ABSTRACT
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to take part in the government of his/her country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Related to that statement, women’s empowerment and the improvement of women’s social, economic and political status are prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development and transparent government. In this sense, achieving the goal of equal participation of women and men in decision-making is essential to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning. When it comes to the concept of rising powers, it is central to international relations. Yet the theoretical framework of rising powers is quite limited and it is mostly dealt with through powers’ material capabilities to decide who is rising. In this chapter, two rising powers – Turkey and Nigeria – will be analysed regarding their women empowerment capacities through political participation. In addition, this chapter aims to contribute to the theoretical literature of rising powers a new determining factor, “strengthened democracy through women’s political participation”. In the first part, the women empowerment and rising powers concepts will be introduced. The second part will analyse the current situation in the BRICS countries regarding women’s political participation. Then, Turkey and Nigeria are discussed and compared with each other through the determining factor “strengthened democracy through women’s political participation”.
