Role of women’s movements in enhancing women's participation in political decision making
Women organizations have provided a platform for women’s participation in the political process.Women leaders who have been active in political organizations have builtup courage to seek the electorate vote.Women's movements thus play a role in outgrowing the traditional perception by women.The boldness and courage amazed at the organizations catapults omen forward to seek greater leadership shots.The movements have also served to educate women on their rights.As a result of this the women have increasingly become aware of their rights and thus are therefore in a better position to venture into politics without reservations.Women’s movements serve to empower women economically especially at grass root levels ,where they engage in income generating projects.As a result this serves as aforum for liberating women from dependence on men.The women thus become more confident and can openly exercise their freedom especially politically.Women candidates must endeavor to make themselves visible and utilize whatever means available to ensure their election and nomination, and the rest of the women movements need to lobby parties to exercise affirmative action rather than discriminate against the few women candidates.Others not in politics must support women candidates particularly towards giving them visibility through organizations,election monitoring wearing gender lenses.Women movements also ought to build the capacity of women delegated in the art of lobbying and negotiating at constitutional conferences so as to ensure that new constitutions have adequate and non contradictory provisions for women's rights and justice,on mattes of ownership,control,representation and decision making.
Affirmative action as a strategy
Affirmative action is a deliberate policy adopted by a government for the good, any historically disadvantaged groups of the society.It originated from united states to address imbalance arising from slavery and segregation.The term was coined by president Lyndon B Johnson in 1965.He said that federal contractors should take affirmative action to ensure federal employees would be treated without regard to race ,colour,sex or nation of origin.Subsequently in 1969, president Nixon instituted a policy on affirmative action under which contractors seeking federal finding had to ensure that minorities were adequately represented in the workplace.A lot of understandings have existed over the policy and myths have arisen over the same.Inthe United states it is said it is for the benefit of the minorities and thus a preferential treatment .The truth is it has been used for thebenefit of the minorities as well as the majorities.More precisely, affirmative action is positive discrimination and not preferential treatment.Indeed affirmative action is equal treatment because people of unequal positions are given treatment that would put them at per with more advantaged persons antthus achieve equality.This has succeeded in education,employment among others.In the united states,affirmative action is defined to mean a series of programs which include special efforts to promote women and minorities in the united states who had been excluded from the mainstream of participation in that countries sphere.Affirmative action plan identifies jobs in which women are least employed and ensures they are employed in sufficient numbers.Affirmative action received a lot of critics example from muslim women thus posing a threat to the quest for liberation.