BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASING FEMALE PARTICIPATION IN POLITICAL PROCESS, ESPECIALLY IN TRADITIONAL PATRIARCHAL SOCIETIES

Abstract

The study examines the female political participation barriers while investigating opportunities for participation specifically within patriarchal traditional societies. The worldwide initiatives for gender equality persist as women encounter various barriers throughout their lives because of societal conventions together with their dependence on support and deficient education and limited political entry points. The research utilizes a case study examination of women's political engagement in Rwanda together with Pakistan and Nigeria along with Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to present the effects of political and economic and social elements on female support for politics. Resistance remains strong despite gender quota legislation and legal reforms which increased female participation in politics because institutions and cultural elements continue denying equal access to decision-making positions. By merging the Gender and Development (GAD) approach with intersectionality theory and political opportunity structure theory the study creates an advanced understanding of this situation. The research shows that establishing strong gender equality legislation together with financial backing for female political contestants and public awareness initiatives and governmental institutional modifications with active media commitment will enable political gender balance. Dealing with these barriers will create a path toward governance which includes everyone along with sustainable democratic growth.