Parties oppose quota for women in party posts
Villingili MP Usham proposed the idea of making it clear in law that "parties must strive to achieve equality in minutiae".
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By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
Political parties on Monday opposed the Election Commission's (EC) proposal to reserve a certain portion of political party posts for women.
The EC proposed amendments to the Political Parties Act, which are currently being examined by the Committee on Independent Institutions. Political parties were summoned for the Monday committee meeting.
In addition to representatives from EC and the Attorney General's Office, the parties were represented by:
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PPM/PNC: Male city councillor Ibrahim Shujau, and Ahmed Shiyam, MP from Naifaru constituency
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MDP: Deputy chairperson Ibrahim Waheed
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Adhaalath Party: Secretary seneral Ahmed Shiyaz
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Jumhooree Party: Secretary general Ali Arif and Registrar Mohammad Zaheen
In the meeting, separate parties voiced their views on the amendments proposed by the EC.
One of the longest debated amendments in the committee meeting was the creation of reserved posts for female MPs in parties or reserving 33 percent of posts for female members. At a meeting where there was not even a single woman representative, the parties said:
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Speaking at the committee on behalf of PPM, MP Shiyam said that women have the opportunity to move forward as much as men in the country's politics and that it would be a great insult to them to fix a specific amount for women by law.
Shiyam said that if there is a separate quota for women, it should not be 33%.
"If you respect women, you have to fix a higher number," he said.
"If you fix a quota, you have to allow not 33%. It should be given more if you love women,"
Ibrahim Waheed from MDP also supported Shiyam's statement. Echoing Shiyam's claims, Waheed said that political parties are not fielding enough women candidates to meet the quota for women in local bodies.
"This is not something that is meant to humiliate women: no party is able to match the 33% in the island councils. Even the WDC is unable to raise all their members for these posts," Waheed said.
"I think Shiyam made the right statement. Let's do things by stipulating to give priority to women instead of setting a quota like this."
JP's Arif was also not in favour of a quota for women in party posts. He said that by reserving posts for women in such a manner, the possibilities for "a particular group" could be curtailed.
"It is against the spirit of the constitution", he said.
"The constitution says that every citizen of the country has the right to contest for posts. The constitution could have fixed the number at 33%. So, we are not in favour of setting these numbers."
Villimale MP Ahmed Usham also did not believe that it is best to have a quota exclusively for women, as pointed out by the other parties.
"Whether it can be done practically is also a question. If it is stipulated by law, how long will it take to attain the 33 percent of women into party councils and committees," Usham said.
Instead, Usham proposed the idea of making it clear in law that "parties must strive to achieve equality in minutiae."
The Election Commission also supported Usham's view.
In 2019, parliament amended the Decentralisation Act by deciding to reserve 33% of the council seats for women. Some even criticised the government for trying to reserve a certain amount for women in such a manner, saying it was unfair to men by depriving them of their opportunities.
