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EDITORIAL TUeSDAy, OCTOBer 16, 2018 4 Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam Telephone: +8802-9104683-84, Fax: 9127103 e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com Tuesday, October 16, 2018 Specialized body to deal with disasters W e have a disaster management ministry. Nonetheless, it is no overstatement to say that preparing for disasters of all sorts and coping with them call for a greater engagement by the government in all respects. The incidents of building collapse and fire incidents in past years that posed serious problems in clearing the collapsed structures or dousing out the fires, showed up that capacities were somewhat lagging to face up to such situations quickly and very effectively. Although Bangladesh has earned a good name for dealing with disasters, internationally, the same are actually and mainly limited to battling such natural disasters as cyclones in the coastal areas. But it cannot be said that our abilities for dealing with the destructions of the type noted in the Dhaka region from building collapse, fire incidents, etc., have similarly improved very much. The fire department is spread thin all over the country. But it is expected to be the first actor to respond to calls for rescue be it a case of fire or a building collapse. Only about 1,500 fire fighters are available for the Dhakaregion and their equipment are not sufficient to take on successfully big fire incidents. In the event of several major fire incidents, they would be found very hard pressed to cope successfully with all of them. The available equipment with them are not capable of reaching well above three stories. In the event of an earthquake of the sort that have been predicted for Dhaka causing a series of building collapses, the capacity of the present fire department would be simply overwhelmed. Thus, there is a compelling need to add to the capacities of the fire fighting department. Its regular members need to be increased largely to maintain an appropriate number for discharging duties in Dhaka city and elsewhere. Volunteers in large number also need to be raised and drilled well for duty under any disaster situations like earthquakes in the urban areas. Rescue equipment like heavy cranes and other gears are practically few at the disposal of the fire service. But government should aim to get them in adequate number under a time-bound framework and train personnel for operating them quickly and efficiently . In sum, government should beef up its abilities to draw from in the event of large scale disasters striking specially the urban areas. The preparedness should include both manpower and equipment. The urban areas likeDhaka are in need of special protection as they hold the major concentrations of wealth or assets in the country. Resources are scarce and, therefore, preparations need to be taken to reduce the impact of disasters and in cases of their happening, to keep economic losses in different forms as low as possible. One may contend that there are always disciplined forces like the armed forces to be deployed on a large scale to cope with disaster conditions like earthquakes, building collapses, storms, etc. But it needs to be realized by policymakers that it is professionally neither the tasks nor the field of expertise of the armed forces to be engaged in this manner. Professionally, their main tasks is to militarily fight foreign enemy forces from across the borders and they are expressly trained for that purpose. The forces of the 9th Army Division just happened to be stationed near the building collapse site at Savar some years ago and members of its engineering wing could be used to good advantage for rescue efforts and rubble clearing during the Rana Plaza tragedy. But professionally they are neither equipped nor motivated or trained to deal with such situations. That they did a good job nevertheless, is our good fortune. But it is not logical or practical to demand or to get similar services from the armed forces in all such cases. Thus, it is only normal to think and expect that effective trained bodies of volunteers, regular employees to be paid from the public purse, they should be systematically raised, trained and supported by appropriate logistical capacities, to work in the aftermath of disaster situations. Such a body or organization can be raised and maintained exclusively under the Disaster Management Ministry for optimum and timely activities when faced with disaster conditions. Confusing denuclearization signals from Korean Peninsula South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepared the groundwork for the June summit between North Korea and the US in Singapore by inviting a huge North Korean delegation to the Pyeongchang Olympics in consultation with US President Donald Trump. This was followed by quick diplomatic exchanges between North and South Korea and opened up diplomatic space for the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's meeting with Trump. The summit between Kim and Trump on June 12 was conceived as a major breakthrough to usher in peace on the Korean Peninsula by ending North Korea's many years of isolation from the US and its allies and heralding the process of denuclearization on the peninsula. The liberal Moon government is inclined to create a peaceful environment in the peninsula, not only to increase the