Women a must-have in new Knesset bill

MK Ronit Tirosh (Kadima) has proposed a new bill that would require political parties to place a woman in the No. 1 or No. 2 seat on the party list, Maariv reported.

The proposed legislation would disqualify any party that did not have a female representative in one of its top spots. The new law, if passed, would drastically alter the gender composition of the 120-seat parliament.

Although Israel is notable for being among the few countries to have elected a female head of state, there are currently only 24 female members of Knesset, a mere 20 percent. Tirosh’s party, Kadima, has nine female MKs of a total of 28, the most of any party.

“The fact is that women constitute 51% of the population; there must be female representation in public and political elective bodies,” Tirosh said. “Women need to always be at the juncture of decision making.”

Several parties, mostly religious ones (Shas, United Torah Judaism, National Union, Hadash, Habayit hayehudi, and Ra’am Ta’al), field no female representatives at all.