Verum had found a new hobby. She had managed to get her hands on some beads and threads. Now, she was busy transforming those beads into beautiful necklaces and bracelets. So, when Scorch entered the Mystical dorm room, Verum gifted a necklace to her friend.
As Scorch put it on, she said, “Verum, I have heard some fantastic news. Iceland, an island nation with gorgeous landscapes, volcanoes, and geysers had an election last week. And reports claim that women won 33 out of 63 seats in the Althing! That’s what the Icelandic parliament is called. That makes Iceland the first European country to have a women-majority government! Isn’t that awesome?”
Verum rushed to her crystal ball to verify this information. If it was true, then it would be excellent news. But was it?
Verum said, “Hold your horses, Scorch! You’re right. The Iceland media did announce this. And for a brief time, the country celebrated this news. But hours later, the votes were recounted in northwestern Iceland as the contest was super tight. And it so turned out that the Althing would still have more men than women.”
Scorch’s face fell on hearing this update. She said, “Oh, no! I thought this would be possible. You see, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report published in March, the country of 371,000 people has ranked the most gender-equal country in the world for 12 years. That means women in Iceland have equal rights and opportunities as the men.”
“It’s still a victory for Iceland,” said Verum, “About 48% of its legislators (lawmakers) in Iceland are women. That is, women legislators won 30 seats in this election. It’s the highest in Europe followed by Sweden and Finland at 47% and 46% respectively. However, you might find it interesting that in Rwanda, a country in Africa, women make up 61% of its Chamber of Deputies.”
“Whoa!” said Scorch, “That is really cool!”
“Yeah! Don’t worry,” said Verum, “Iceland and the rest of the world will get there eventually.”