likelihood of larger inflows of foreign direct investment into South Korea (tensions between North and South Korea have evidently dampened FDI), it also seeks to expand the South Korean market by dismantling economic barriers between the two Koreas. Moon may have a vision of a unified Korea that could deter external powers from taking advantage of the division, as history has been witness to how Korea became a Japanese colony because of palpable factionalism within the Korean leadership. Moon's rise to the presidency ended 60 years of dominance by conservative governments that used inter-Korean tensions largely for their electoral advantage. In the past, a liberal government During May's local elections [in Ilford,Britain] the Conservative party printed and distributed a leaflet with no policies and no achievements, bearing the headline, "What we're doing/have done for ward/area name". It had mistakenly put out a template. Underneath came numbered bullet points next to a list of what were intended to be accomplishments, which began: "Issue 1 We've done: Three lines of text about what issues/projects/policies you've already done or are doing or will be doing in your ward/area." It continued all the way up to Issue 4. Since the Brexit referendum, the Conservatives have conducted themselves less like a party fit to govern than a calamitous metaphor fit for a meme. If May is not coughing, she's dancing; if the party conference slogan isn't falling off the wall during her speech, it juxtaposes the promise "Security, Stability, Opportunity" in 2015 with just "Opportunity" this year. A near-empty conference hall addressed by ministers sits tellingly beside a bustling fringe where leadership contenders top the bill. With the rhetorical vacuity, scripted conviction and managed spontaneity laid bare, all that is left is a hollow shell where a political party might be. Just over three years after Jeremy Corbyn won Labour's leadership election, our understanding of the role a party can play in political life has been reimagined. Not so long ago, parties stood for electoral power. Anything less was irrelevant; anything more was unnecessary. It was a MANOj KUMAr MIShrA was in power only from 1998 to 2008. However, Moon this time shows more resolve to end tensions on the peninsula and work toward promising prosperity in the region. However, when South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha made a reference to lifting a trade and investment embargo imposed on the North in 2010, the government was apparently pressured to disown any such plans after Trump's remark that Seoul could do "nothing" without Washington's "approval." The Trump administration has preferred to adopt a dual strategy toward Pyongyang in the shape of limited diplomatic gestures such as opening up channels for meetings between political leaders along with a policy of coercion in the form of continued sanctions in an attempt to attain the objective of denuclearizing North Korea. The US policies seek to oblige North Korea to destroy and abandon its nuclear program unilaterally, and sanctions are not feat to be attained not through active engagement with members and voters, but to be directed by a professional class of politicians and their advisers, pollsters and marketers. If turnout plummeted, disaffection grew or confidence in the process dissipated, never mind. (Paradoxically, many of those in New Labour who clung most fiercely to this credo are also those most incandescent at one of its most obvious consequences: Brexit.) Politics, crudely reduced to electoralism, was not something people got involved in but something that was imposed on them. "The age of party democracy has passed," the late Irish political scientist Peter Mair declared in Ruling the Void, published posthumously in 2013, two years after he died. "Although the parties themselves remain, they have become so disconnected from the wider society and pursue a form of competition that is so lacking meaning that they no longer seem capable of AjMAL ShAMS likely to be waived in response to anything short of this target. The sanctions seem to be primarily aimed at assuaging the widespread fear of a country that has been internationally insular but poses an ominous nuclear and missile threat. In this light, the coercive measures are understood as an effective way to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in the wider region. In tune with the Trump administration's "America First" policy, Washington believes that a strategy of coercion will relieve the US of its security entanglements and commitments to protect vulnerable countries from the North Korean nuclear threat and hence enable Washington to concentrate more on building up its own strength. Further, Washington needs to view the summit in Singapore as one of the initial steps toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, which needs to be followed up with more such dialogues. There are GAry yOUNGe sustaining democracy in its present form." Under Corbyn's leadership, that began to change. Indeed, his very election to leader - which twice pitted members foursquare against the parliamentary party and twice saw members prevail - shows that he is not only an agent of that change but a product of it. Labour's membership has virtually trebled in size, now standing at around 550,000. Anything that grows that fast and shifts its orientation that dramatically will