Ramallah,Palestine/Amman,Jordan - In Palestine and Jordan the quota system has been applied to give women representatives kick start into politics. A handful of women are now in village and city councils and in parliament. But while this has increased the visibility of women, the political experiment has yet to produce any serious policy changes. Women continue to suffer poverty and unemployment as well as physical violence and discrimination on various levels.
Non-governmental women's organizations have been mostly limited to the elite and their progressive positions are little more than lip service. Many times, these organizations and their leaders are part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
Religion has fed into the problems women face. Religious men claiming to be the only ones entitled to translate the message of God have pushed the rights of women further back.
Despite the vast increase of female TV presenters, women's issues are still not properly represented by the male dominated newsrooms and editorial boards. Statements of authority, whether they be from experts or spokespersons, still come almost entirely from males while women are interviewed on "soft" news items.
Please e-mail PostGlobal if you'd like to receive an email notification when PostGlobal sends out a new question.
