Women in Politics

Polygamy Throttles Women in Senegal

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
Fatou (40), Awa (32) and Aissatou Gaye (24) sit in a meditative mood on the tiled floor outside their matrimonial home in Keur Massar, a township in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Nearer the Church, Farther From MDGs

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
When Philippines President Benigno Aquino III delivered his annual state of the union address in July, he appealed to the country’s lawmakers to break a  deadlock on progressive birth control laws in this predominantly Catholic nation.

Pacific Nations Women Promised a Better Deal

By Catherine Wilson
Leaders of 15 Pacific Island nations have pledged to remove barriers to women’s economic empowerment, end violence against women and pave the way for their increased political representation, at the conclusion of the 43rd Pacific Islands Forum in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, last week. The meeting was also attended by the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet.

Women Spend 40 Billion Hours Collecting Water

By Thalif Deen
As the weeklong international conference on water concluded Friday, it was left to one of the keynote speakers from the United Nations to focus on a much neglected perspective on water and food security: the role of women.

Breakthrough for Women in Senegal’s Lower House

By Souleymane Faye
A record number of women were sworn in as legislators as Senegal's new parliament was inaugurated on Monday. Sixty-four women now have seats in this West African country's 150-member National Assembly, thanks to a law on gender parity.
Flags fly at half-mast in Kumasi. President John Dramani Mahama has declared one week of mourning to commemorate the death of President John Atta Mills. Credit: Portia Crowe/IPS

President’s Death Could Drive National Unity in Ghana

By Portia Crowe
The death of President John Atta Mills will have a sobering effect on national politics in the months leading up to Ghana’s December 2012 election, according to the Executive Secretary of the West Africa Network for Peace, Emmanuel Bombandey.

Bolivia’s Indigenous Women Seek the Political Kingdom

By Jenny Cartagena Torrico
A growing number of Bolivia's indigenous women are participating in politics, ready to break the barriers of gender and ethnicity.

Officials Decry “Appalling Gaps” in Global Data on Women

By Carey L. Biron
The World Bank and U.S. government on Thursday each announced major new initiatives aimed at expanding knowledge on the experience of women around the world, while acknowledging that much remains to be done on filling the global “data gap” on women.

Family Planning Essential for Development

By Julio Godoy
Improving family planning to avoid unwanted pregnancies in developing countries, as well as assuring girls’ access to education, and women’s participation in the economy, are essential components of a sound development policy, according to Western experts and African activists.

Women Secure a Third of Mexican Parliament

By Anayeli Garcia Martinez
Female candidates are poised to occupy an unprecedented third of the seats in Mexico's bicameral parliament when preliminary results for the Jul.1 election are confirmed.

Making it Compulsory to Have Women in Ghana’s Parliament

By Jonathan Migneault and Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
Beatrice Boateng, a member of parliament with the New Patriotic Party, Ghana’s official opposition to the ruling New Democratic Congress, has earned her place among the country’s lawmakers.
Legislator Gloria Stella Díaz. Credit: Helda Martinez/IPS

Colombia Tightening Laws Against Acid Attacks

By Helda Martínez
Nobody will ever know if Jhon Jairo Echenique decided to take his own life out of remorse, fear or mental illness. But the suicide followed his arrest for the stabbing and burning with acid of his 19-year-old former girlfriend Angélica Gutiérrez.

Report Details Steady Erosion of Iranian Justice System

By Jasmin Ramsey
While Iran’s human rights record has “never been satisfactory”, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution the situation has deteriorated daily, according to Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Libya Prepares an Advance of the Young

By Rebecca Murray
On the eve of Libya’s historic elections for a General National Congress on Saturday, Jul. 7, the seaside capital’s bustling streets are lined with hundreds of campaign posters advertising electoral candidates - including those of women and youth - jockeying for a stake in their country’s future.

MONGOLIA: Can New Electoral Law Help Women Enter Parliament?

By Pearly Jacob
If all goes as envisioned on Jun. 28, Mongolia's parliament will no longer be a male bastion.

Will the World Listen to Women?

By Zofeen Ebrahim
What does birth control have to do with reducing global emissions?

No Rest for Cyber Activists

By Susan Dabbous
One and a half years since the beginning of the Arab Spring, activists who guided their fellow citizens through the relatively unchartered terrain of social media activism feel their fight for human rights, democracy and transparency is only just beginning.

Malawi Businesses Lose Out after AU Summit Cancelled

By Claire Ngozo
Small and large businesses in Malawi are counting their losses following the cabinet’s decision not to host the African Union summit in July.
Michelle Bachelet. Credit: Courtesy of UN Women

Q&A: Women Must Be at the Forefront of Rio+20, and Beyond

By Isabelle de Grave
Unlocking women's energies and allowing them to become drivers of change could fuel the motor of sustainable development.

Nepal Misses Pro-Women Constitution

By Naresh Newar
Nepal’s squabbling political parties have squandered an opportunity to pass into law one of the most gender-friendly constitutions ever devised.

Women Look for a Place in New Egypt

By Mel Frykberg
"It was so frustrating but so exciting at the same time," recalls 15-year-old Mariam Assam, a year-10 student in Cairo. Assam was recalling the days she tried to join protestors during the Egyptian revolution in January 2011 but was intially prevented by her parents who said street protests were no place for a girl to be.
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