Israel lags behind Sudan, Pakistan in number of women in legislature By Ruth Sinai, Haaretz Correspondent
Sudan, Pakistan, Zambia, and many other developing countries can claim a greater female representation in the legislature than Israel, which is ranked 79th in the world, according to statistics presented to the Israel Women's Network. Four years ago, Israel was ranked 59th in the world. The findings, which were compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an umbrella organization encompassing more than 140 legislatures around the world, show Israel with an average female representation on par with countries in South America and Africa. In the period between the founding of the state and the election of the 14th Knesset, the number of female members of Knesset has ranged from 8 to 11, or 6.6 to 9.1 percent of the total number of lawmakers. There were more women in the 15th Knesset, but the record for the most females in the house was the 16th Knesset, with 21 percent of its members being represented by the fairer sex. The current Knesset's female contingent dropped to 14.2 percent of total membership. "A country that claims to be equal and democratic can't continue with these low levels of representation," said the lobby's director-general, Nurit Tzur. "The government is obligated to act in order to augment the female representation in the Knesset and the government." http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/990660.html
