Male and female should have the same voting rights

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Men and Women Should Have Equal Political Rights
Effective democracy requires equal participation of men and women in politics. Aside from enhancing and strengthening the democratic system, equal participation of men and women in politics enhances political decision-making within the society and improves the lives of both genders. With women having equal political rights, there is likely to more equitable distribution of resources, improved development in education, improved standards of living, better infrastructure and health, and reduced political corruption. Despite the numerous gains made in gender equality in politics, studies indicate that women are still behind with regards to full political participation. This paper argues that men and women should have equal political rights because there exist plausible arguments for it, it enhances democracy, it promotes development, and it impacts political corruption.
First, there exist plausible arguments in literature that support equality between men and women. When arguing in support of equal rights for both men and women in politics, one argument supporting the rights of women is known as the justice argument (Campbell and Winters 67). This argument states that given that women account for half of the population in the world, they should also share half the power with the men in politics. Another argument is the experience argument, which states that given that men and women do not share the same experiences and therefore women’s ideas have to be represented in the creation and implementation of policies (Campbell and Winters 67). The differences in experiences mean that the politics of women are much more different than those of men. The interesting argument also supports equal participation of women, noting that they have very different and sometimes conflicting needs with men and therefore are needed in representative institutions to represent the interests of women. It is evident that there exist key arguments that support equal political rights between men and women
Second, equal participation of men and women in politics is important because it helps in enhancing democracy and good governance. Ignoring the principle of equality makes it impossible to govern democratically (Farris and Holman 342). This is because democracy entails the equal distribution of power to both genders within society. Wars have been fought, and lives lost pursuing the quest of equality. US history is marred with women undergoing struggles that spanned many decades in order to attain property and voting rights (HistoryNet). The struggles of women in history contributed to a great extent to the amendment to the constitution that granted women the right to vote (Our Documents). It is through such struggles that justice for both genders is attained and steps towards equality made. With amendments to the constitution, better governance is expected.
Third, equal political rights between men and women is essential for development. Studies indicate that women are far behind than men when it comes to political participation. As a result, supporting political equality helps to empower humanity and achieve international ...