Africa: Women from P♂lls to P♀lls

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Reforms First, Elections Later

By Stanley Kwenda
A new constitution, voters’ roll and electoral law, among other things, have to be in place before elections in Zimbabwe can be held but observers doubt if this can be implemented.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Challenge of Restoring Security

By IPS Correspondents
In a shelter covered by a tattered blue tarpaulin, Ibrahim Traoré sits beside his militia commander to hear complaints from residents of the Abidjan neighbourhood of Abobo-Avocatier.
Mirriam Kauseni has been conducting door-to-door campaigns, telling people to vote for her in the country

ZAMBIA: Hope for Women Politicians

By Nebert Mulenga
Mirriam Kauseni is on a quest to become her town’s first ever female parliamentarian. She has yet to be elected to run for the post by her party, the Patriotic Front (PF), but Kauseni has already been conducting door-to-door campaigns, telling people to vote for her in the country’s national elections.

ZIMBABWE: Rural Women Voting With Their Feet

By Ignatius Banda
At independence in 1980, Loyce Tshuma (55), a villager in rural Tsholotsho in Matebeleland North, was a loyal believer in politics as a powerful vehicle to change and better lives. Since then she never missed an opportunity to cast her vote.
Only 17.25 percent of councillors who made it onto South African municipalities are women. Credit: Tinus de Jager

SOUTH AFRICA
: Women Candidates Struggle in Local Government Elections

By IPS Correspondents
Political parties should be forced, through changes in legislation, to bring more women into government.
Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga is the first female speaker of Uganda

POLITICS: First Woman Speaker of Parliament Changing Politics

By Wambi Michael
Very soon wives in Uganda will legally have the right to a share in their husband’s property, that’s if the country’s new speaker of parliament has her way.
Victoria Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi has navigated through South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA: Woman Navigating a Tough Political System

By IPS Correspondents
Victoria Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi admits she is no angel. But for 30 years she’s navigated through South Africa’s tough political landscape, mainly as a member of a male-dominated party, and now as the leader of her own political party.
Civil society is calling for women's issues to be prioritised by political parties. Credit: Zukiswa Zimela/IPS

SOUTH AFRICA
: Women’s Issues Missing from Election Manifestos

By Zukiswa Zimela
Come rain or shine, single mother of five, Sylvia Mathebula,* can be found selling fruit and cigarettes at the roadside because it is the only way her family can survive. "Since the government is not helping us with jobs, rather than work as a maid for a white person I decided to start this little business by myself," she says lamenting the lack of opportunities for unskilled women.

SIERRA LEONE: Promise of More Space for Women in Decision-making

By Mohamed Fofanah
In Sierra Leone’s highly patriarchal society, where institutionalised gender inequalities are exacerbated by discriminatory customs, one group is singing its way towards changing this.
The Democratic Alliance election posters that have people talking. Credit: Zukiswa Zimela/IPS

SOUTH AFRICA: Do More Women Politicians Mean Better Politics?

By IPS Correspondents
The Democratic Alliance (DA) election posters, which feature party leader Helen Zille, Cape Town mayoral candidate Patricia de Lille and party spokeswoman Lindiwe Mazibuko, do not necessarily mean that a vote for the party is a vote for women, analysts say.

KENYA: Feisty Politician Enters Presidential Race

By IPS Correspondents
Martha Karua fears nothing and no one, and when her adversaries look back at her long track record in politics, they must get nervous. This previously staunch supporter of Mwai Kibaki resigned as justice minister in 2009, and will challenge all comers for the presidency at the head of her own party next year.

Nigerian Women Stand Up to be Counted

By IPS Correspondents
As Nigeria tries again to begin its staggered general elections on Apr. 9, spare a thought for the women who will be putting themselves forward as candidates in an overwhelmingly male field.

ZIMBABWE: Fears for Next Generation of Women Leaders

By Ignatius Banda
Zimbabwe's veteran women politicians fear there are no younger women coming up through the ranks to replace them. Measures to improve women's representation have achieved little and young women are absent from the traditional entry points into politics.

ZIMBABWE: Backlash Against Women in Politics

By Ignatius Banda
"Women in Zimbabwe are largely seen as a huge demographic to be exploited by politicians who seek our support," says Ntombikayise Mswela. "But when we take to the streets to demand respect and our rights from the same government we are thrown into prison.

BOTSWANA: Women in Politics – A House Divided… But Determined

By Alma Balopi
"The Botswana Caucus for Women in Politics has failed to realise the objectives it was intended for, but we will not give up on it just yet," says Margaret Nasha.

ZAMBIA: Women Resume Struggle for Representation Ahead of Elections

By Lewis Mwanangombe
Zambians head to the polls sometime before October and civil society groups are working hard to ensure their voices are heard. Groups which were excluded during the 2005 elections and the National Constitutional Conference that began in 2007 are mobilising to ensure they are not excluded.
Judith Mussacula (centre) with pupils from her school. Credit: Courtesy Judith Mussacula

MOZAMBIQUE: Educator in the Foothills of Her Political Career

By IPS Correspondents
If women like Judith Mussacula realise their aspirations to become the next generation of Mozambican politicians, the country's future will be in safe hands.

POLITICS-ZAMBIA: Days of Male Domination Numbered

By IPS Correspondents
Elizabeth Phiri was so incensed when she was overlooked as a parliamentary candidate for the Patriotic Front in a 2008 by-election on the basis of her gender that she quit the party. Four years on, she has rejoined the party but remains pessimistic - but other women politicians see reasons to hope the 2011 elections will be different.

Botswana Parliament’s Speaker a Well-Loved Woman

By IPS Correspondents
It would have been hard for a teenaged Margaret Nnananyana Nasha to imagine that she would grow up to become one of the most powerful figures in Botswana's government.
Geejabai Teemulen is among the women being trained ahead of this year's local government elections. Credit: Nasseem Ackburally/IPS

Mauritian Women Dreaming of Active Politics

By Nasseem Ackbarally
"We have had enough of the training given to us in cooking, sewing and household works... We now have another dream: of participating actively in the development of our island at decision-making level," says Marie-Anne Laganne, a political trainer at Women In Politics.

KENYA: One Woman’s Turbulent Journey to Success

By Miriam Gathigah
Mount Elgon in Western Kenya is one of the most marginalised regions in the country. It is so marginalised that it is the only area where not even an inch of tarmac road has been constructed.
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