Women's suffrage in Southeast Asia

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Location of Southeast Asia

The women's suffrage in Southeast Asia , so in Brunei , Indonesia , Cambodia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , East Timor , Singapore , Thailand , Vietnam and the Philippines , has no uniform development. For example, Thailand was one of the first countries in Asia to introduce universal suffrage. In Brunei, on the other hand, there is still no right to vote for either women or men. Also the circumstances under which women have the right to votewas achieved were different: As often happened in times of the struggle against colonial powers , in Indonesia and the Philippines the emancipation of women became a part and symbol of national liberation and the struggle for democracy . In Thailand, on the other hand, women did not fight for their active and passive right to vote , but received it together with the men on December 10, 1932.

Investigation of possible influencing factors on the political representation of women

religion

Indonesia is the most populous country with an Islamic majority. What is striking is how little this fact has had an impact on the events surrounding the introduction of women's suffrage. There were secular and Muslim women's groups. These merged into the Federation of Indonesian Women's Association , which put women's suffrage as the main topic on the agenda of their meeting in 1938.

Situation at the end of the colonial period

As often happened in times of struggle against colonial powers, in Indonesia and the Philippines the emancipation of women became a part and symbol of national liberation and the struggle for democracy.

Male suffrage

In 1907, in the course of the independence struggles in the Philippines, men were given the right to vote, and this, as in other countries, encouraged women to demand the right to vote for their own kind on the same terms as men.

education

In the Philippines, it was not so much the resistance of men as the disinterest of women that proved to be an obstacle to women's suffrage. Since 1908, however, women have been allowed access to universities, and the women's suffrage movement only gained more support as more and more women worked in skilled professions. As in other countries, the country's first female doctor, Maria Paz Mendoza-Guazon, was one of the figureheads. She started the Women Citizins League . The women began to address other strata with events and by passing on information to the press and to get them excited about women's suffrage.

Individual states

Brunei

There is no right to vote for either women or men.

In 1983 Brunei became independent. Of the 33 current members (2017) of the Legislative Council, 20 were appointed by the Sultan; the other 13 are ex officio members, namely Sultan, Crown Prince and 11 ministers. Of the 33 councilors, three (9.09%) are women.

Indonesia

Until the invasion by Japan in 1942, the country was run by a Dutch colonial government. In 1935 a European woman, not an Indonesian woman, was appointed to the People's Council.

After Blackburn, the colonial government gave some (namely European) women the right to vote in 1938 and to vote in 1941. Deviating from this, Adams takes from a source the introduction of women's suffrage only for Dutch women in 1941 as a proposal by the colonial government, which was dropped from the population after protests.

According to another source, the colonial rulers' plan was only implemented at the local level. As in the Netherlands, passive voting preceded active voting rights. Four women were elected to councilors in 1938, according to this source, and thereafter when this became possible.

After the defeat by Japan, the nationalist leader Sukarno declared independence on August 17, 1945. In a constitution from the same year, women and men were given the right to vote, but this happened in a politically complex situation with unclear power relations. The Dutch resisted and an armed conflict ensued, in which women supported the guerrillas and organized the provision of medical aid and food to the population. Despite formal independence, Indonesia was unable to form an independent government until the Dutch withdrew in 1948.

In 1955 elections were held for the first time. In the new parliament after 1955 there were only a few women, 18 out of 257 MPs. There were no women in the government. In the period that followed, there was little progress.

Although elections were held between 1955 and 1999, this was not a sign of the exercise of civil rights as the governments were dictatorial. In 1999 free and fair elections were made possible again. As in 1955, there were relatively few female candidates in 1999, and the proportion of women in parliament of just eight percent represented a dramatic decrease compared to the previous term.

Cambodia

Active and passive voting rights for women were introduced on September 25, 1955.

Since March 1958, a woman has sat in the national parliament for the first time. No woman was elected to the House of Commons before the 1976 unicameral system was introduced.

Laos

In 1953 the country became independent, and in 1958 active and passive general women's suffrage was introduced.

