Determinants of Women’s Political Participation in Fragile African States: A Macro-Level Analysis

Women’s political participation and representation is an important requirement for gender equality and achieving a truly democratic society. As provided in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, women and men have an equal right to civic and political rights. When women are involved in politics, communities move towards gender equality, which ensures that various voices are heard in governance and policy-making. This study was rooted in the fact that many African women continue to face repression, with several societies constraining their capability to contribute fully within political and social domains. The study employed secondary quantitative data to achieve its objective. Panel data for 17 countries with a poor track record on women’s rights and ever-declining rates on the Women’s Development Index were used by the study. A Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) panel technique was used for estimation purposes. The results showed that economic growth, participatory democracy, freedom of expression, globalisation and clean elections have a positive relationship with women’s political participation. This entails that these factors contribute to more political participation for women. The study recommends that in order to enhance women’s political participation, governments and civil society should strengthen by institutionalising inclusive decision-making processes at all levels.