CABINET has approved the commencement of work on Temporary Special Measures (TSM) to increase women’s participation at the provincial government level.
Minister for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, Cathy Nori, confirmed this during a panel discussion at the Women’s Political Participation Forum held at the Heritage Park Hotel on Wednesday.
The forum was held under the theme “Addressing Financial and Cultural Barriers that Limit Women’s Political Participation in Solomon Islands.”
It aimed to provide a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing and action planning to strengthen women’s political participation.
Minister Nori said the TSM Bill has been in discussion for many years and was approved by Cabinet last year.
“It has already gone through Cabinet and received approval,” she said.
She explained that the next step is to establish a taskforce to visit the provinces to determine whether the measures should be introduced through a review of the Provincial Government Act or through a standalone bill.
“The taskforce will go around the provinces to do the work and decide which option is best,” she said.
Minister Nori said the TSM will initially be implemented at the provincial level to allow communities to assess its effectiveness.
“We want to start at the provincial level so people can see how it works. Hopefully, this TSM will bring more women into provincial assemblies,” she said.
She acknowledged that the proposal faced resistance when it was first presented to Cabinet.
“When I put it to Cabinet, many members were angry. But let’s try it out and give women a chance,” she said.
Since Independence, only six women have been elected to the National Parliament in 45 years. At the provincial level, only 16 women have ever been elected to Provincial Assemblies.
The proposed TSM amendment to the Provincial Government Amendment Bill 2018 is the result of nearly six years of work led by the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, MPGIS and partner organisations.
Nationwide consultations showed strong support, with all nine Provincial Assemblies formally endorsing the proposal.
