Promoting women’s political participation in the DRC: the fight for gender equality continues
The political participation of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains a crucial issue for gender equality and democratic representativeness. Despite some recent progress, the road to real political parity is still long. This is highlighted by the publication of the lists of candidates for the national legislative elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) last weekend.
Although the increase in the percentage of women candidates is encouraging, from 11% in the 2018 elections to 17% this year, the numbers are still low. Out of more than 23,000 files submitted, only about 4,000 applications are female. Faced with this reality, young women in Kinshasa expressed their views on the obstacles and challenges women face in accessing the political sphere.
Among the brakes that are mentioned, fear occupies an important place. Women are often afraid to engage in politics or other fields, fearing the tensions and conflicts inherent in the political scene. Some voices also point to the influence of Congolese culture, which has historically confined women to domestic roles, relegating politics to a domain reserved for men. This stereotypical vision of the place of women in society has strongly influenced their political participation.
The low representation of women in politics is also closely linked to financial and structural challenges. Women often face greater financial constraints, preventing them from meeting the costs of campaigning and the deposits required to run for office. In addition, women are still too often faced with wage discrimination, with lower salaries than men, which reduces their ability to finance their political engagement.
While legislative advances have been made in the DRC to encourage women’s political participation, the interviews also underline the importance of real constraints to guarantee the implementation of these measures. The young women interviewed agree on the need to raise women’s awareness of the importance of their political participation, but also to strengthen the laws by establishing binding measures for political parties, in order to ensure a fair representation of women on the electoral rolls.
At the same time, it is also essential to work on educating the population to combat gender stereotypes and promote gender equality.. By encouraging women to become massively involved in political parties and by offering them opportunities for access to education and equitable remuneration, the DRC can hope for more equitable political participation and quality representation.
The fight to promote the political participation of women in the DRC must not weaken. It requires continued mobilization of civil society, women’s rights organizations and strong political commitment to gender equality. Only by breaking down cultural barriers, strengthening laws and creating equal opportunities for all, can the DRC achieve true political parity and inclusive democratic representation