Women in Parliament: Islamists in Tunisia Field More Women as Candidates than the Percentage of Women in the US Congress

Whenever a Western power wants to invade and or bomb a Muslim nation one invariably hears about how the “women are oppressed in ________(insert Muslim nation of choice)” and “we must liberate them from the clutches of those evil, backward, misogynistic Muslim men.” That is one of the reasons we’ve termed the bombing, invasion and occupation of Muslim lands, the Greater Islamophobia.

Interestingly, when one analyzes say…the number of women in positions of power in countries across the world, we see the percentages of women in parliament to be higher in many majority Muslim nations than in parts of the West. [These statistics also buttress the fact that more Muslim nations have had female leaders, (Presidents, Prime Ministers) than the USA!]

Below we have a list of countries whose percentages of women in parliament is higher than the USA, which ranks a dismal 71st.

All of these muslim nations are above the USA

*Afghanistan (I have added an asterisk here because this nation is under foreign occupation and the results for many are not considered legitimate. However it is still interesting that Afghanis, some of the most vilified people in the world today when it comes to views of women vote for them at a higher percentage than Americans.)

Rank Country Lower or single House 27.5%


Tunisia is not a surprise to many who know the country, but lets put these numbers into perspective. The Islamist party Ennahda won elections, they are known as “moderates,” but within the media, especially the Right we see an effort to translate Ennahda’s victory into a harbinger for the repression of women’s rights and other usual hoopla associated with Right-wing anti-Islam rhetoric. As the Angry Arab, As’ad Abu Khalil remarks, “I just figured that Tunisian Islamists fielded more women as candidates than the percentage of women in the US Congress.”

32 Tunisia 10 2011 217 57 26.3%

36 Iraq 3 2010 325 82 25.2%

37 Sudan 4 2010 346 87 25.1% lower house
5 2010 28 5 17.9% upper house

45 Kyrgyzstan 10 2010 120 28 23.3%


Pakistan
47 Pakistan 2 2008 342 76 22.2% 3 2009 100 17 17.0%

Mauritania
48 Mauritania 11 2006 95 21 22.1% 11 2009 56 8 14.3%

Uzbekistan
49 Uzbekistan 12 2009 150 33 22.0% 1 2010 100 15 15.0%

Tajikistan
60 Tajikistan 2 2010 63 12 19.0% 3 2010 34 5 14.7%

Bangladesh
63 Bangladesh 12 2008 345 64 18.6% — — — —

Indonesia
65 Indonesia 4 2009 560 101 18.0% — — — —

Kazakhstan
66 Kazakhstan 8 2007 107 19 17.8% 8 2011 47 ? ?

United Arab Emirates
67 United Arab Emirates 9 2011 40 7 17.5% — — — —

46 Senegal 6 2007 150 34 22.7%
8 2007 100 40 40.0%

All of the above nations did better than the USA.

Here are two Western nations who you’d think would have done better in the numbers and who wax eloquent about “women’s rights,” even using it as a pretext to bomb and invade nations:

61 France 6 2007 577 109 18.9% 9 2011 348 77 22.1%

71 United States of America 2 11 2010 434 73 16.8% 11 2010 100 17 17.0%


Of course some of the above Muslim nations still have low percentages, however my purpose here is not to draw conclusions but to add to the empirical evidence when it comes to the discussion of women, women’s role in Muslim societies and women’s rights.
As the battle over birth control, invasive procedures before abortion, etc. rages on in the USA, the above stats provide a healthy if sobering perspective to the belligerent discussion in the looniverse about Muslim women.

http://www.loonwatch.com/2012/02/women-in-parliament-islamists-in-tunisia-field-more-women-as-candidates-than-the-percentage-of-women-in-the-us-congress/