Report on the Annual Gathering of the Group of Women Parliamentarians
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Another question, posed by one of the male delegates in attendance, generated animated debate. He asked why, from his point of view, women do not support other women, and why they seem to hate one another. He suggested that if women were to unite, due to numbers alone, their realities could be changed.
The discussion that followed centred on popular fallacies resulting from symbolic or invisible forms of male violence deeply entrenched in our culture. Mental emancipation from male domination must be nurtured within households, so that in their everyday realities children are exposed to and learn to respect women’s leadership. It was also pointed out that women do support other women, and there will always be men who support women too. Furthermore, it is not only women who are competitive and have the capacity to tear one another down; men do this all too often.
Since power is constructed as masculine, it can seem natural to women and men alike that those ruling are men. As a result, women frequently do not believe in themselves as much as men do. This is upheld by patterns of social beliefs indicating that men’s power is better and more legitimate. How do we overcome this? By making women’s power natural.
Regional Advances in Women’s Political Participation
"Women in the Americas continued to lead the world in expanding their presence in parliament, increasing their share to an average of 25.2 per cent (+1.1 points) in 2013.
Their participation exceeded 30 per cent in the lower houses of three States – Ecuador, Grenada and Argentina – and fell just shy of half in Cuba’s unicameral parliament."