Is there something distinct in the representation of minority women?
In most societies minority exclusion exists alongside the exclusion of women and thus women from minority groups endure overlapping discrimination and marginalization from power, making their position in society even more precarious. Minority women bring distinctive experiences to legislatures and peace negotiations which are likely to be powerful contributions to the process of democratization and social rebuilding. In the new Afghan Wolesi Jirga for example there are women from Hazara, Uzbek, Pashtun and Tajik backgrounds. While womens rights have been more pronounced in the Hazara community, most of Afghanistan continues to be a patriarchal society where the opportunities for women the public sphere are highly constrained. Having ethnic minority women in the new Afghan parliament has placed a whole new series of important issues on the table for discussion.
