FNC report calls for female quotas in parliament

Quotas should be set for a minimum number of female seats in Dubai’s Federal National Council (FNC), according to a parliamentary report released on Monday.

The plan, aimed at boosting the number of women at the emirate’s top table, has already won the backing of Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs, according to UAE daily The National.

The report 'Women in Parliament and Politics in the UAE’ calls for new regulations dubbed “gender neutral quotas” that would mean neither men or women made up less than a set proportion of parliamentary seats.

The report, drawn up by the FNC and the Dubai School of Government, also suggests a system to assess how much input female FNC members had in making decision, along side plans to set up a family affairs committee and more equal citizenship rights for women.

“When people speak of the UAE, they talk about the largest tower, or biggest hotel, or airport, which we are proud of,” said Gargash.

“But underneath that, we have a real success stories, and one of those successes are the women in the UAE,” he added.

“There are still a number of steps we need to take to enhance political participation and the political process,” he said.

In drawing up the report the authors questioned both current FNC members and previous candidates and found that both men and women responded positively to increased female participation.

However, it found that more women (81 percent) than men (57 percent) endorsed the idea of quotas – with some saying that without a quota system, the number of women participating would not increase.

“Those supporting quotas tended to see discrimination as part and parcel of the experience of participating politically and a necessary step to be overcome for a truly inclusive process across all emirates,” said author Dr Al Dabbagh.

The report also calls for women to have their own National Identity Cards in time for the next round of elections, due in 2011.

“In order for the electoral process to be fair and inclusive,” the report said, “women should be allowed to register as individual citizens rather than as dependents on their male guardian’s family book.”