have challenges. Many new members are passive; some prioritise a left agenda within the party; others see the party as a route to social activism in their communities; some joined because they want to get rid of Corbyn. Corbyn's political beliefs and abilities as leader have been debated endlessly by many on these pages, myself included. But the point here is not about him, but the nature of the party he now leads, and which now stands transformed. There are positive indications from Pyongyang. First, efforts at destroying the tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site were undertaken in the presence of foreign journalists; second, nuclear and missile tests have reportedly been frozen; and third, three American prisoners of the Korean War have been returned. Pyongyang's recent invitation to nuclear inspectors to visit the Punggye-ri nuclear test site has not aroused much optimism in the US strategic community However, doubts have persisted within the US strategic circle pertaining to the fact that an inspection team was not allowed to visit the nuclear site. As well, suspicions remain as to North Korea's intentions and progress toward denuclearization as the process lacked Pyongyang's commitment to continued verification and dismantlement of existing nuclear stockpiles and related facilities. Pyongyang's recent invitation to nuclear inspectors to visit the Punggye-ri nuclear test site has not aroused much optimism in the US strategic community. There are questions over whether inspectors would be allowed to visit the Yongbyon site, which produces fuel for nuclear weapons. Amid the personal praise that Trump and Kim heap on each other, the cancellation of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang and remarks from North Korea that the Trump administration was making "gangster-like demands" earlier pointed to possible hitches in any progress toward complete denuclearization. Source: Asia Times Three years of Labour under Corbyn has changed British politics Afghanistan will hold its parliamentary election on Saturday. This will be the third time post-Taliban that the country has gone to the polls to elect members to the lower house of parliament, known as Wolesi Jirga - its official name as per the Afghan constitution. More than 2,000 candidates are running nationwide for 249 seats, including those reserved for women, which are aimed at encouraging their role in national politics. Afghanistan has a strong presidential system. The role of the lower house of parliament is to legislate, monitor the performance of the government, approve the national budget and endorse members of the Cabinet. The parliament must also play its role with regards to important national issues in the form of parliamentary debates, and as adviser to the executive branch of the state. Unfortunately, the legislative branch of government is quite often at loggerheads with the remaining two pillars of the state - the executive and the judiciary. Democracy is yet to institutionalize in Afghanistan and members of the parliament often fail to fulfill their roles. Some members are hardly even aware of what their constitutional roles are, never mind fulfilling them. Electoral politics in Afghanistan is unfortunately not issue-based. The The US policies seek to oblige North Korea to destroy and abandon its nuclear program unilaterally, and sanctions are not likely to be waived in response to anything short of this target. The sanctions seem to be primarily aimed at assuaging the widespread fear of a country that has been internationally insular but poses an ominous nuclear and missile threat. Since the Brexit referendum, the Conservatives have conducted themselves less like a party fit to govern than a calamitous metaphor fit for a meme. If May is not coughing, she's dancing; if the party conference slogan isn't falling off the wall during her speech, it juxtaposes the promise "Security, Stability, Opportunity" in 2015 with just "Opportunity" this year. A near-empty conference hall addressed by ministers sits tellingly beside a bustling fringe where leadership contenders top the bill. With the rhetorical vacuity. capital Kabul has a large number of candidates that originate from across the country. It is unfortunate that they will get votes based on ethnicity, language and geographic affiliations, not beliefs or political or economic policies. The majority of candidates have put slogans on their election brochures that are beyond the jurisdiction of the parliament, often falling within the powers of the executive branch of the government. Saturday's election offers the people of Afghanistan the chance to send new faces to parliament in a bid to redefine the country's parliamentary politics in the interest of the nation. Past experiences from Afghan elections are not very encouraging. It often takes months, not days, for Afghan election results to be finalized, mainly due to dispute resolutions, complaints regarding election frauds, and accusations of irregularities that need to be investigated. It is hoped that the measures taken by the national unity government will speed up the election results announcement this time. Parliamentary politics in Afghanistan Afghanistan has a strong presidential system. The role of the lower house of parliament is to legislate, monitor the performance of the government, approve the national budget and endorse members of the Cabinet. The