Proposed Temporary Special Measures for women in Provincial Assemblies to be tabled in 12th Parliament

The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA) is committed to table the proposed amendment to the Provincial Government Amendment Bill (PGAB) 2018 that will establish  temporary special measures (TSM) to guarantee additional seats for women in Provincial Assemblies  in the first Parliament Seating of the 12th Parliament. 

The Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) on 29th December 2023 through  Cabinet made a landmark decision and endorsed a proposed amendment to the Provincial  Government Amendment Bill (PGAB) 2018 that will establish TSM to  guarantee additional seats for women in Provincial Assemblies. 

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs Dr Cedrick  Alependava said ‘This is history-in-the-making, a milestone achievement for every Solomon Islands  woman.  

He said the Ministry, especially the Women’s Development Division together with the Ministry of  Provincial Government & Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS) and their partners expresses their sincere gratitude to the Prime Minister and the DCGA for their leadership and their desire to see  politics in the Solomon Islands become more inclusive of women. 

“Politics has always been seen as a man’s space for various reasons which has historically resulted in  the low representation and participation of women in politics both at National and Provincial Level,”  he said.  

Since Independence, for 45 years, only six women have ever been voted into Parliament. At Provincial Assembly Level only 16 women have ever been voted into Provincial Assemblies  at different terms. The proposed TSM Amendment to the PGAB 2018 intends to address this  historically under representation and participation of women in Provincial Assemblies. 

The TSM endorsement by Cabinet was the result of approximately six years of work led by the  Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, Ministry of Provincial Government &  Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS) and partners: Women’s Rights Action Movement (WRAM),  Solomon Islands National Council of Women (SINCW) and the Honiara City Council (HCC). 

 The work carried out included conducting awareness and consultations on the proposed TSM  amendment to the Provincial Government Amendment Bill 2018 with all nine Provincial Assemblies  and Executives; rural communities across all nine Provinces; women groups and women leaders; and  relevant government ministries and agencies. 

The nation-wide awareness and consultations showed strong support for the proposed TSM  Amendment including all nine Provincial Assemblies who gave their official support through Assembly  Conclusion Papers. 

Caretaker Minister for MWYCFA, Hon Freda Rangirei Rotutafi in her statement after Cabinet  endorsement last December said ‘The use of TSM as a strategy to guarantee the additional seats for  women in Provincial Assemblies has been one of the DCGA’s commitment to advancing gender  equality in Solomon Islands.  

She said the DCGA Cabinet endorsement is our fulfillment of this commitment and therefore a cause  for celebration for all women of this country and especially those who aspire to become political  leaders.  

“My Ministry is very happy to be able to fulfil this policy commitment on behalf of the DCGA. 

“We also would like to sincerely thank all the nine Provincial Assemblies for their consistent support  to this work over the past six years. We thank also all the women, men and youth leaders in our rural  communities who have supported the consultations and expressed their support for TSM providing  the much-needed evidence to support the proposed TSM amendment’  

The Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs and its partners would also like to take this  opportunity to thank the Australian Government for their financial and technical support in enabling  the TSM awareness and consultations to reach the rural and remote areas of Solomon Islands.  

Lastly, the Ministry would like to give a sincere thank you to its partners: the WRAM, the SINCW and  HCC for the great partnership in ensuring the much needed preparatory work is met in preparation  for the cabinet submission. 

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MWYCFA