- 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: AllAfrica
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) says it will support Nigerian female politicians vying for elective positions in the 2019 general elections.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Buoyed by record gains in last month’s elections, Kenyan activists say they hope the nation’s top court will enforce women’s right to better political representation, following a surprise decision to nullify the presidential election.
With a higher proportion of women in Parliament than any other country, Rwanda seems to be a model of equal representation and empowerment. But politicians and rights campaigners say the nation’s women still struggle to be heard.
Source: AllAfrica
Maseru — Women's representation in Lesotho's parliament dropped by two-percentage points from 25% to 23% after the June 2017 National Assembly Elections.
Source: Vangaurd
Barely three months to the Anambra State Governorship Election, billed for November 18, 2017, the political terrain has once again been electrified.
Source: AllAfrica
Most women nominated by political parties to the Senate, National Assembly and Ward Representative in 2013, successfully used their positions as a stepping stone to elective politics, in the just concluded General Election.
Since entering politics, Kenyan lawmaker Sarah Korere has been insulted, shot at, slapped by a colleague and cursed by tribal elders - but she's still trying to take a man's parliamentary seat in one of Kenya's most violent regions. Korere's experiences are symptomatic of a wider hate campaign against female candidates in Kenyan politics, women representatives say, which helps give the east African nation the lowest representation of women in politics in its region.
Abdia Gole, 33, is a recent graduate of Business Management from one of the leading universities in Kenya, and a candidate for the upcoming County Assembly elections for Gorbo Ward, Marsabit County, in Northern Kenya. “I am going door to door, campaigning to urge women and youth to vote for me. Our time is now or never,” says Gole.
Kenyans will vote for their new government on August 8, amid fears that violence will flare up around polling day, as it has in the past. But across the country, women candidates are already facing harassment, intimidation and abuse, both in person and online.
Kenya’s parliament has missed a mandated deadline to enact a law that requires all elected bodies have at least one-third representation of women. With the parliament adjourned ahead of August 8 elections, activists aren’t giving up the fight for affirmative action.
Source: Liberian Observer
The Organization for Women and Children (ORWOCH) has concluded a one day training for female political aspirants and civil society organizations in Monrovia under the “Funding Opportunities for Women Project” with the aim of empowering participants to engage and participate in democratic processes in the build up to the 2017 presidential and representative elections.