- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – President of the Republic of Liberia
- Joyce Banda – President of the Republic of Malawi
- Catherine Samba-Panza – Interim President of the Central African Republic
There is progress here and there on the continent regarding women's rights . We must go much further to ensure greater gender equality in Africa. It is not just a matter of justice....When women take their rightful place at the negotiating table, in the parliament and in leadership positions across society, we can unleash Africa’s enormous potential..." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
To learn more about women's political participation, please visit the following websites:
Source: Third World Network
For Egyptian women, the decision to fully participate in the mass demonstrations that toppled Mubarak was also a decision to take back their streets - the very streets where sexual harassment and stalking were rampant.
Source: Third World Network
To appease 'Arab spring' protesters, Algeria lifted a 1991 law that banned public assembly, but a longstanding women's vigil for the country's 'disappeared' complains it doesn't help them. Other political women debate the effects.
Source: All Africa
Mirriam Kauseni is on a quest to become her town's first ever female parliamentarian. She has yet to be elected to run for the post by her party, the Patriotic Front (PF), but Kauseni has already been conducting door-to-door campaigns, telling people to vote for her in the country's national elections.
Source: Reuters
Just two women sat among 17 men on a podium in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi this month when rebels paraded new members of their National Transitional Council to the media.
Source: All Africa
At independence in 1980 Loyce Tshuma (55), a villager in rural Tsholotsho in Matebeleland North, was a loyal believer in politics as a powerful vehicle to change and better lives. Since then she never missed an opportunity to cast her vote.
Source: All Africa
Very soon wives in Uganda will legally have the right to a share in their husband's property, that's if the country's new speaker of parliament has her way.
Source: AWID
The revolution of the 25th of January, 2011 was not born out of the moment, but was the result of a long struggle of all political and civil forces in Egypt. Women participated in all phases of this struggle and bore serious risks to confront the former regime and its security armory. This year, the 25th of May comes after the great revolution in which women participated to its success. Today marks the day in which women paid the price on the day of the referendum to amend article 76 of the constitution in 2005.
Source: South Africa Department of International Relations & Cooperation
Speaking at the re-launch of the ANC Women’s League in 1990, the visionary leader of the historic people’s movement - the African National Congress - Oliver Reginald Tambo unequivocally expressed that “women themselves have to organize and act so as to bring about the changes in attitudes amongst both men and women”
Source: Pambazuka
Members of Uganda's ninth Parliament were sworn-in this week, with female representation in the House reaching an all-time high. Women in the East African country are now sitting in 35 per cent of 375 available MP seats, up from the previous 30 per cent.
United Nations agencies in Nigeria, including the UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme have pledged their support for Nigerian women in their quest for better representation in government ahead of the local government elections in the country.
Source: New York Times
BENGHAZI, Libya — In recent days, after weeks of delays and closed-door meetings, rebel leaders here have announced a slate of new appointments, including a defense chief and a minister for reconstruction and infrastructure. They have added members to a national council, to represent areas in southern, central and western Libya, all in an effort to bolster the revolution, better represent the country as a whole and — in the event that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi bolts — make civil war unlikely, the rebel leaders explained.