Women in Governing Institutions in South Asia Parliament, Civil Serv

This edited volume examines policies aimed at increasing the representation of women in governing institutions in six South Asian countries. Divided into three parts, it addresses the implications of uniformity and diversity for the substantive representa

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Edited by

Nizam Ahmed

Women in Governing Institutions in South Asia

Nizam Ahmed Editor

Women in Governing Institutions in South Asia Parliament, Civil Service and Local Government

Editor Nizam Ahmed University of Chittagong Chittagong, Bangladesh

ISBN 978-3-319-57474-5 ISBN 978-3-319-57475-2  (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57475-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017940623 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image: Cover design by Samantha Johnson Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

To Members of South Asian Network for Governance Studies

Preface

South Asia, as Sobhan has argued, is united by a common thread of misgovernance. Several reasons may account for the lack of good governance in the region, of which the ineffectiveness of governing institutions, particularly parliament, civil service and local government, is very important. These institutions have had an asymmetrical growth, with the bureaucracy predating the other two. Parliament is the youngest among the three institutions of governance. These, however, share one attribute—all three can be considered as ‘gendered’ institutions. In fact, lack of gender balance in different governing institutions is one of the important reasons for their ineffectiveness. Different countries in the region have adopted measures in recent years to mainstream gender in these institutions, among other things, by adopting a policy of ‘positive discrimination’. This has led to an increase in the number of women at different levels. Women have also fared well while competing with men for jobs/seats in different institutions