MUSCAT: Only 21 out of the 674 candidates for October’s Majlis Al Shura elections are women, a number that is raising concerns about the lack of female representation in Oman’s political system.
In the 2011 elections 77 out of the 1,133 candidates were women, a total of 6.7 per cent. This year women represent just 3.1 per cent. In the current Majlis Al Shura, the lone woman, Naama Jamil Al Busaidi, makes up 1.2 per cent of the 84-member chamber.
Iman Al Ghafri, current president of the Omani Women’s Association in Qurum, was one of the 77 women who ran for the Majlis Al Shura in 2011. She says Oman needs more women in the Majlis Al Shura because they offer a different perspective and raise different issues than men.
“We have a higher agenda. Our agenda is to ask for a better living condition for families, for equal job opportunities for female and male, for better quality of education so we can compete on an international standard. Those types of issues won’t be debated by men,” she explains.
Men tend to campaign as representatives for their tribes and regions, whereas women campaign with an emphasis on social issues that affect the country as a whole, Al Ghafri says. The issues are important but they don’t win votes, which has discouraged women from running.
“I am concerned about the presence of the women. There is a misunderstanding about the role of the Shura Council. If they expect their member of Shura Council to be [like] a municipality council member, unfortunately this might not be attractive for many women,” says Tawfiq Al Lawati, a current member of the Majlis Al Shura who wants to see more women elected.
Seat allocation
He has suggested that the government allocated one seat in each governorate for women, which would ensure that at least 11 women were in the Shura.
Ahmed Al Mukhaini, a lawyer and political analyst who is also concerned about the lack of women in the Majlis Al Shura, says the female candidates need to work even harder and develop alliances with the tribes in order to win. He also says a quota might help.
“Without a quota we will have few women if any joining the Majlis,” says Al Mukhaini.
While some people say women should win on their own merits, others, including Al Ghafri, say other countries which have applied a quota have met with success.
“Within the quota there was a competition. It wasn’t just any women. It was the best of the best of the women. With a quota women will compete among themselves and men will compete among themselves,” she says.
In the last elections a number of educated women from Muscat, including lawyers and those who volunteered with civil society organisations, aren’t running this time, which is a loss to the elections, Al Ghafri says.
“We’re not looking for numbers. We’re looking for quality, especially for women because she won’t represent herself as an individual or the tribe, but she also represents the women as a 48 per cent of Omanis,” said Al Ghafri.
Al Mukhaini says it’s important to have more women in the Majlis Al Shura for many reasons.
“There are 202 reasons. The first reason is that it’s her right, her human right, to have equal representation in the Majlis,” he says.
Historically women have played an important role in Oman, and today they are well represented in other sectors of Oman, so it’s only logical that they are represented in the highest decision-making positions of the country, too, says Al Mukhaini.
Women will also offer different perspectives and methods of planning, he adds.
Shukoor Al Ghamri, former president of the Omani Women’s Association, says she’s not surprised by the lack of female candidates.
“For the past few years politics means war, politics means corruption, and all these things so women avoid it,” she says.
Al Ghamri says most women prefer to avoid getting involved with politics and focus on their careers or businesses instead. Women are more likely to worry about losing their positions and missing potential promotions at work if they take time out to be members of the Majlis Al Shura.
“A lot of women would be good members and good speakers, but they say they’ll lose their positions and might not get them back,” Al Ghamri says.
According to the United Nations, as of January 2015 only 22 per cent of the world’s national parliamentarians were women. Women have the highest representation in Rwanda, where they have 63.8per cent of the seats in the lower house. The Arab country with the highest proportion of women elected to the lower house is Algeria with 31.6 per cent.
The UN facts and figures also reveal that in 38 countries, including Oman, women make up fewer than 10per cent of the elected political representatives. In four countries, including Qatar, Micronesia, Vanuatu and Palau, there are no women at all.
Al Ghamri says that until there are more women candidates, it’s important to vote for men who will represent women’s concerns.
“You can choose a good person, a man who defends women’s rights, to be the representative,” she concludes.
Reporter can be reached at sarah@timesofoman.com
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