It has been argued that where women are fully represented, societies are more peaceful and stable. Women's political participation is fundamental for gender equality and their representation in positions of leadership must be a priority for all African governments. Women are largely under-represented in decision-making and leadership positions in Africa.
 
Over the last years, there has been more women in parliaments and decision-making positions than before. In the parliamentary elections of Rwanda in September 2013 women obtained 64 percent of the seats, which is the highest number in the world. However, women's participation in governmance and decision-making remain very limited. They are outnumbered by men in all decision-making and leadership positions.
 
In the history of Africa, there are now three women who have been elected president:
  • 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: The Tripoli Post
Libyan women want more say in running post-Al Qathafi Libya and suggest that a new government in Libya should ensure the participation of both sexes in political action giving a minimum of 40% for each, with the requirement of capability.

Source: Women E-News
Morocco's Nov. 25 parliamentary elections are expected to decide if the country's new constitutional provisions for women can go beyond paper gains.

Source:allAfrica.com
Women in the North Rift region have vowed to contest for seats created under the new constitution. The North Rift Women Voices group has initiated campaigns to educate women on provisions in the constitution especially on gender issues. The group launched sensitisation campaigns for women in counties in the region.

Source: Pambazuka News
In an article written on the eve of the country's elections last month, Marieme HelieLucas explores 'what women have to lose, should fundamentalists come to power in Tunisia.'

Source: Foriegn Policy
Amr, 28, plays with the youngest of her three siblings in a friend's house in New Cairo. A graduate from the School of Law in Cairo, she doesn't work in order to spend time with her children, because, she explains, "I believe my role as a mother is much more important than my job."

Source:UN News Centre
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today called for greater effort to raise the number of women holding senior positions at the United Nations, saying that the majority of them remain in the lower ranks although more women are now being hired to fill management posts.

Source: All Africa
Female legislators in Nigeria have been charged to embark on aggressive mobilisation of women in politics in their various states ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Source:News24
Monrovia - Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has ambitious plans for her second presidential term but putting them into action has been difficult because of election violence and an opposition boycott which has deepened the country's divisions.

Source: The Egyptian Gazette
“Women played a big role in the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak and they have the right to participate in every aspect of political life,” says Hoda Abdel-Ghani, a professor of sociology in the Faculty of Arts, Helwan University.

Source: Open Democracy
The majority of voters in the South Kordofan election in May 2011 were women. In the violence that ensued, women activists who had mobilised the women to vote were targeted, their offices destroyed and all record of their work erased from history. Zeinab Blandia told Amel Gorani their story.

Source: IPS Africa
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s victory for a second term of office has been described as a boon for women despite the controversy surrounding an opposition boycott of the runoff.

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