Legislative Quotas for Women: A global and ... - Aurat Foundation

Types of quotasThere are three different types of quotas in vogue today and each isimplemented through various formal or informal mechanisms.(i) Reserved seats (constitutional and/or legislative)Reserved seats regulate the number of women elected through partylists of nominations or direct constituency-based elections. Such quotaprovisions are provided for in the Constitution. They are generally inthe form of reserved seats. Constitutional or legislative quotasnormally try to reserve a number of places on electoral lists for femalecandidates or reserve a number of seats in an assembly for women. Itis done through a clause in the constitution or by legislation whichstipulates that a certain percentage or number among those electedmust be women. Increasingly, gender quotas are being introducedusing reserved seat systems.There are many countries where a quota has been imposed throughthe constitution. These include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Rwanda,Uganda and Afghanistan where seats are reserved for women inlegislatures. In India, a quota of 30 per cent at the local level isenshrined in the constitution.Countries with reserved seats quotasEastern Africa(9)Other Africa(2)Southern Asia(3)Other Asia(2)Burundi Egypt Afghanistan KyrgyzstanDjibouti Niger Bangladesh JordanEritreaPakistanKenyaRwandaSomaliaTanzaniaUganda The quota type is prevalent in 16 countries of Africa and Asia,mostly in growing democracies22