parliament must also play its role with regards to important national issues in the form of parliamentary debates, and as adviser to the executive branch of the state. Unfortunately, the legislative branch of government is quite often at loggerheads with the remaining two pillars of the state - the executive and the judiciary. is often replete with practices that are very unhealthy for democracy. For example, most parliamentarians run around ministries and other executive organs of the state for personal requests, appointments and to get governmental contracts. The Afghan Cabinet must get the endorsement of the lower house of parliament as per the constitution - this leaves ministers at the mercy of the parliamentarians. Not agreeing to their demands, even if some, of course, who are either unwilling or unable to make that distinction. Branding those who support his leadership a "cult", they insist this is merely evidence of blind personal devotion. This was never true (though those who mistake Twitter for real life could be mistaken for thinking otherwise). During his first election in 2015, Corbyn won 44 per cent of people who joined the party before 2010 and 49 per cent of those who joined when Ed Miliband was leader - significantly more than any of his challengers and a clear sign of a far broader, deeper shift in the direction of the party. In any case, if it is a cult, it's not a very good one. Cults, by definition, are bodies of tight discipline and mass orthodoxy - that was New Labour. It in no way describes the party at present. At this year's party conference there were profound disagreements among people who support Corbyn - over Brexit, a second referendum and party democracy. Some constituency delegates booed and berated union leaders when proposals to democratise the party were watered down. Similarly there was heckling and cheering of speakers making arguments for and against a second referendum on Brexit, and whether there should be a remain option. One needn't endorse the jeering to acknowledge that it emerged from what was clearly a spirited and engaged debate. People felt they had a stake. Source: Gulf news Afghans have chance to redefine nation's democracy illegitimate, could mean a threat of noconfidence. This has created a vicious circle within the parliamentary politics of Afghanistan. It is hoped the upcoming parliament puts an end to this tradition. Afghanistan is still experimenting with its fledgling democracy. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) must make sure that the elections are held in a fair and transparent manner. There are ongoing rumors that the government favors certain candidates at the cost of others. For the strengthening of democracy, the IEC must act completely impartially by providing a level playing field for all candidates, including the hundreds of women. Any interference by the government will set a bad example for future electoral events. Let the people decide who goes to parliament, not the government. The upcoming election is important in that a large number of young and emerging politicians are in the field. In terms of demography, Afghanistan is one of the youngest countries in the world, where more than 60 percent of the population is below the age of 30. The election offers the country the chance to send new faces to the parliament that can redefine Afghanistan's parliamentary politics in the interest of the nation. Source: Arab News
DEVELOPMENT Tuesday, Fertile Iraqi regions suffers from severe drought October 16, 2018 5 Adel Fakhir Iraq's farmlands are declining due to lack of rainfall and depleted soils, a report by the country's Central Bureau of Statistics has revealed. Wheat and barley were affected particularly hard, the report said, but it also observed a general decline in the yield per acre of Iraq's farmland due to "off-season rainfall and dust storms". Wheat production was estimated at just over two million tons for the winter season of 2018, a 27% decrease from last year. The crop was cultivated on land totaling around 3,154 dunums (a traditional land measure, one dunum is equal to 2,500 square metres), down 25% to last year. Barley production also declined, the report found. This year, only around 191,000 tonnes were produced, a decline of 37% to 2017, and this was grown on 601 dunums of land, which is 27% less than the year before. Farmers said the main reason for their difficulties in growing wheat and barley was lack of water. Sabih Sawadi, who cultivates 100 dunums in Qalat Sukkar, a town in Dhi Qar district, said his land was not getting enough water to irrigate crops well enough to grow. "Irrigating the plants requires large water pumps, which need very expensive fuel," he said, adding that tilling and harvesting were also expensive. "Before the water crisis in the country, irrigation did not require any pumps." Sawadi added that the soil on his land has been getting more salty, due to the lack of regular rain. Haidar al-Assad, who sits on an advisory board for Iraq's ministry of agriculture, predicted that areas planted with wheat and barley crops will be halved during the 2018-2019 crop cycle. "These areas cannot be used to grow other crops for the winter season unless they are wet or have access to artesian wells, which are very expensive," said Assad, who also heads the General Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations in Iraq. Due to the ongoing