- 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: Public Agenda
Even though government has put measures in place to ensure gender equality and women empowerment, their status has not changed when it comes to representation in political offices hence, likelihood for further reduction of women in Parliament come 2013 making Ghana part of countries in Africa with bad records on women's representation.
Source: Daily News
THE Deputy Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children Ummy Ally Mwalimu has urged youths to actively participate in the constitutional review process.
Source: New Democrat
As the nation yearns for President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to reveal the full slate of her new government, she has assured that appointment this time will reflect ethnic and gender balance, while former officials who performed with integrity in the past government, are likely to resurface in the new administration.
Women are at a crossroads in the Middle East and North Africa. This is widely reflected in the current battles over the adoption of quotas aimed at improving women's chances of being elected into parliaments. Although women's quotas were introduced as early as 1979 in Egypt, there are new efforts underway in the Middle East to implement them.
Source: OSISA
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) today joined the fight to repeal parts of Lesotho's discriminatory Chieftainship Act, which only allows the first-born son to succeed to chieftainship, by filing submissions in a landmark case that is due before the country's Constitutional Court next month.
Many countries are moving forward with their nuclear power programmes and, in these countries, more and more women are taking on key leadership roles in developing the national nuclear agenda.
There was quite a kerfuffle following President Kagame's last visit to Uganda in December 2011. The hoo-ha that played out over the airwaves, news pages and Twitter had nothing to do with the trip per se - relations between Presidents Kagame and Museveni have been warming over the past six months and such visits are becoming the norm - but rather with repeated questions about presidential term limits in Rwanda.
Nowadays, it is a common occcurence to witness African-born women having successful careers in Europe. Despite the evident challenges, many of them have also distiguished themselves in politics. Still, it was not so long ago that such success would have seemed impossible. To achieve greatness, these women have often come a long way, both literally and figuratively.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia inaugurated a second six-year term on Monday, calling for political reconciliation after a runoff election that was tarnished by an opposition boycott and street clashes between protesters and the police.
Source: Daily Nation
Lawyers are facing a dilemma over how to meet the constitutional threshold for women's representation in their society's council when they elect new leaders next month.
Liberia's Nobel peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will be sworn in Monday in a lavish $1.2m ceremony after her disputed re-election in the nation's second post-war polls.