On the Obstacles to Women's Participation in Politics on the Part of Women Themselves

Political participation is a higher level activity in terms of human beings' participating in social practice. Women's participation in politics and government is a part, at an even higher level of meaning, of women's liberation. Therefore, the level of women's participation in government has to be a very important indicator, or even emblem, of the degree to which women are liberated. The women of our country, following the liberation of the nation and class liberation, have also attained their own political liberation, economic independence, and all sorts of rights and powers in society, which naturally include the right to participate in politics and government-in other words, the qualifications and prerogative to take part in the management of the government of the country and to assume positions in the leadership at all levels. Regrettably, however, in the more than forty years since Liberation, the level of women's participation in politics and government in our country has remained relatively low, and the social status that they ought to enjoy does not correspond to the role they play in society. The reasons for this situation are, in the end, multifaceted-historical factors and social factors are at play but so are factors stemming from the women themselves.