Women in Politics

Campaigns Promote Women’s Participation in Latin America

By Fabiana Frayssinet
An alternative network in Brazil promotes women's participation in elected offices with media support. This campaign, like others in Latin America, seeks to reverse a political landscape where, despite being a majority of the population, women hold an average of just 29.8 percent of legislative posts.

Zimbabwe’s Long Road to Gender Parity

By Ignatius Banda
Zimbabwe goes to the polls in July for the first general election since the departure of Robert Mugabe, and the jockeying over who will represent the country’s major political parties is in full throttle.

Mothers & Children: Addressing Disappearances through a Gender Perspective

By Rangita de Silva de Alwis
At the beginning of the Nuremberg Trials, Justice Robert Jackson, the Chief Prosecutor, charged the world that submitting the enemy to the judgment of the law is “one of the most significant tributes that Power has ever paid to Reason.”

Africa’s Corporate Boardrooms: Where are the Women?

By Kwamboka Oyaro
When a woman rises to the top rung of the traditionally all-male corporate ladder in Africa, it’s front-page news because women’s progress in business leadership on the continent continues to be achingly slow.

The Role of Law Schools in Shaping Global Gender Justice

By Rangita de Silva de Alwis
March 8th, 2018, International Women’s Day, saw an extraordinary global mobilization for gender equality. In the last year, global movements for gender equality-- from marches to powerful grassroots organizing and viral social media campaigns, such as #MeToo and #TimesUp in the United States and other countries-- have galvanized the world’s attention like never before.

A Fair Reflection? Women and the Media

By Audrey Azoulay
Information and communication technologies have the potential to open up new worlds of ideas and the media - television, newspapers, advertising, blogs, social networks, film – is increasingly omnipresent in the lives of many of us. In line with one of the major themes of this year’s Commission on the Status of Women, UNESCO is assessing how the media and ICTs shape the lives of women.

Press for Progress: Women’s Equality & Political Participation

By Peter Kagwanja and Siddharth Chatterjee
March 8, 2018 International Women’s Day offers another opportunity to reflect on the progress made towards gender equality and women’s political rights.

Women Peace Laureates Condemn Inaction on Rohingya “Genocide”

By Naimul Haq
Nobel Laureates Mairead Maguire, Shirin Ebadi and Tawakkol Karman met with more than 100 women refugees in camps in the coastal Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh this week, as well as travelling to the “no man’s land” where thousands of Rohingya have been stranded between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

A Long Way Still to Achieving Gender Equality: International Women’s Day

By Akinwumi A. Adesina
International Women's Day is a call to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of women and a reminder that globally, we are a long way from achieving gender equality.

“Banging on the Door” – Women Fight for a Voice and Space in Civil Society

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
The space for civil society organizations is shrinking around the world, with particular impacts on women activists and human rights defenders who face additional barriers due to their gender or sexual orientation.

Lawmakers Impose Gender Parity in Argentina’s Congress, By Surprise

By Daniel Gutman
It was an unexpected move by a group of women in the lower house of the Argentine Congress. At one o'clock in the morning, during a long parliamentary session, they demanded the approval of a stalled bill for gender parity in political representation. There was resistance and arguments, but an hour later, the initiative became law by a large majority.

Historic Resolution on Women & Peacekeeping Remains Mostly Unimplemented

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury
At the 26 October launch of GNWP’s (Global Network of Women Peacebuilders) manual “No Money, No NAP” on dedicated budgetary allocation to fund the implementation of the 1325 National Action Plans, Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka characterized UNSCR 1325 as the most unimplemented resolution of the UN Security Council.

Despite Odds, Women Gain Stature in African Politics

By Kwamboka Oyaro
Once in a while, Africa produces talented women politicians who, despite the odds, overcome the obstacles that impede their success in the political arena.

Malala Yousafzai Becomes UN’s Youngest Messenger of Peace

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai has become the youngest UN Messenger of Peace with a special focus on girls’ education.

Women and Tribal Leaders Call for “Balanced” Libyan Peace Process

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
A delegation of Libyan tribal leaders and women leaders has called on the UN to take a balanced approach to the Libyan peace process.The delegation from the National Movement for Libya (NML) met with UN officials and U.S. government representatives while visiting New York and Washington D.C. to discuss the UN-led peace process in Libya.

“The Struggle Continues” for Human Right to Peace and Inclusion of Women

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UN officials and activists gathered to discuss the essential relationships between sustainable peace and gender equality during a two week-long UN meeting, begining March 13.

Travel Restrictions Cast Shadow on UN Women’s Meeting: Rights Groups

By Lyndal Rowlands
Increasing travel restrictions have prevented delegates from attending this year’s UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), according to several women’s rights groups.

16-Hour Days for Zimbabwe’s Women

By Sally Nyakanyanga
As the cock crows, Tambudzai Zimbudzana, 32, is suddenly awakened from sleep. She quickly folds her blankets and strides outside her three-room, sheet iron-roofed house in rural Masvingo.

Women’s Rights Activists: “Nevertheless, We Persist”

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Human rights groups have expressed concern for the future of global negotiations on women’s rights in a climate of restrictive policies ahead of an upcoming annual UN meeting on the status of women.

The Peasant Farmer Who Stood Up to the President of Nicaragua

By José Adán Silva
The unequal battle that small farmer Francisca Ramírez is waging against the Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega has become so well-known that people are calling for her security and her rights from the political heart of Europe.

Trump’s Global Gag a Devastating Blow for Women’s Rights

By Erika Guevara-Rosas
The image of a group of men in suits making decisions about the rights of women is becoming an emblematic sign of the backlash against our human rights, particularly those related to women´s bodily integrity and reproductive and sexual freedoms.
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