- 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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A top United Nations official today strongly encouraged governments to adopt special temporary measures, such as quotas, to boost the number of women in parliament and decision-making positions, pointing to the progress achieved by women in India as a result of affirmative action.
Source: uReport
While it is quite encouraging that the elections taking place across Africa this year present an opportunity for a rising tide of women to take political office, a lot is yet to be done to empower many women for such posts.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has received the African-American Institute's (AAI) African National Achievement Award for Literacy to Support Life Skills. The Liberian leader was one of five honorees to have received an AAI award at a dinner in their honor at New York City's Grand Hyatt Hotel on September 26th.
Source: The Star
THE stalemate surrounding the gender parity rule will only be solved by the Supreme Court, the chairman of the Commission on Administrative Justice Otiende Amollo said at the weekend.
The presidential aspirants of three political parties in the country have pledged their commitment to the cause of women and to involve them in decision-making as being championed by women rights activists if elected into power. The parties are the Progressive People's Party (PPP), People's National Convention (PNC) and Convention People's Party (CPP).
Source: The Star
Centre for Multiparty Democracy programmes officer in charge of gender Sarah Muhoya has told Kilifi women to not to shy away from aiming for higher elective political seats.
The Somaliland Non State Actors Forum (SONSAF) fully supports the Somaliland women and Minority groups’ rights to participate in the national democratisation process, multi-party elections and the national decision-making structures. SONSAF proposes and underlines the need for the involvement of all the different national institutions, particularly, the law making bodies and the international community and urges their pro-active support in achieving this goal.
European leaders rolled out a new initiative to get women to participate more in politics and business ahead of this week's U.N.'s General Assembly meeting.
New York is a busy place this week, as heads of state and other notables converge on the UN for the General Assembly meetings and the de rigueur Clinton Global Initiative. Despite a schedule packed with sessions mostly focused on the challenging situation in the Middle East, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made time to announce a new initiative, the Equal Futures Partnership—yet another effort to promote the role of women in the world.
Their push for a quota system has yet to bear fruit, but women have growing political influence – and that should be celebrated.
THE EQUAL FUTURES PARTNERSHIP AND UNITED STATES COMMITMENTS TO EXPAND WOMEN'S POLITICAL AND ECOMOMIC PARTICIPATION