ties than men. Naturally, this means that the num-
bers elected to representative bodies are also low
(see Table 1). While women generally remain
underrepresented in formal politics, this does not
imply that policies formulated and implemented
within the political process do not have a critical
impact on the lives of different groups of women.
Therefore, while examining policy-making and its
outcomes, the gendered nature of the state comes
under significant scrutiny. Usually large numbers of
women work in the public sector but only a few
occupy top positions. This scenario is seen in all
types of political systems.
Data indicate that in the year 2000 the highest
proportion of female public sector administrative
and managerial personnel is found in New Zealand
(44 percent), followed by Fiji Islands (20.7 per-
cent), and Australia (19.5 percent) (see Table 2).
In Southeast Asia, Corazon Aquino of the
Philippines was elected to the presidency after the
fall of the Marcos regime. Megawati Sukarnoputri
of Indonesia is now the president of her country.
Female representation in top elected political bod-
ies in Southeast Asia still remains rather low. Women’s
representation in ministerial and sub-ministerial
positions in some of the Southeast Asian countries
in 1996 was: Thailand 3.8 and 4.5 percent,
Singapore 0 and 7.1 percent, Malaysia 7.7 and 4.7
percent, the Philippines 8.3 and 26.3 percent, and
Indonesia 3.6 and 1.4 percent (UNDP 1996).
The situation of women in terms of political rep-
resentation is not much different in East Asian
countries. In Japan the percentage of women in the
lower and upper houses are 2.3 and 14.7 percent
respectively (Yoko et al. 1994, 396). In South
Korea 2 percent of legislators are women (Sohn
1994, 436). In China women hold 11.1 and 21.1
percent posts at ministerial and sub-ministerial lev-
els (UNDP 1996).
These data point to a rather disappointing state
of affairs. The “virtual exclusion and marginaliza-
tion of women from formal politics” (Chowdhury
and Nelson 1994, 15) cannot be explained by refer-
ring only to women’s socially shaped choices and
social norms. Rather, predominance of a male
ethos of formal politics and culture and formal
political institutions, including political parties,
contributes to the situation. It has been argued that
future enhancement of women’s political engagement
needs to be viewed from a much broader perspec-
tive taking into cognizance gender construction of
the family, civil society, the economy, and official
institutions (Chowdhury and Nelson 1994, 21).
For many years political participation of women
has been used as an indicator of development of a
asia-pacific region 91country and of the status of women in that particu-
lar country. Women’s participation has been meas-
ured against certain critical variables including
their right to vote; their role in political associa-
tions; their participation in various elections; their
success rate in elections; and their role in top pol-
icy-making bodies. Data on these variables are
important, but to be useful they need to be evalu-
ated in terms of social and historical context of
each individual country (Manderson 1980, 10).
A comparatively high proportion of women ac-
tive in the political arena may be due to the class
structure of a particular society that allows women
belonging to the upper strata to participate in much
larger numbers compared to lower-class women
and men.
The rise of all female prime ministers and presi-
dents in politics in South Asia and Southeast Asia is
due to primarily due to the kinship factor. They all
inherited and benefited from political positions of
their late fathers and husbands.
Female leaders, activists, and academics in
Muslim majority countries such as Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan do not feel that
Islam is antithetical to democracy ideologies or that
it hinders women’s active participation in formal
politics. They believe that the spread of education
and opening of economic opportunities for women
will facilitate the challenge to those conservative
religious interpretations that specifically discrimi-
nate against women’s participation in public life.
They believe that Islam upholds the principles of
justice, dignity, and equality (Anwar 2000, 4).
These principles are in clear conformity with
democracy ideologies.Conclusion
The present state of women’s participation in
democratic systems is unacceptable and needs to be
changed. It is strange that the talent, experience,
and wisdom of the vast majority of women in the
Asia-Pacific region remain untapped. In order to
institutionalize democracies and enhance women’s
participation in politics a number of things must
happen. First, commitment, vision, and foresight of
political leadership are important. Second, appro-
priate institutions need to be established and nur-
tured. Third, structural and legal impediments to
the advancement of women need to be removed.
Fourth, governments in Muslim majority countries
should be able and willing to keep conservative
political leaders under check. Finally, a strong and
vibrant civil society should be able to operate with-
out undue governmental restrictions.