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                                     Project “Gender and Party Politics”

By Galiya Khassanova, IPF/OSI-2002 continuation fellow

   1. Introduction

    The project has been designed as a continuation of the project “Women in Democratic Institutions in Kazakhstan”, which was developed in frame of the IPF/OSI Fellowship Program. Within the Project, problems of women’s participation in representative state bodies, as well as in non-governmental organizations in the Republic of Kazakhstan were investigated. However, due to scope of the problem and necessity of separate investigation, the Project has not covered such important players in political life of the country as political parties. Growing democratic changes in the society make political parties being more and involved to competition for seats in higher legislative bodies of the country. Thus, women’s participation in political parties appears to be one more channel for promotion of women into decision-making level. So far, women’s role in political parties is extremely low and is not correspond with contemporary challenges. However, as the experience of women in the West shows, women successfully being introduced to traditional institutions of male power – political parties. And in this case, study of the world positive experience, its critical rethinking and application in the CIS republics being on the way of democracy building has a great importance.

   2. Importance of the Issue

    Involvement of women in political party work is important because this ensured the  “critical mass” of women in politics, who are able strongly influence political processes and political culture in general, as well as specific women’s points of view.

Part of women come to traditional politics with already formed feminist consciousness (as a rule, from women’s non-governmental movement, which asserts an idea of equal rights and opportunities for women and men). However, the most part of women has a patriarchal consciousness. Hence, simple increasing of women’s quantity in power would not give a significant effect. Only women, having been prepared in political parties and other civil society associations, and who share gender approach, should come to politics.

As was showed at previous research, gender gaps, being appeared during last several years’ elections in the US and other western countries, have attracted mass media attention, provoked public debates on gender issues, sharpened inter-party competitions on women’s voices involvement, and increased women’s participation in politics. Due to these facts, some changes in the patterns of inter-party competitions and women’s influence on processes, and results of election, have been occurred.

However, role of women in CIS countries is underestimated. Results of past elections had been demonstrated that persuasively. For instance, in Russia, during election campaign of 1999, the number of women included to party lists sharply decreased. As a result, there are only 34 women out of 350 members (or 7%) were elected to the State Duma. Such a low women representation has never been existed during the long history of parliamentarism in soviet and post-soviet Russia.

In Kazakhstan, in 1999 elections, only 5 out of 12 parties nominated women (in general). And only 3 of 12 parties – pro-government party «Otan», party «Vozrozhdenie Kazakhstana» («Revival of Kazakhstan» with a woman-leader of the party, and Communist Party – put a few well-known women to the top of party lists. Due to only 10 seats in Lower Chamber of Parliament – Maslikhat - were given to parties, male party leaders were concerned only with their own promotion. That is why women participated mostly at the sinlge-mandate constituencies. The only women's party «Political Alliance of Women's Organizations», which was established a half a year before elections, simply could not manage with all bureaucratic formal procedures needed to be registered for elections.

In addition, the key problem of Kazakhstan society is a fact that many women who are in politics don't represent the real interests of women's electorate, as well as women' s electorate don't support women who are potential politicians. This fact has been discovered by many surveys. Nevertheless, among countries of Central Asian region, Kazakhstan is one of the effective states, where features of developing political culture in society, political awareness and activism among women's population are growing. In this case, the real opportunity for introduction of range of mechanisms of involvement of women in politics exists.

   3. General Political Climate in Kazakhstan

At present time, there are all features of multi-party system exist in Kazakhstan. By 1 January 2002, there were 16 parties and 10 public-political movements registered in the republic. Among them to be found women's party «Democratic Party of Women in Kazakhstan» and a movement «Women in Kazakhstan». Leaders of both organizations – R. Sarsembayeva and B. Bekturganova – in 1999 run for Parliament as independent candidates, but failed due to high competition (14-15 candidates for one place) in single mandate constituencies in Almaty. Numerous violations registered by observers of OSCE and NGOs, also were not supportive for women candidates.

According to numerous sociological surveys, less than half of surveyed Kazakhstan population  (44.7%) firmly supports parties and movements, but 27.4% have not identified their preferences. Pretty big part of population does not interested in political parties, as well as their political platforms.  It is known that parties, which strive to gain power using democratic tools, need to be supported by wide social lays. If party ideas and its program compliant with needs of people's mass, the party would deserve trust and respect. So far, parties in Kazakhstan have not become really massive, because they don't offer clear conceptions of Kazakhstan development, which would be accepted by society. And here, the role of women is undoubtedly important, because they can give new impulse to parties, bring new ideas to their agendas, and thus making women' s majority party's allies, as well as all parts of vulnerable population of the republic. But beforehand, there is a necessity to make a big preparatory work with parties, persuading them in necessity of women to be their counterparts, as well as to be party members.

The US experience can be served as a very conceiving argument, where a long-term and stable tendency of growing women's quantity in the highest executive and legislative bodies of power, as in federal as in states/province levels, has been watched. Party engines of leading parties in power, had to as modify rules of their internal life as, relatively, rebuild their organizational structures, being concerned with involving women in their rights, promoting them upstairs of party hierarchy and appointing them to highest state positions. In 1980s, Democratic and Republic parties introduced new rules to their party regulations: systems of quota, and established specific committees dealing with gender issues.

