WOMEN DIVIDED ON TYPE OF PARLIAMENTARY QUOTA SYSTEM

UNCLAS SANAA 002258 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KWMN PHUM YM SUBJECT: WOMEN DIVIDED ON TYPE OF PARLIAMENTARY QUOTA SYSTEM REF: SANAA 1859 1.(U) A mufraj is a room in a traditional Yemeni home where family, friends, and colleagues gather, chat, and chew qat. Yemenis are known to be open and frank during mufraj discussions. These gatherings are typically gender segregated. This is the first telegram in a series that will deal with Yemeni political and social issues from the point of view of Yemeni women. Summary - - - - 2.(U) Having watched their parliamentary representation steadily wane since unification, Yemeni women see a parliamentary quota as vital to their continued presence on the political scene. Women activists, however, are divided on implementation details, leaving the quota vulnerable to critics and possibly jeopardizing its future. End Summary. Why Yemeni Women are Pushing for a Quota - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3.(U) Whether they are from the tribal north or the former socialist south, Yemeni women continuously complain that their social and political rights diminish with each passing year. Women's participation in parliament is indicative of this regression. Immediately following the 1994 Civil War there were 20 women in the first parliament of unified Yemen. Today, only one of the 301 members of parliament (MPs) is a woman. Many female political activists fear that, if a quota system is not imposed before the 2009 parliamentary elections, there will be no female representation in the next parliament. 4.(SBU) On November 23, Poloff attended a traditional all-female mufraj at the home of Amal Basha, one of Yemen's most outspoken female activists and head of the NGO Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights. Basha began the discussion by insisting that a quota system is absolutely necessary to ensure women are not eliminated from the next parliament. The other eight women present, all civil society activists, supported her claim, adding that ordinary Yemeni women would not vote in support of a woman if their husbands did not. Some in the group also belong to a women's NGO, the National Coalition (NC),and actively hold fora and pressure the ROYG to implement a quota system. A local woman working for UNICEF said that Yemeni women have been influenced by conservative wahabi doctrine, leading many to believe it is sinful for a woman to enter politics. Yemeni Women are Divided as to Which Type of Quota System �A;- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5.(U) In spite of broad agreement on the importance of a quota system, there is no consensus within the women's rights movement on the type of quota to implement. For the past year, Post has provided a Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant to the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to create a Women's Network that brings together Yemeni women politicians from the four major political parties. In response to the women's debates on the quota, NDI produced an extensive legal study that concluded there were three possible quota systems in Yemen: - - Voluntary party quota (VPQ): Each party voluntarily imposes a quota for the number of women candidates in its slate. - - Legal seat quota (LSQ): National law sets aside a specific number of seats for women in parliament. - - Legal candidate quota (LCQ): National law imposes a quota on all political parties specifying the number of women candidates they must run. Closed constituencies reserved for women could also be included in this plan. 6.(U) Each of these options has specific challenges. The VPQ does not guarantee any seats for women. The LSQ requires a national referendum to amend the constitution. (Note: Article 63 of the Yemeni Constitution states: "The House of Representatives consists of 301 members, who shall be elected in a secret, free, and equal vote directly by the people." Some legal experts say that a quota for seats, where the law would compel people to vote for a woman, contradicts the constitution and therefore Article 63 would need to be amended. Article 146 in the Constitution reads that to change Article 63 (along with 20 other articles) a national referendum must be held. End Note). The LCQ requires a change in the Electoral Law or Political Party Law. For this to pass, the majority of parliament would have to vote in its favor. 7.(SBU) Female politicians refuse to agree on what type of quota to support. Women from the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP) continue to demand a 30 percent seat quota, without addressing the need for a national referendum. In typical bargaining fashion, YSP member Wahbia Sabrah told Poloff, "we even want to ask for 50 percent, so they would give us 30 percent. It is our right." The women from the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) Party affirm the President's September 24 reform initiative in which he called for a 15 percent quota for women (reftel). It remains unclear what type of quota the President intended to push, or how this initiative would legally come to fruition. The women from the Islamist Islah Party maintain the autonomy of their party, reiterating that, although they want a quota system, they do not want it to infringe upon the independence or success of Islah. 8.(SBU) Meanwhile, the Yemeni women's rights movement, led by the NC, is striving for a 30 percent seat quota. The NC is not working with, and has yet to consult, female politicians and other women's groups not belonging to its organization. The movement for the quota remains highly politicized, split, and legally uninformed. Comment - - - - 9.(SBU) Those that oppose a quota system have been taking advantage of the division among its proponents, and some have branded the quota as a western idea that violates national unity and Yemeni tradition. Divided among themselves, activist women have been unable to combat these criticisms effectively. Time is quickly running out, meanwhile, and unless the women's movement for a quota quickly unifies in support of one system, there will be no quota before the 2009 parliamentary elections. SECHE