Women and democracy
There is now a consensus that for a political sys-
tem to be called democratic it must have certain
characteristics: open political competition, a multi-
party system, civil and political rights guaranteed
by law, and accountability operating through an
electoral relationship between citizens and their
representatives (Luckham and White 1996, 2).
There has also been continuing tension within dem-
ocratic theory between popular sovereignty and the
power of the elite, between representatives and par-
ticipatory principles, and between partial interests
and common interests (Luckham and White 1996, 3).
Criticisms leveled against democracy range from
questioning its theoretical foundations to its ad-
verse impact on women in democracies. Liberal
democratic theory is considered essentially gen-
dered and it perpetuates patterns of patriarchy and
gender subordination both in polity and society
(Rai 1996). For feminists, liberal democracy has failed
to serve the interests of women (Mendus 1992, Phil-
lips 1993). It has also been stated that women never
have been and still are not admitted as full and
equal members in any democratic country (Pateman
1989, 210). The feminist critique of democracy is
premised on women’s subordinate position in econ-
omy, polity, and society. Feminists point out that
the underrepresentation of women in liberal demo-
cratic polities is due to emphasis on the individual
as the legitimate actor in democratic politics and
the division between public and private spheres
(Rai 1996). In the context of the Third World it has
been argued that this division inhibits mass partic-
ipation of women in politics and consequently in the
democratic process affecting them (Rai 1994, 209).
The basic objection of feminists is that the objec-
tive of democratization has not materialized in
democratic systems. Democratization is expected
to take place under conditions in which power
resources have become so widely distributed that
no group is any longer able to suppress its competi-
tors or maintain its hegemony (Vanhanen 1997, 5).
Feminists have challenged the relationship between
democracy and democratization. They contend
that a separation has been made between democ-
racy (a political method) and institutional arrange-
ment from democratization (a social and political
process) (Pateman 1996, 7). The resultant dicho-
tomy further weakens position of women vis-à-vis
men because women may be enjoying certain rights
in democracy while in the wider arena, namely
democratization, they may be denied certain other
rights that are products of sociopolitical interac-
tions, belief systems, and capacities of individuals
in particular societies (Khan 2001, 3).90 democracy ideologies
Asia-Pacific region
The Asia-Pacific region consists of diverse coun-
tries with different populations and cultural her-
itages (Chung 1991, 103). The region’s population
reached 3.4 billion in the early 1990s (UN 1993, 2).
The social landscape of this region has a wide spec-
trum of variations in the circumstances of women
in such areas as workforce participation rates, earn-
ing opportunities, levels of education, health status,
fertility, political representation, and participation
in government. Such differences are in part
accounted for by the extent, type, and quality of
interventions of government on behalf of women in
society (Sobhan 1992, 1).
The large number of countries in the region have
various kinds of political systems. In South Asia,
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka there are
democracies while Pakistan remains under military
rule. In East Asia, Japan has been a stable democ-
racy for half a century and South Korea and Taiwan
have carried out significant democratic transitions
during the past decade. China, North Korea, and
Vietnam are non-democracies. In Southeast Asia,
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and the
Philippines have in place competitive elections, par-
liament with opposition representation, reasonably
well-established norms of political competition,
rule of law, and legalized opposition political par-
ties. Burma remains firmly under the control of a
military junta. In the Pacific region, Australia
and New Zealand have remained vibrant demo-
cratic systems. Papua New Guinea has maintained
a democratic system since gaining independence in
1975.
A survey of the region shows that women are far
from achieving equal participation in decision-
making and leadership positions. By 1995 only 24
women had ever been elected as heads of state or
government (Corner 1997, 2). In 1994 women held
5.7 percent of posts of cabinet minister. There has
been a wide level of variation in terms of women’s
parliamentary representation.
Though female leaders such as Indira Gandhi and
Sonia Gandhi of India, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh
Hasina of Bangladesh, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan,
and Srimavo Bandaranike and Chandrika Kumara-
tunga of Sri Lanka have dominated the political
scene in recent decades, women in South Asia still
have the lowest rates of participation in systems of
governance. Women occupy only 7 percent of par-
liamentary seats; only 9 percent of cabinet ministers
are women; and only 20 percent of members of
local governments are women (HDC 2000, 136).
At the grassroots level women on the whole con-
stitute a much smaller membership of political par-