Khampheng Boupha was elected to the national parliament on May 4, 1958, as the first woman.

Malaysia

The right to vote for women was introduced in 1955 under the colonial administration. When the country gained independence from Great Britain in 1957, active and passive voting rights for women were incorporated into the constitution on August 31, 1957.

Halimaton Abdul Majid was elected to the colonial legislative body as the first woman in 1955; In 1960, two women became the first female MPs to enter the national parliament. In the 1950s there were no women on the legislative bodies; but even in 1995 their number had only risen to eight percent of the MPs.

Myanmar

In 1923 Burma was still a province of India and was under British rule. Men and women who paid taxes were given the right to vote. Women and men were thus formally subject to the same restrictions; however, since only men were required to pay poll tax, there were many more taxpayers than female taxpayers, so in practice women were still prevented from voting. At that time there were only 125,000 women for every two million voters. However, the restriction was lifted in 1929. Even so, very few women sat on local councils and the legislative assembly.

When the Government of Burma Act came into effect in 1935 , Burma's time as a province of India ended. Although it was still under British rule, it now had its own legislative body. According to the new constitution of 1937, women now had the right to vote for this House of Representatives if they had passed a reading and writing test. In this way, the number of women voters rose to 750,000. This constitution was repealed when the Japanese occupied the country in 1942, but after the re-occupation by the British and independence in 1948, women were given universal suffrage.

When women were given active voting rights in 1923, they were not allowed to stand as candidates. In 1927 there was a bill in the Legislative Assembly to change this; but the British refused. This led to resentment among the women and a demonstration in Ragoon. In 1929, however, the restriction was lifted and the passive right to vote for women was achieved on the same basis as the passive right to vote for men.

Daw Hnin Mya was elected the first woman to serve on the colonial legislative body in 1937; in April 1947, four women became the first female MPs to enter the national parliament.

East Timor

See also Political Participation of Women in East Timor

From 1896, Portuguese Timor and Macau were allowed to send a member of the Portuguese parliament together.

In 2001 the first woman sat in the country's constituent assembly, which also became its first legislature after independence in 2002.

see List of Members of the National Parliament of East Timor 2001-2007

Before that, in October 1999, four women had been appointed to the fifteen-member National Consultative Council NCC , which at that time represented the population during the United Nations interim administration for East Timor . At least every third place on the electoral lists must be occupied by a woman (2018). In the current parliament (2018), 33.85% of MPs are women.

Philippines

The Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon (center) signs the women's suffrage law that was passed on the basis of the 1937 referendum. On the left is his wife Aurora Aragon Quezon.

For a long time, the women's movement in the Philippines was limited to improving the social situation. In 1905, however, Concepción Felix founded the Asociación Feminista Filipina , which propagated women's suffrage as one of its goals. In 1906, the first organization with women's suffrage as its main goal, the Asociación Feminista Ilonga, was launched . The founder, Pura Villanueva Kalaw , saw no contradiction between her role as a feminist activist and a beauty queen; In 1908 she was Carnival Princess of Manila. Between 1912 and 1918, four bills introducing women's suffrage were tabled, but all of them failed.

The obstacle to women's suffrage in the Philippines was less the resistance of men than the disinterest of women. Since 1908 women have been allowed access to universities, and the women's suffrage movement did not gain popularity until more and more women were employed in skilled jobs. As in other countries, the country's first female doctor, Maria Paz Mendoza-Guazon, was one of the figureheads. She started the Women Citizins League . The women began to address other strata with events and by passing on information to the press and to get them excited about women's suffrage.

In 1933 a law was passed in the House of Representatives which provided women with the right to vote from January 1935. This law was an addition to Section 431 of the Administrative Code. This addition was linked to the Hare Hawes Cutting Independence Act , which failed to find a majority in the vote.

Before women could actually vote, the 1933 decision was overturned by a 1934 Constituent Assembly that drafted a new constitution that would reflect the Philippines' changed status as a Commonwealth within the United States. This assembly decided to link the introduction of women's suffrage to a successful referendum on this issue. Only women were eligible to vote in this vote, at least 300,000 votes were required for success. Over half a million women registered to vote and 447,725 women voted on April 30, 1937 to give women the right to vote and stand for election at the same level as men. This happened before independence, still under US administration, through the Plebiscite Law, Commonwealth Act No. 34 . It was confirmed upon independence in 1946.

