Established and growing research results show that women’s leadership in political decision-making processes improves them, writes Ruta Mave.

Having full and equitable participation of women in public life is essential to building and sustaining strong vibrant democracies. 

There is strong evidence that as more women are elected to office there is also an increase in policy making that emphasises quality of life, and has profound positive and democratic impacts on communities by championing issues of gender equality, such as the elimination of gender-based violence, increased parental leave and childcare, pensions gender-equality laws and electoral reform for all citizens.

We have women in power, we have women in politics, we have women in government, however, they are not the trailblazers that evoke change and improvement for our community they are merely placeholders.

We had a woman as head of the health ministry during covid, didn’t hear a peep out of her. We have a woman as head of the agriculture ministry who when on the few days the government decide to sit in parliament, she is away and was not present for the presentation of the water tariff petition or decision from the select committee. 

We have a woman head of the opposition who pops her head up after the horse has bolted to China and says ‘someone left the stable door open; can someone close the stable door?

We have women in parliament who are there because their husband is overseas or in jail. They showed no interest in politics prior made no comments regarding the health of the nation and yet once their husband is absent for whatever reason, they stand for his seat, get his seat and are now keeping it warm for him to come back to it, whenever.

That is not what we women want to see or need to have as a representation of what women can do in power. We don’t need the token gesture to sit idly by while we are being charged for water, while prices of standard living expenses are soaring higher, while our wages are frozen and they receive three times more money than the average wage earner while not doing any work.

We want and need women and men, people who will represent our wants and needs and fight for the basic human care elements that are being forgotten about, while they the politicians, give themselves another 400 thousand dollars extra spending for their travel expenses.

Not one of those women in our political parliament stood up and fought to have that money be redirected to spend on women’s health, women’s victim support or women’s family rights.

We don’t need women in politics who are ‘muppets’ men-puppets we need independent thinking, strong willed, women of integrity who are not scared to speak up and out against injustice and immoral acts of greed, lust and self-indulgence that we are currently seeing from our male leaders and members of parliament.

With women in power more decisions are made to improve poverty reduction and to increase service delivery to areas that affect the whole community. If we had real women in power not muppets they would have fixed the roads around the whole island by now.

Research indicates including women in the earliest stages of decision making enhances stability, decreases corruption in political institutions and promotes higher living standards in health care and education.

The fight for banning tariffs on residential water supply, which means charging residents for water when previously our tax was assigned to cover it for the past 60 years, is led by a majority of women.  These women have on behalf of the community, worked tirelessly of unpaid hours and days to research, read and fight for the future of all the people of the Cook Islands, women, children and men to protect them from these charges. Meanwhile, men make decisions that allow an executive board to exist paying six people over 100 thousand dollars each, to do? Of the six, there is one female representation on the board. Note there is a legislation requirement, that no board can be governed by only one gender.

Antonio Guterres Secretary General of the United Nations said “From pushback to roll back, women’s human rights are under attack. Instead of women claiming equal rights, we are seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny a contempt and prejudice against women. Together, let’s stand firm in making rights, equality and empowerment a reality for all women and girls, for everyone everywhere, because when women participate in negotiations peace lasts longer. When girls can go to school entire generations lift out of poverty. When women enjoy equal job opportunities, economies grow stronger. And with parity in political leadership, decisions are fairer policies are sharper, and societies are more just.

Simply put, when women and girls rise, everyone thrives.”