The 8 women parliamentarians from Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan) have left, after 8 intensive days of lively discussions. They all showed a great interest in how Swiss parliaments are working in a consensus oriented way, and how different opinions and interests are accommodated and compromise is found. They asked many questions that were not always easy to answer by the experts. For example: Why is the representation of women and men in Swiss parliaments still far from equal, and there is even a negative trend in terms of women’s representation?
We hope that the Swiss experience and inspiration will be useful for the women parliamentarians to assert their position in the provincial assembly and promote gender equality in a very difficult context.
Many Swiss resource persons also emphasized that they felt enriched by the dynamic exchange.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this study visit a success.