Elisa Rosales Ochoa was elected as the first woman to the Commonwealth of Nations legislative body (National Assembly) in November 1941, Remedios Ozamis Fortica in 1946 as the first woman to the 99-member House of Representatives, and Geronima T. Pecson as the first in 1953 Woman in the Senate, which had eight members.

Singapore

Under British administration, women were given the right to vote and stand for election on July 18, 1947 and exercised this right for the first time in the 1948 elections to the Legislative Council . With independence in 1965, these rights were confirmed.

Vilasini Menon was elected to the colonial legislative body as the first woman in 1951. In July 1963 three women were elected to the national parliament and were in office from September 21, 1963.

Thailand

After Sri Lanka, Thailand was one of the first countries in Asia to introduce universal suffrage.

Until 1932, an absolutist ruler ruled Thailand with no political institutions to represent the people. In June 1932, the absolute monarchy was transformed into a constitutional monarchy by a coup d'état. In Thailand women did not fight for their active and passive right to vote, but they received it together with the men on December 10, 1932. At that time, an Assembly of Representatives , a parliament, was created. By 1933, all 70 MPs were appointed by the People's Party . Universal suffrage was exercised indirectly for the first time in 1933 when half of the MPs were elected. In 1937 half of the MPs were directly elected, but the government dissolved parliament when it showed resistance. It was not until 1952 that parliament was elected as a whole.

There were restrictions on women in local elections that were created nearly two decades before 1932 and were not lifted until 1982. Women were not allowed to run in local elections to determine village heads. It looks as if women were considered incapable of exercising the control functions of village chiefs because of their gender. Nor were women allowed to lead a group of villages.

Orapin Chaiyakarn was elected to the national parliament on June 5, 1949 as the first woman. It was a by-election; the regular election took place in 1948.

Vietnam

According to one source, when the DRV was founded , the Viet Minh proclaimed universal suffrage regardless of gender. The author does not give a specific date, but names Decree No. 14 and No. 51 as the legal basis and describes that this happened as part of the takeover of power during the August Revolution (declaration of independence on September 2, 1945).

On September 2, 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed. When they came to power during the August Revolution (declaration of independence on September 2, 1945), women received the same rights as men for the first time, including the right to vote. The legal basis for this was the decrees number 14 and number 51. The right was exercised for the first time in the elections of January 6, 1946. In 1946, only 2.5 percent of the members of the legislative assembly were women.

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam only briefly covered the entire territory of the country. In 1946, the French colonial power returned to the south. During the colonial period until 1954 there was no right to vote for non-naturalized indigenous people of the colony. A source reports that women had the right to vote in South Vietnam for the election of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955.

