Female political participation is critical to protecting their rights, but according to an international survey on female political participation, half of Belgian girls believe their voices are not heard or understood by politicians
Plan International released an international assessment on girls' political participation in the run-up to International Girls' Day on October 11th. Major concerns such as the pandemic, climate collapse, and recent protests in Iran have emphasized the vulnerability and jeopardized the rights of girls and women around the world.
"Girls' political involvement is critical to protecting their rights, which are increasingly under assault today," said Isabelle Verhaegen, National Director of Plan International Belgium. The organization polled over 29,000 girls and young women aged 15 to 24 in 29 countries, 1,000 of whom were Belgian.
Gender roles continue to exist
According to the report, girls all across the world have distinct political priorities. These include, in particular, protection from violence, prejudice, climate change, and health (including mental health).
While females in Belgium are more interested in social and political issues than in other countries, more than nine out of ten say they experience barriers to political participation. A lack of political expertise is a big impediment, but so is the widely held belief that politics is primarily a male domain.
Only 14% of Belgian girls are confident enough to run for office, which is less than half the global rate of 28%. This insecurity may be caused by a lack of role models. There are only 13 female presidents of government in the world, yet women make up 26% of parliamentarians. Young women are considerably less represented; only 1% of MPs under 30 are women.
Looking back and looking ahead
In an effort to change this, Plan International Belgium encouraged the country's female politicians to send a letter to their younger selves describing the challenges they faced as female politicians and how they overcome them. Some words of advice to their younger selves:
"Politics is a difficult world, but you will bring about change, bit by step; you are doing that now and always will." - Meryame Kitir, Minister of Development Cooperation and Metropolitan Policy.
"Ambition is not a terrible word for women. Nadia, dream big. Work hard, endure, and follow your gut instinct. The world cannot function without strong women." - Nadia Naji, Green Co-President.
"We're not just standing up for ourselves; we're standing up for others, including girls like you right now. We're going to put the macho in his place who thinks women are second-rate; we owe that to all girls." - Zuhal Demir, Flemish Minister of Environment, Energy, Tourism, and Justice.
#Politics #GenderInequality #PlanInternational #WorldGirlsDay
SOURCE: brusselstimes
What do you think of this blog? Write down at the COMMENT section below.
No comments:
Post a Comment