Iraqi civil war, the country lacks information on many of its most vulnerable regions, the report said. Conflict over water Formerly fertile regions in Iraq now suffer lack of grain and fruits. exacerbates problems in regions that are already seeing daily violence, making it difficult for surveyors to assess the scale of the problem. The report's authors did not obtain data from the districts of Nineveh, Anbar and Salah al-Din due to ongoing conflict in Western Iraq. For the same reason, Hawja district in Kirkuk and some villages in the Diyala district were also not monitored. The report's authors were not able to obtain data from the governments of Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and Erbil in Kurdistan, they said. The government has little money to help farmers adapt to water scarcity and changing weather conditions, says Mohamed Hamza, a professor of water strategy at Duhok University. "Since 2003, there have been no financial allocations to monitor and address climate change and its impact on the Iraqi economy, agriculture and environment," he said. In lieu of internal monitoring, Iraq relies on UN agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Photo: Panos Organization, the development agency Unesco and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. In September 2017, the ESCWA held a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss the impact of climate change on the Middle East. A report from the meeting was forwarded to the Iraqi ministry for water resources, but the minister in charge has not yet passed the matter on to the relevant strategic bodies, Hamza told. Maha Rasheed, a researcher on water engineering at Degla University, specializes in water resources management in the Mesopotamian Marshes. She said that one solution to water scarcity would to be recycle more water from irrigation and households for agricultural purposes. But to do so, farmers and provincial governments need to improve collaboration with the ministry of water resources, she said. "Another solution is to rehabilitate old water networks," Rasheed said, adding that working with water-rich countries that share rivers and groundwater with Iraq should also take priority. "[The government] needs to deal seriously with the riparian states to preserve Iraq's water rights," she said. A tuberculosis patient waits for his doctor to arrive. UN's call for TB eradication Claudia Caruana The first-ever UN high-level meeting on tuberculosis last week (26 September) placed its hopes in new technologies as it lent its weight to the SDG goal of eradicating TB by 2030. TB remains the world's deadliest infectious disease, killing 1.6 million people in 2017, including 300,000 people with HIV. Last year, some 10 million people fell ill with TB with the largest number of new cases occurring in South-East Asia and Western Pacific. The five countries with most TB cases are from the Asia Pacific region namely, India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Pakistan. The meeting, part of the UN General Assembly, was preceded by finger pointing by NGOs and other stakeholders about low interest on the part of some governments and lack of access to available drugs because of high costs that hamper efforts to tackle a disease responsible for two million deaths annually. Nonetheless, presentations by countries such as China and South Africa described committed strategies to end TB. The Indian government, for example, described how it had tripled its budget to eradicate it. Bill Gates, chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, noted that although the percentage of TB patients "receiving quality care has tripled since 2000, saving 54 million lives, millions more were falling through the cracks". Heads of state and government attending the New York meeting agreed to mobilise US$13 Photo: Sanjit Das billion a year by 2022 to implement TB prevention and care, and US$2 billion for research. They also committed to take firm action against drug-resistant forms of the disease, build accountability and to prioritise human rights issues such as the stigma that prevails around TB in many parts of the world. Lee Reichman, professor of medicine and the founding executive director of Global Tuberculosis Institute at Rutgers, believed that "historically, there is a perception that people with TB are unimportant or powerless. As a result, TB has been tolerated and hasn't been a focus of mainstream public health programmes". New technologies are the game changers in TB elimination, said Reichman, citing the example of Interferon Gamma Release Assay blood test, an immense improvement over the traditional 100-year-old skin test. "It's important that we take advantage of these tools to detect latent TB so we can prevent it from becoming a dangerous, contagious disease." Multi-drug resistant TB (MDR TB), Reichman said, is in the news a lot because of its low 50 per cent cure rate. "But if TB is detected and treated while in its latent form, we don't have to worry about people getting TB, let alone people getting a life-threatening form." Els Torreele, executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières's Access Campaign, said that diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of TB are difficult using today's options, and new, better medical tools are urgently needed. The secrets of Albania's turnaround Ricardo Hausmann Five years ago, Albania