In the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on January 6, 1946, ten women were elected as the first female MPs in the national parliament. Trần Lệ Xuân in the Republic of Vietnam was elected to the Constituent Assembly on March 4, 1956 or to the National Assembly on August 30, 1959, possibly several other women at the same time. In April 1976, 132 women received a mandate for the National Assembly of the reunified Vietnam.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 411.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 352.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 353.
  4. ↑ - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. Retrieved September 30, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Inter-Parliamentary Union: IPU PARLINE database: BRUNEI DARUSSALAM (Majlis Mesyuarat Negara), General information. In: archive.ipu.org. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018 .
  6. ^ A b c d Susan Blackburn: Women's Suffrage and democracy in Indonesia. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 79-1059, p. 80.
  7. ^ A b Susan Blackburn: Women's Suffrage and democracy in Indonesia. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 79-1059, pp. 87.
  8. ^ Susan Blackburn: Women's Suffrage and Democracy in Indonesia. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 79-1059, p. 97.
  9. ^ Cora Vreede-De Stuers: The Indonesian Woman: Struggles and Achievements. The Hague, Holland, Mouton and Co. 1960, pp. 96-97. Quoted from: Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 411.
  10. ↑ Pamela Paxton, Melanie M. Hughes: Women, Politics and Power. A global perspective. Pine Forge Press Los Angeles, London 2007, p. 52.
  11. ^ Susan Blackburn: Women's Suffrage and Democracy in Indonesia. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 79-1059, p. 88.
  12. ↑ a b June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 140.
  13. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 181.
  14. ^ A b Susan Blackburn: Women's Suffrage and democracy in Indonesia. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 79-1059, p. 92.
  15. ↑ a b June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 140.
  16. ↑ According to another source, there were female MPs for the first time in July 1971, namely 33 women: Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 183.
  17. ^ Susan Blackburn: Women's Suffrage and Democracy in Indonesia. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 79-1059, p. 94.
  18. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 58.
  19. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 59.
  20. ↑ - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. Retrieved September 30, 2018 .
  21. ↑ - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. December 25, 1955, accessed October 3, 2018 .
  22. ^ A b Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 222.
  23. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz, Christof Hartmann (eds.): South East Asia, East Asia and the South Pacific. (= Elections in Asia and the Pacific. A Data Handbook. Volume 2). Oxford University Press, New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-19-924959-6 , p. 146
  24. ↑ a b June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 179.
  25. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 245.
  26. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 246.
  27. ↑ a b c d e Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , pages 351-352.
  28. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 268.
  29. ↑ a b c d e June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 197.
  30. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, pp. 268/269.
  31. ↑ - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. Accessed October 7, 2018 (English).
  32. ↑ Inter-Parliamentary Union: IPU PARLINE database: TIMOR-LESTE (National Parliament), Last elections. In: archive.ipu.org. May 12, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018 .
  33. ↑ a b June Hannam, Mitzi Auchterlonie, Katherine Holden: International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage. ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford 2000, ISBN 1-57607-064-6 , p. 236.
  34. ↑ a b Mina Roces: Is the suffragist an American colonial construct? Defining 'the Filipino woman' in colonial Philippines. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Curzon New York, 2004, pp. 24-58, pp. 31-32.
  35. ^ A b Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 307.
  36. ↑ a b - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. April 30, 1937, accessed October 5, 2018 .
  37. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 309.
  38. ↑ a b - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. July 18, 1947, accessed October 6, 2018 .
  39. ^ A b Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 341.
  40. ↑ a b c d Tamara Loos: The politics of women's suffrage in Thailand. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 170-194, pp. 177.
  41. ↑ a b c Tamara Loos: The politics of women's suffrage in Thailand. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 170-194, pp. 170.
  42. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 377.
  43. ↑ a b Tamara Loos: The politics of women's suffrage in Thailand. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 170-194, p. 179.
  44. ↑ a b c d Tamara Loos: The politics of women's suffrage in Thailand. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 170-194, p. 181.
  45. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 378.
  46. ↑ - New Parline: the IPU's Open Data Platform (beta). In: data.ipu.org. Accessed October 7, 2018 (English).
  47. ↑ Christopher E. Goscha: Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War 1945 - 1954. Copenhagen, 2011, p. 498
  48. ↑ Micheline R., Lessard: Women's Suffrage in Viêt Nam. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 106-126, pp. 106.
  49. ↑ a b Christopher E. Goscha: Historical Dictionary of the Indochina War 1945 - 1954. Copenhagen, 2011, p. 498.
  50. ↑ Christopher E. Goscha: A History of Vietnam. New York, 2016, p. 366.
  51. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 419.
  52. ↑ Micheline R., Lessard: Women's Suffrage in Viêt Nam. In: Louise Edwards, Mina Roces (Ed.): Women's Suffrage in Asia. Routledge Shorton New York, 2004, pp. 106-126, p. 119.
  53. ^ Robert G. Scigliano: The Electoral Process in South Vietnam: Politics in an Underdeveloped State. In: Midwest Journal of Political Science, Volume 4, Issue 2, May 1960, pp. 138-161.
  54. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, pp. 420/421.