Work of political parties in Scandinavian Countries also can be served as an unarguable argument. Parties if these countries decided to introduce gender quotas in party lists following the principle: every second nominee is a woman. Thanks to increased share of women in decision-making level, policy of these countries have become socially oriented, concerned with welfare of their citizens.

At present time, in Kazakhstan society a possible increase of party representation in Parliament has been discussed. The necessity of increasing number of sets in Parliament from 30 to 50 has been substantiating. In such conditions, role of parties in promotion of women into decision-making will receive a significant importance. Now there is a necessity to work with parties in ongoing base, raising awareness of their leaders in following issues:

1.      In the USA, parties actively fight for attraction of women's voices, since women's electorate, due to its quantitative advantage (in 7 millions) and responsibility, has a significant power influencing election results. In Kazakhstan, quantity of women is also higher than that of men, and consists 52% out of total number of population. Secondly, women are more responsible as they consider elections a citizen's mandate. And though such type of phenomenon as absenteeism exists among women too, their number among voting people has been dominating. And, thirdly, being more educated than men, women vote more deliberately and rarely support choices of their husbands. Due to absence of national surveys of the electorate behavior, including women's one, parties in Kazakhstan not sufficiently recognize women's power as voters and as candidates.

2.      Women in politics contribute to politics their knowledge and experience, which are different from men's ones, thus enriching politics and making it highly moral and socially fair. Only joining efforts help society to find exit from crisis of transition, and make society flourishing.

3.      Women, who decide to enter politics, conduct their political campaigns very responsively. Lack of financial resources they compensate by knowledge of contemporary election technologies, thorough development of poetical platforms, serious preparation for meetings with electorate, accountability before voters for given promises. Results of interviews, making with Parliament and local government members at the previous research, have witnessed about that (see paragraph 2.3.).

4. Brief Description of the Project Implementation:

In frame of the Project it is anticipated: to make research, to develop recommendations and, on their basis, to start working with political parties and political movements. The work should be ongoingly strengthened during the all pre-election period up to October 2004, next elections date. The main result of the project will be as following: increasing quantity and quality of women's representation in party managerial bodies, party lists of nominees for elections, and finally (long-term result), at highest positions in the national and local representative power bodies in the country.

Published in two languages (Russian and English) research results, together with materials of Round Table, will disseminated not only in Kazakhstan, but in Central Asian republics, situation with women's advancement in which even worse that in Kazakhstan.

5. Project Goals:

1.    To attract attention of all party functionaries to the problem of women's promotion to decision-making;

2.    To ensure women's inclusion to party lists of candidates at elections in 2004;

3.    To strengthen the party activities in involvement of women to their rights;

4.    To increase leader potential of women politicians;

5.    To increase number of women as among ordinary party members as in its management bodies;

6.    To encourage political parties to develop in their conceptions gender roles and family duties to be compliant with democratic changes in the country;

7.    To stimulate raise of organizational culture of political parties, which do not encourage women's involvement in politics;

8.    To encourage destroying patriarchal biases in the highest echelons of male political elite, which push women away of political life.

6. Project Tasks:

1.    To analyze party politics in respect of women in the USA (Democratic and Republic parties); United Kingdom (Labor Party), and Sweden (Social-Democratic Party). To make a comparative analysis with party politics in CIS (preferably in Russia and Kazakhstan).

2.    To make gender analysis of women's participation in parties of Kazakhstan, their roles and perspectives, as well as political platforms of all registered in Kazakhstan political parties, in which to define:

Ø      if interest of women are included to political platforms;

Ø      if gender quota is included to party lists, including upper part of the lists, and what points of views of the party leaders to these issues;

Ø      what kind of work is doing for involvement of women's electorate voices;

Ø      what kind of activities is doing of r involvement of women to their rights.

3.    To develop mechanism on women's involvement to party work in Kazakhstan.

4.    Basing on research results, to conduct a Round Table with invitation of foreign  (Dr. Shvedova N., Russia; Dr. Chikalova I., Byelorussia) and local experts in the filed of gender and party politics, leaders of political parties and public movements; women's NGOs; members of the National Commission on Family and Women; Ministry of Information, and Central Election Committee. After Round Table a resolution will be developed, which will become a tool for Government and women's NGOs for relations with political parties. To publish main presentations of the Round Table participants and guests, and to disseminate the publication among governmental, non-governmental and academic institutions.

7. Methodology of the Project Implementation:

1)      Sociological analysis of the official statistics and sociological surveys; developing questionnaire; in-depth interviews with party leaders and women who works for political parties

2)      Political Analysis: comparative study of the issue in the USA, UK, Sweden, and CIS. Reading the basic sources: books, articles, information bulletins, political platforms; Internet sources.

3)      Interrelations with political parties: participation in their open meetings, seminars, conferences, and so forth.

4)      Practical consultations for women – potential candidates.

5)      Gender Analysis of political platforms and related materials, published by parties.

6)      Organization and Conduction of the Round Table at the time of finishing the research;

7)      Development of political recommendations.

8)      Publication of Round Table materials, as well as research results.

 8. Time Table of the Project Implementation

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