Demand for women legislators high in Solomon Islands

Women's rights advocates in the Solomon Islands are urging their government to act on the findings of a recent survey which show that 89 percent of respondents want more women in Parliament. Observers say the survey results show either a major shift in citizen's attitudes towards women, or they have shattered a long-held myth that Solomon Island voters deem women unsuitable to serve as parliamentarians. The current 50-member parliament has no women, and this has been the trend since independence, except on a few rare occasions. The research was part of the '2007 People's Survey' begun in 2006. Convened by the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), its aim was to find out public perceptions and attitudes on key development and social issues related to the work by RAMSI -- a partnership involving 15 contributing countries of the Pacific region. The survey found that eighty-nine percent of respondents said there should be women in parliament, while six percent said there should be none. Four percent did not know. Men and people from Malaita province were most likely to say women should not be in parliament (nine percent and 10 percent) and women least likely (four percent). Ninety-one percent of people said they would vote for a woman; five percent would not. The survey covered a cross-section of the Solomon Islands population, of around 570,000 people, taking into account age, education, gender, income level and geographic location. Eighty-five interviewers, field liaison officers and supervisors were hired to cover eight provinces and one municipal area (Honiara, the capital city). Between Apr. 30 and May 22, a total of 5,154 respondents were interviewed, comprising approximately equal numbers of men, women, young men and young women. The results add significance to various studies have revealed that the Solomon Islands low socio-economic status is in part due to the lack of women in positions of power and the overall disadvantaged position of women, who make up 45 percent of the 552,438 population. In the 2005 UN Human Development Index, the Solomon Islands scored 0.594, giving it a ranking of 128th of 177 countries. In the 2007/08 report, it scored 0.602, giving it a rank of 129th out of 177 countries. This places it among the poorest in the Pacific, and at par with some of the poorer African countries Mathias Meabir, a training officer with the Solomon islands national Council for women, told IPS that the respondents, in making the call for more women in Parliament, were reacting to the political instability and the related socio-economic problems experienced by the country in recent years. The male-dominated political scene in the country of 552,438 people is characterized by weak political parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions that are subject to frequent votes of no confidence. Government leadership changes frequently as a result and cabinet shuffles are common. Meabir, a liaison officer for the 2007 People's Survey, told IPS that there was a perception among people that male-dominated Parliaments had failed to deliver and that women deserved a chance. "Straight after the 2006 elections, we had a major crisis with burning and rioting in Honiara," he noted. One of the problems, he said, has been the lack of female candidates running for elections. This, in large part, stems from the lack of educated women in the country. While about 48 percent of the population is women, only around 17 to 20 percent are literate. The absence of women in parliament became such a sticking point that a former prime minister, Bartholomew Ulufa'alu, once recommended that women be appointed rather than elected into Parliament. His call was supported by some women's leaders who said that well-ingrained cultural beliefs and gender stereotypes were keeping women out of Parliament. According to Meabir, the disparity in literacy levels was the legacy of "our forefathers giving boys preference over girls when it came to education.'' "If the money for school fees, was insufficient, boys would get first preference to go to school while the girls would be kept at home." Meabir added that despite government initiatives and policies, progress had been painfully slow due to either lack of commitment or resources. In 2000, Hilda Karl, the then minister for women, admitted as much at United Nations General Assembly, noting that despite the best efforts of her Government, women were still under-represented at policy and management levels in the public and private sectors, the non-government organisations and churches. While school enrolment figures for girls had increased, they were still among the lowest in the Pacific, particularly at secondary level. Maternal and infant mortality death rates had decreased but they were still high by developed world standards, she said. Karl was touting her government's adoption of the 1999 Solomon Islands National Women's Policy to enhance the status of women in the country. Observers say that the level of progress made will become clear in a soon-to-be published survey, but they contend that the country still lags behind. Lorio Sisiolo, the coordinator of the Family Support Centre in Honiara, told IPS that domestic violence, sexual assault and child sexual and physical abuse remain significant problems. She said that there was an urgent need to have more women in decision-making positions too see improvements in women and child welfare and in the socio-economic status of the country as whole. Sisiolo said that an example of the slow pace of change was that domestic violence was still treated as common assault under the country's penal code. "Women have feelings, especially when they have been through the traumas inflicted by men. They are more likely to lobby for changes," she said. Aside from reducing the literacy gap, the promotion of maternal and child health care and family planning are seen as priority areas for the Solomons government. Various reports have recommended a greater investment in education and in primary and preventive health, saying this will have a major payoff in terms of the improved socio-economic status of all members of Solomon Islands society.