ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to extent to which conservative, traditional and religious attitudes influencing the role and status of women in society hold sway at the close of the millennium. The tensions between slowly changing attitudes towards traditional gender roles and the visible progress on women’s political representation and rights are explored. In the 1980s, institutional responses took the form of the establishment of the junior ministry for women’s affairs and the creation of the parliamentary committee on women’s rights in 1982 and 1983, respectively. The chapter provides a picture of women’s participation in the economy and politics and considers the response of parties and the modification of political institutions to women’s demand for political participation. It explores the attitudinal context underlying the efforts of women to secure a rightful share of the civic space.
