.
The WISDM Working Group congratulated the PNG leaders on their courageous support for the rights of women, and the women of PNG who have persevered with their struggle for practical equality.
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