faced a truly ominous situation. With Greece and Italy reeling from the euro crisis, remittances and capital inflows were falling and the economy suffered a severe slowdown. The fiscal deficit ballooned to over 7% of GDP, financed to a large extent by arrears, as access to external financial markets had collapsed and domestic interest rates were sky high. In addition, the power distribution company was in both an operational and a financial crisis, unable to pay for the electricity that it was supposed to buy from power generation companies. The arrears of both the government and the power company were fueling an increase in non-performing loans in the banking system. All the ingredients of a catastrophic outcome were there. Fast-forward to the present: the economy is growing at a robust 4.2% rate, led by double-digit export growth in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, energy, tourism, and business services. At a time when emerging-market economies as diverse as Argentina, Turkey, Nigeria, and South Africa face plummeting currencies and rising interest rates, Albania has its lowest interest rates on record and a strengthening currency. It now has the lowest sovereign spread for any country in its rating class, indicating that markets think the rating agencies have been asleep at the wheel. Once the North Korea of Europe under Communist dictator Enver Hoxha, Albania's per capita income level is now 25% that of Germany. If it can maintain its current growth rate, it will reach Germany's current income in 32 years. At a time when economists are being blamed for all sorts of disappointing outcomes, and multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are accused of failing to advise countries properly, it is refreshing to find that they may not be entirely useless after all. First, as opposed to many countries that delay action until it is too late, Prime Minister Edi Rama called in the IMF as soon as he got into power in September 2013. His government then negotiated a program that allowed Albania to gain financial support while it was putting its fiscal house in order. The three-year program ended successfully almost two years ago, and the debt-to- GDP ratio remains on a downward trend. This year, it is declining by 2.5% of GDP, while the country is significantly expanding its public investment budget. To be able to grow in the midst of fiscal consolidation, something else has to pull the economy forward, typically exports. And exports are growing in Albania - where I have been leading a Harvard Center for International Development research effort since 2013 - not because of good luck, but thanks to a relentless effort to remove bottlenecks and seize opportunities. In the process, Albania eschewed the temptation to focus on general Doing Business indicators, which assume that randomly following international best practices might do some good. Instead, the authorities followed a diagnostic approach to prioritize their policies. Mentored by Matt Andrews of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, policymakers used an implementation strategy based on a problem-driven iterative process, which starts After an economic setback Albania now boasts on double-digit export growth, and a strengthening currency. Photo: Internet by nominating a problem, identifying its causes, and devising ways to fix it. This led to many ideas that proved to be powerful. In agriculture, the development of aggregators helped small farmers connect to better technologies and more lucrative markets, creating a boom in vegetable exports. In the power sector, the government adopted an unorthodox strategy to change citizens' behavior regarding electricity theft and nonpayment, which led in 2015 to a turnaround of almost 2% of GDP in the distribution company's cash flow. Likewise, consultative groups in manufacturing and tourism identified areas for improvement. Albania has invested in the recovery of its historic cities and is now investing in 100 villages with strong agro-tourism potential that happen to be in areas that are both poor and pristine. No wonder that tourism is growing at double-digit rates. Moreover, the country's ambassadors are now being used in a concerted strategy to promote foreign investment through direct engagement with firms. And policymakers are now engaging Albania's diaspora - found to be an important source of talent, investment, market opportunities, and business ideas - to great effect. The innovations have not been only at the national level. Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, has tripled municipal revenues since he took over in 2015 and used the proceeds in ways that have made the city one of the most pleasant in the region. Albania's capital has won European awards for its development of high-quality urban spaces and for solving mobility and environmental problems in innovative ways. The lessons for other countries are clear. Success in the face of difficulties happens when governments are conscious of their predicament and their weaknesses, can articulate and own their goals, and search relentlessly for ways to achieve their aspirations. In this process, countries are not alone. The system of international financial assistance led by the IMF and the developmentfinance institutions can be very helpful. But countries must figure out when and how best to use them. They can enhance government capacity but cannot