Democracy and Political Governance Chapter 3 deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the country. The CRM heard that the courts reject complaints about rape that the victims make because of the slowness of the justice system. Quite often, courts examine these cases long after women report them. According to media reports, pregnant women who choose abortion after a rape are more severely punished than are the perpetrators of the rape cases. Courts always regard abortion as a criminal offence. They never consider the circumstances that led to the abortion (like rape, incest and even threats to the life of the mother). 305. Stakeholders also reported problems associated with prostitution. The CRM also heard that, despite the absence of statistics, prostitution seems to be increasing, particularly at the moment when retrenchments are increasing because of the economic crisis. Sexual tourism also contributes to the problem. Chapter 3 introduced the affirmative action measures that would increase the proportion of women who participate in decision making and political life, particularly Parliament, to 50 per cent. 310. The current electoral system is also one of the reasons for the poor representation of women. Stakeholders thought that the electoral system was unfair because of the imbalance between the percentages of votes and the number of MPs elected at the end of the elections. They demanded electoral reform that would introduce some proportional representation and quotas. 311. The current constitutional and legislative provisions will not promote gender equality. The patriarchal nature of Mauritian society continues to determine the roles of men and women in public and private life. The difficulties that women experience in reconciling professional, family and domestic responsibilities remain. They also lack support and encouragement if they want to participate in politics. All of these factors prevent women from contributing effectively to democratic governance in Mauritius. Add to them the nature of the multicultural political system of the country. Electoral competition in Mauritius is intense. Religious and sociocultural associations, which men dominate, sponsor political candidates. They therefore concentrate all their efforts on men. Although the situation is more or less common to many countries, it does marginalise female candidates.24 312. Women realise that ethnic lobbying is more powerful than gender lobbying in the Mauritian political system. Consequently, a number of women have decided to join forces in an association called Women in Politics (WIP). This is an initiative of Women in Network (WIN). The women work together to ensure that they are better represented in political parties and have equitable representation in Parliament and local entities. 313. At the institutional level, the CRM noted the legal and practical efforts and actions that the MWRCDFW has taken to promote and improve the situation of women, despite the limited financial and human resources at its disposal. Right to employment and to fair and favourable working conditions 306. The CRM welcomes the Equal Opportunities Act of 2008, although it was not in force by July 2009. After interviewing some stakeholders, the CRM felt that there was still a lot to do to ensure that rights are effectively protected. The country needs to change its attitude. Many managers, for example, prefer to recruit men, because women take maternity leave. 307. With regard to violence in the workplace, some stakeholders told the CRM that victims do not report many cases of sexual harassment in the workplace – women victims do not complain, as they fear losing their jobs. Right to participate in public and political life 138 308. The CRM noted the trends in the country’s development in different areas. However, it noticed that women, who make up 52 per cent of the country’s population, are poorly represented in many sectors of political and public life and in decision-making positions. They include Parliament and the private sector. However, the proportion of seats that women hold in Parliament increased from 5.7 per cent in 2004 to 17.1 per cent in 2008. 309. Stakeholders told the CRM that, although many women and men support parity, Mauritius does not comply with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Furthermore, Mauritius has not Democracy and Political Governance 24 - Ramtohul, R. 9 January 2008. Analysing the Gender Dimension of Multicultural Politics: The Case of Mauritius. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, Hotel Intercontinental, New Orleans, LA. 2009-05-23 http://www.allacademic.com/meta/ p228582_index.html). 139