I remember the cinematic gut-feeling that my first vote would be for the United States' first female president. It felt right. (Well, technically, left. But it felt like the right thing to do). Apparently, my predictions for the 2016 elections were a tad off. Like many of those disheartened and perplexed by the electoral college, I was left wondering about how my individual vote is valued.
Every Vote Counts?
One of Harpswell’s first-year students just turned 18 years old. The upcoming July elections in Cambodia will be her first opportunity to cast a vote. She seems as excited, but realistic. Despite an enchantment with the idea of voting, she’s not blind to the fact that her vote won't count the way she wants it to. She knows that "the winner is already decided." First-time voter eagerness breaks through, but isn’t immune to, the reality of her country's current political situation.
Another student, in her second year, has voted before in a commune election, but July's election will be her first presidential ballot. She’s more excited about the excuse to visit her home than she is to vote. She repeats the sentiment that they "already know who the winner is." She rolls her eyes and looks at the ground when she mentions her parents’ support of the Prime Minister. “Because I’m educated, my family and I don’t have the same views.” She shrugs, as if she’s dismissing a tense Thanksgiving dinner.
Cambodia's Political Situation
In name, Cambodia is a democracy. The ruling Cambodia’s People Party has held power since 1979, with the current Prime Minister, a former Khmer Rouge commander, in power since 1985. The opposition party, the CNRP, was forcibly dissolved earlier this year. Again, I'm supposed to aim for an illusion of political discretion, so let's just say that this regime has been identified for little things like "corruption," "human rights abuses," or the "death of democracy." Please, read more about Cambodia's political situation from BBC's country profile or Human Rights Watch.
Moreover, press freedom is hanging by a thread. The sale of the last independent newspaper to a Malaysian businessman signals a major blow to the already deteriorating media freedom, especially in the run-up to the elections.
While former opposition leaders are calling for boycotts, the ruling party continues to urge citizens to show up at the polls, since voter turnout is perceived as a way to measure legitimacy.
Where does this leave Harpswell girls? How does a group of young women branded “the future of Cambodian leadership" participate in their own political constraints?
Women in Cambodian Politics
If Harpswell’s mission is to empower a new generation of women leaders, the government seems like a traditional home to find leadership roles. But amongst all the future diplomats, lawyers, or engineers, Harpswell girls don’t discuss running for office.
In Cambodia, women remain underrepresented in politics; only eight of the 58 newly elected senators are women, and all from the same ruling party. The Phnom Penh Post reports that in local politics, women in power increased slightly after the vacancies created by CNRP leaders being pushed out. Women’s rights groups would rather demand “sustainable improvement” in local representation, compared to “minor victories born of an otherwise regrettable situation.” In other words, representation shouldn’t come only as an effect of seats made available by the forced dissolution of one party.
From the dorm rooms at Harpswell, it looks like “sustainable improvement” involves turning education into advocacy for women through a range of leadership roles. That’s where Harpswell girls become lawyers, engineers, and other pursuits that prove women's power.
Public office in Cambodia isn't exactly the viable entry point for leadership that I've grown up believing in. Then again, maybe I'm seeing things through a lens more like Parks and Rec than my country's reality. Harpswell girls are like overachieving Leslie Knopes without a functioning democracy...which leads me to question what a functioning democracy even looks like.
Women in American Politics
After researching women’s representation under a repressive regime, I turned an eye back home. It turns out that because we have a truly representative democracy and have totally achieved gender equality, women hold half of the power in American politics. Nice!
Here’s reality:
In the House of Representatives, women hold just 83 (19.1%) of the 435 seats.
In the Senate, women hold just 21 (21%) of the 100 seats.
And those are the good numbers. Looking to women of color:
38 of the 104 women members of Congress (36.5%) are women of color. 7.1% of the total members of Congress are women of color.
For perspective, this puts the United States at a ranking of 102 for women’s representation in national legislatures or parliaments around the world. Cambodia? Ranked 95.
Why Does This Matter?
We don’t need women leaders because of gendered notions that women are more peaceful or “better at compromise.” It’s not about leadership styles. It’s about advocacy for the interests of half of the population.
According to research from UNWomen.org, having women at the table during political decision-making processes means progress for issues like gender-based violence, parental leave and childcare, pensions, gender-equality laws and electoral reform. For a democracy to work for its people, more than a single demographic of those people need to be represented in positions of power.
And if you’re reading this and doubting that sexist barriers really play a role in U.S. politics, please use this article to relive the 39 top moments when sexism thrived during the 2016 presidential campaigns.
(Thank goodness we didn’t elect a woman with such a shrill voice...I mean, Trump’s tone is just sort of soothing, isn’t it? Just watch this video. I love his laugh.)
I’m not attempting to draw some false equivalency between the challenges for women in American politics and the debilitation brought on by a truly oppressive government. We have our own historical and social forces working against fair representation in the U.S., but our distribution of power isn’t a pretense locked by a dictatorship.
Still, a democracy isn’t functioning at its full potential when 50% of the population holds less than 25% of representation. It’s a radical thought, but what if our own democracy looked like the society it represents?
American Girls: Here Are Ways to Get Involved
Voting rights are an ultimate privilege. Simply recognizing privilege isn’t all that useful.
The Harpswell girls in Cambodia face the same dilemma as Russians, Egyptians, and citizens across the world during illegitimate elections: do you boycott, and give up your major opportunity to engage in politics? Or do you participate, and legitimize a “regrettable situation?”
On November 9th, 2016, I had to binge-watch a bunch of Youtube videos explaining why the electoral college is valid, but met frustration when no one could put in plain terms whether my individual vote makes a difference. Regardless, the pitfalls of the electoral college aren’t the same thing as farce elections. (Russian interference might tell a different story. Stay tuned.)
For now, let me be hopeful and preach: please take advantage of the ability to participate and even defend your democracy. Vote. Vote, and check out some of the links below.
These are just some of the organizations that help American women get involved in politics. Even if you aren’t old enough to run, you can still click on these links to find candidates you support, donate or fundraise, or simply educate yourself about campaigning:
1. Running Start seeks to educate young women and girls about the importance of politics, and give them the skills they need to successfully run for office. You can join their nonpartisan movement of young women leaders and support their mission by becoming a member and making a donation. They offer a number of programs designed to give women “the running start they need to achieve greater political power.”
2. She Should Run is a national nonpartisan network of women inspiring each other to get involved with politics. Since starting in 2008, they have helped over 100,000 diverse women run for public office and countless others get involved in the political process.
3. Ignite encourages nonpartisan political activism for students, working to build political ambition in women from a young age. This organization is a great option for getting involved on college campuses across the U.S. Student-run chapters help to register voters in their community. Ignite also has a program that guides parents in empowering their daughters.
4. Women’s Campaign Fund offers nonpartisan support of women at all levels of office, while focusing on involvement in the earliest stages of public life. Their financial contributions go to female candidates on both sides of the aisle at the federal, statewide, and local level.
5. Finally, Emily's List is one of the most well-known organizations with a mission to elect Democratic women into office. They recruit candidates and support their campaigns. Since November 2016, Emily’s List reports that the number of women who've asked about running for office has risen to over 20,000, compared to just 900 over the course of that election season. That’s an increase of more than 2,100 percent.
TL;DR: "Women hold up half the sky," so if you have the privilege to vote them into office, make sure you do.