substitute for government commitment. The lesson for the European Union is also clear: when thinking about accession countries like Albania and the rest of the Western Balkans, it is important to look not only at what these countries are or have been, but also at the zeal with which they act in order to become what they aspire to be. For much of its history, Albania looked hopeless. But hopeless is as hopeless does. Now Albania's turnaround is a source of hope for the rest of us. Efforts to improve female representation in politics have often focused on quotas and reserved shares. Anne-Marie Slaughter A record number of American women are running for elected office in 2018, many of them motivated by outrage over US President Donald Trump's policies and attitudes. But running is not winning, and outrage alone cannot produce the kind of steady progress needed to achieve political equality. To produce a substantial increase in the number of women in Congress, changes that run deeper than the current electoral "pink wave" will be needed. With only 19.3% female representation in the House of Representatives and 23% in the Senate, the United States currently ranks 103rd in the world in terms of women's representation in national legislatures. To improve its record, the US should look to countries with greater gender parity. At the top of that list is Rwanda, where women make up 61.3% of the lower house and 38.5% of the upper house. In 2003, the country adopted a new constitution that reserves 30% of parliamentary seats for women and requires political parties to ensure that women hold at least 30% of elected internal positions. France is one of 49 other countries that also have statutory quotas or reserved seats for women. Such quotas may, however, be unnecessary. In seven of the top ten countries for female representation, political parties have voluntarily implemented their own rules on the matter. Globally, over 100 political parties in 53 countries have voluntary measures in place to increase the number of women candidates and party officials. But, legislated or not, quotas can be controversial. Some claim that they are undemocratic. There is no doubt that they are a blunt instrument. Can we do better? A more nuanced approach would focus on eliminating the underlying, interconnected barriers that women face in getting nominated for elected office and conducting successful campaigns. Such obstacles include the election system itself (women fare better under proportional representation than they do in first-pastthe-post systems based on single-member districts); lack of access to financing; weaker professional networks; and outside responsibilities that make it harder to take on punishing and unpredictable working conditions. Overcoming such structural barriers requires a comprehensive strategy for supporting women candidates. One of the most powerful tools is money. In many countries, the cost of campaigning is becoming prohibitively high for most aspirants, regardless of gender. But women seem to have it worse than men. In a 2008 survey of 292 parliamentarians around the world, the Inter-Parliamentary Union found that female MPs viewed lack of finance as a more significant deterrent to entering politics than their male counterparts did. This problem is particularly pronounced in the US, where parties and candidates can spend almost unlimited amounts to get elected. Wealthy candidates (usually men) finance their own campaigns, with some women, such as Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein, relying on their husbands' fortunes. Overall, this system disadvantages women. Fortunately, some countries are introducing innovative measures to address this problem. In Georgia, for Photo: Collected Closing the political gender gap worldwide example, political parties that include at least 30% of each gender on their electoral lists receive a 30% supplement from the state budget. Similarly, in Ireland, political parties lose 50% of their state funding if their candidate pool includes less than 30% of either gender. Beyond financing constraints, women face high social and cultural barriers to political participation. In particular, greater care obligations, reinforced by public perceptions of a "woman's role," severely undermine women's ability to run for public office. These issues are difficult to address directly. One step that could help would be for male politicians to assume more care responsibilities, thereby making the playing field more level, while demonstrating that family is a high priority for everyone. Likewise, new mothers should be able to bring their children to work. In 2015, a photo of Argentinian MP Victoria Donda Pérez breastfeeding while taking part in a parliamentary hearing went viral, as it demonstrated the commitment, capabilities, and challenges of working mothers. Such challenges were exemplified by the experience of Madeleine Henfling, a member of Germany's Thuringia state parliament, who last month was barred from entering the legislative chamber with her six-week-old baby. Concrete policies should also be put in place to support working parents, by giving them more flexibility to meet family responsibilities. That is why the United Kingdom's House of Commons is considering introducing proxy voting, as part of a broader effort to give members - male and female - parental leave.
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