Women in Politics Voices from the Commonwealth

Profiles 33 women in politics from 11 countries of the Commonwealth: Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Dominica, Guyana, India, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, South Africa and Uganda, illustrating the diversity of their experience. The study focuses on the realities of life for those committed and courageous women who have decided to take up politics, emphasising the challenges and barriers which women politicians face. These narratives prove that, to a great extent, the degree of women’s integration into political life depends on the prevailing system of values in a society and on the established political patterns. However, it is evident that their personal values and strengths, their resilience and commitment, and in most cases their sheer physical, psychological and mental endurance are what kept these women in politics and made it possible for them to achieve success. At another level the study analyses, through the narratives of these 33 women, the different strategies that women could develop and put into place for entry into the world of politics – strategies that could be adapted to the national situations in Commonwealth countries to empower women and enable them to participate more effectively in politics. These profiles demonstrate the critical role which women can play as the Commonwealth strives to achieve the goals of gender equality, development and peace in the new Millennium.