- 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
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The female voices that triggered the dawn of the revolution are being pushed out of Tahrir Square through violent repression.
Source: Leadership
Chief (Mrs) Aisha Eleojo Audu-Emeje was first lady of Kogi State during the reign of her estranged husband, Prince AbubakarAudu. She is the only female candidate jostling for the coveted seat in Saturday's governorship election in Kogi State under Justice Party (JP). In this chat with ABIODUN OLUWAROTIMI, she relishes her chances and justifies why she is opposed to her husband.
Source: Daily Monitor
The level of corruption in Uganda has now reached unprecedented levels. And considering that since independence, the country has been led by men, all indications are that male leadership has failed the country.
Source: OSISA
Botswana has been lauded as a true 'shining example of democracy in Africa', but when it comes to empowering women in politics the country is like most other African states. In fact it's even worse – with little improvement since independence in 1965.
The Speaker of Parliament, Joyce Bamford Addo, has asked political parties to adopt the quota system to rectify imbalances in women’s representation in politics.
Some campaigners fear the further marginalisation of women in political life. Preliminary reports from the first day of Egypt’s historic parliamentary elections suggest that women voters have turned out in high numbers to make their voices heard.
Source: Aljazeera.com
Egyptians have come out to vote for the first time since their January 25 uprising ousted former-leader Hosni Mubarak; and people say it is the calmest election they have ever seen in heavily armed upper Egypt.
Source: WNN
CAIRO, Egypt: On Egypt’s first day of elections, women’s participation was visibly large in the country’s first post-revolution elections to choose “the revolution parliament.” The high female turn-out comes despite the low numbers of women who are running for the Parliament.
The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Justice Bamford Addo has called on women advocates in Africa to open Facebook accounts to raise funds to support women who want to enter politics.
Source: Africa Legal Aid
And they said it couldn’t be done! Despite suggestions in some quarters that an African candidate would not have merit to be the next Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Africa has scored meritorious and geographical victories in the election process.
The forthcoming parliament, which the Egyptian nation is looking forward to as a first step on a thorny road to democracy, is likely to have poor female representation. Women running in the elections on party lists complain that they have been placed at the bottom of the lists, which means hardly any chance at winning.