Reports say that both the main parties agree that no one has a lock on the women's vote. But to win it, they are making battle plans: the ruling KMT wants to raise the proportion of party members who are women, while the Democratic Progressive Party is strengthening its publicity vis-a-vis women.

The status of women in politics has slowly evolved from silent anonymity to direct participation, in both East and West. Still, the history of women in politics is brief, not exceeding 80 years.

In recent years, England has seen the rise of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving prime minister. The current president of the Philippines is Corazon Aquino. Norway not only has a woman prime minister; the majority of the cabinet are also women. And the ROC produced its first woman cabinet member in 1988, Shirley Kuo.

It is well known that democracy originated in the West, and the length of time in which women have participated in politics is longer in the West than in the East. Women took over 100 years to get the vote in France. It took more than 70 years in the U.S. and U.K., but only 35 in China.

The Republican Constitution was promulgated in 1947. In it, it was stipulated that men and women are equal before the law, and share the rights to participation and to take examinations for and serve in government posts. In order to "look after" women, it was also stipulated that women have a guaranteed number of seats in various types of elections.

Why do women need a guarantee? Associate professor Liang Shung-Lien of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University pointed out in her study "Women and Political Participation," that when the constitution was first promulgated, because of the discrimination in favor of men and against women in traditional Chinese society, opportunities for women to be educated were few and they were not independent economically, so that even if they had legal equality, it was difficult for them to compete at the same level as men. Therefore it was proposed that seats be reserved to give women's rights and opinions a definite representation, and to promote the equality of the substantive position of men and women as early as possible.

As for whether women need this guarantee, opinions differ. Legislator Hsieh Mei-hui (a woman), opposes it on the grounds of equality between the sexes. But Taipei City Councilor Kao Hsun-fang (also a woman) believes that the guaranteed seats give women, who have a relatively late start, a helping hand to be somewhat more equal with men.

In the past, if one raised politics, many women would shake their heads and say, "That's men's affairs." Even now, not a few women still have this attitude. Women in the ROC feel the effects of traditional culture, and therefore play a passive, conservative role in politics.

How are women doing in exercising their rights to be elected? The answer: not very positively.

The reason is not hard to understand. According to Chou Bih-Er of the Academia Sinica, in her 1986 study "The Degree of Participation of Women in Elective Politics in Taiwan and Variables Affecting It," most women feel the effects of the social environment, and place the greatest stress on the family. Expectations for oneself are not high, and it is feared that too great accomplishments will hurt one's marriage. Also, society has not given women encouragement. Thus male elected representatives believe that women lack training in political participation, but do nothing to lower their demands of or to provide strong support for the woman in her family role, which is itself an obstacle to the woman's political development. In general, the strongest resource for candidates is the support of the ruling party, but aside from the minimum guaranteed number of seats, it seldom supports additional female candidates.

The percentage of women elected in contests since 1947 has never exceeded 20%. In the 1986 supplementary elections for the National Assembly, 19% (16 of 84) of those elected were women. The same elections for the Legislative Yuan had 9.6% women (7 of 73). And at the lower levels, with no guaranteed women's seats, proportions were even lower. Of the 309 village, town, and provincial city heads elected in the 1985 local elections, only 6 (1.9%) were female.

In voting behavior, according to the study of the 1980 elections by Professor Chai Sunglin, "Voting Behavior in the Taiwan Area," compared to men, most women were not interested in the elections, and did not pay attention to election information. Of women, 34% did not attend any meeting for the expression of political views, and their knowledge of candidates came mostly from friends and family, and their voting was influenced by these. Liang Shung-Lien believes that, although the data is somewhat old, there has been no major change since then.

What's interesting is that the voting participation rate is just as high for women as men. In Chai's study, the voting rate for women was 78%, with men at 77%.

Although it is known that women's votes are a potential "gold mine," few earnestly seek them. The women's group Awakening Foundation did a study this year and discovered that of 8655 interpellations in the Legislative Yuan for 1987 and 1988, only 66 (0.7%) were related to women. It shows that the concern toward women's issues is low. This group, composed of many scholars and specialists, is urging women to be concerned about and active in politics. Vis-a-vis this year's elections, they plan to collect opinions from various women's organizations, issue a 20-point platform of women's issues, and urge candidates to include it in their own platforms.

With chips in hand, women's rights and welfare can improve through the channel of political action. Then perhaps Shakes-peare's famous line, "Frailty, thy name is woman" will need some revision.

[Picture Caption]

The tide of securing the right to participate in politics for women began in the west; as of today it has lasted for only eighty-plus years. (photo by Fr ank Clarke)

In looking at the history of elections in the ROC, the guarantee of seats for women is a major feature.

In taking the initiative to win women's rights, female elected officials cannot stand on the sidelines.

In looking at the history of elections in the ROC, the guarantee of seats for women is a major feature.

In taking the initiative to win women's rights, female elected officials cannot stand on the sidelines.