- 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:
THE year gone by, 2011, was a year marked by people's protest movements across the world --- a year of agitations and struggles. It started with the eruption of mass protests in the Arab world. On January 14, Tunisia led the way, followed by Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world. In Egypt, 18 days of angry protests at Tahrir Square brought an end to the 30 years long autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak.
Last September a striking story stole the headlines of newspapers and media outlets all across Ghana. Samia Nkrumah, the daughter of the nation's founding father, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, became the first female chairperson of a political party in the country's history as an independent state.
Voters often regard politicians with derision — so often, in fact, they may lose sight of the extent to which elected officials are role models for younger people. Indeed, new evidence suggests that when those politicians are female, they play a highly influential and positive role in the lives of young women.
Quotas for women seem to be the hot thing in the Middle East these days. Libya just announced a 10 percent quota for women in its new election law. Tunisia used a form of quotas to enhance women's participation in its recent election.
Source: Nairobi Star
GENDER parity in the education sector was better realised last year in Nyanza.
“The goal for more women in politics is not fewer men in politics but a more equitable society.” This is a popular statement of the United Nations Development Programme which clearly reaffirms abhorrence at the international level for the lingering culture of gender disparity in the structures of power at the national and local levels.
The August 2012 elections in Kenya will open doors to massive political participation by women for the first time ever.
Source: IPS Gender Wire
Under a new gender quota law introduced in Mauritius, at least one-third of the candidates in local elections must be women. But the adoption of a national quota is not yet on the horizon, even though just 18 percent of legislators are women and there are only two female cabinet ministers.
Source: IPS
Under a new gender quota law introduced in Mauritius, at least one-third of the candidates in local elections must be women. But the adoption of a national quota is not yet on the horizon, even though just 18 percent of legislators are women and there are only two female cabinet ministers.
The Libyan women have slammed a newly circulated draft election law that gives women only ten percent in parliament quota, and described as as “extremely dangerous.”
Source: RNW
Ten percent of the seats in a proposed Libyan constituent assembly will be reserved for women, a draft electoral law published on Monday said, triggering harsh reaction from a human rights watchdog.