1. Threats to Electoral Integrity Marginalization and Exclusion of Women Bhojraj Pokharel GEO 6, 2013 Seoul, Republic of Korea Democracy without women is Incomplete - UN Women

3. Marginalisation and exclusion of women  Is a global problem  And has severe implications not only for electoral integrity and for legitimacy of democracy but for global peace and security

4. Marginalisation and exclusion of women Example - Female foeticide causing imbalance in global demography, human trafficking …….. Photo: Sunita Danuwar Source (Photo) : Himal Weekly; September 8,2013 :

5. Marginalisation and exclusion of women  The COST of marginalisation and exclusion of women is HUGE women is HUGE AN URGENT NEED TO CHANGE IT ! AN URGENT NEED TO CHANGE IT !

6. Reality Check  Overall, only 21.4 % (1Sept. 2013) of women are represented worldwide in national parliaments represented worldwide in national parliaments  Only 38 countries crossed 30% representation and 38 are still below 10% representation of women and a few still below 10% representation of women and a few countries even at zero countries even at zero  Merely 8 women serve as Head of State and 13 as Head of the Government of the Government  14% as a Speaker in Parliament  Only 11 % women occupy leadership position in political parties parties

7. Reality Check Marginalization and exclusion of women is on of the greatest challenge confronting integrity of our elections and legitimacy of our democracy !

8. The Story from Nepal Photo: Rajkumari Rana Source(Photo):https://www.google.com.np/search?q=raj+kumari+accused+as+a+witch+images&source= lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=P1VKUpjjG9HRrQf77ID4Ag&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=994&bih=308&dpr=1

9. More women voters than men The Story from Nepal More women voters than men Photo:Dipesh Shrestha

10. General Insights  The Electoral System matters  Temporary Special Measures (TSM) can be used to increase participation of women participation of women  Quotas can be one of the TSMs, which may work in some contexts contexts  International Organisations like the UN’s role can play a supportive role by advising national authorities supportive role by advising national authorities

11. Our Common Challenges  Social, institutional and attitudinal barriers for women to get into politics to get into politics  Security for women  Political and Economic Structures  Electoral System, Processes and poor involvement of women women

12. Shanta Chaudhary: a bonded labourer who became a parliamentarian  Raised strong voice on the issues of women bonded labourers in the Parliament  Was also able to advocate and secure budget for women bonded labourers. https://www.google.com.np/search?gs_rn=27&gs_ri=psy- https://www.google.com.np/search?gs_rn=27&gs_ri=psy- ab&cp=11&gs_id=7s&xhr=t&q=shanta+chaudhary& bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.53371865,d.bmk&um=1&ie= UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab= wi&ei=8VlKUuT3FJCsrAfmv4DoDA

13. Way Forward  Expand the base (political party and local elected bodies) and monitoring of the level of women’s bodies) and monitoring of the level of women’s participation participation  Develop more women friendly electoral systems and processes based on the electoral cycle approach processes based on the electoral cycle approach  Adoption of TSMs in appropriate circumstances and their enforcement their enforcement  Prioritize support to break barriers to women’s representation representation  Invest more in capacity building for women  Address the data gap

14. Every third member was a woman in Nepal’s last parliament Source(Photo)IDEA International,Nepal

15. List of Resources and Relevant Reading Materials Updated figures of women representation (http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif010313.htm)http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/classif010313.htm Types of electoral system (http://www.idea.int/esd/world.cfm)http://www.idea.int/esd/world.cfm Women, Quotas and Politics (Routledge-2006): edited by Drude Dahlerup Quota Project (http://www.quotaproject.org/)http://www.quotaproject.org/ Report of the UN on MDGP’s (2013) Deepening Democracy: A Strategy for Improving the Integrity of Elections Worldwide: Global Commission, 2012 Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, 2005. Editors: Julie Ballington and Azza karam- International IDEA Women’s Political Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa (Produced for the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum by Aili Mari Tripp1 March 2013) Gender and Elections: Temporary Special Measures Beyond Quotas (Produced for the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum by Mona Le na Krook1 January 2013) Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. New York: Oxford University Press. Norris, Pippa and Mona Lena Krook. 2011.Gender Equality in Elected Office: A Six-Step Action Plan. Warsaw: Organization for security and Cooperation in Europe. SAP International. 2010. Violence Against Women in Politics: Defining Terminologies and Concepts. Lalitpur, Nepal: South Asia Partnership International Global Electoral Organization (GEO) Gaborone Declaration 2011 Women & Elections: Guide to promoting the participants of women in elections (UN-EAD, 2005) Report on Gender Mapping in the field of Elections, June 2010, UNDP, ESP, Election Commission of Nepal Electoral Violence Assessment and Mitigation strategy for Nepal, Election Commission of Nepal and UNDP, ESP Nepal. The Electoral Integrity Project (http://electoralintegrityproject.com/)http://electoralintegrityproject.com/ Empowering Women for Stronger Political parties: A guidebook to promote women’s political participation: NDI-UNDP, 2012 Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers- A Revised Edition: International IDEA Designing for Equality: Stina and Rita: International IDEA Women in Politics-Diversity and Equality for a Democratic Culture: DIPD Integrity of Elections: The Role of Regional Organizations- International IDEA Nepal Votes for Peace: Bhojraj pokharel & Shristi Rana- cambridge University Press, India, 2013