Africa: Women from P♂lls to P♀lls

Ballot papers being dispensed during Sierra Leone&#39s Aug. 11 general elections. Credit: Tugela Ridley/IRIN

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: A Sea of Challenges for the New Government

By IPS Correspondents
A voting process that has stretched over more than a month came to an end this week with the announcement that Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC) had won the presidency in Sierra Leone's general elections.

POLITICS-MOROCCO: Quotas Overpowered by Machismo

By Amina Barakat
When Morocco held legislative polls a decade ago, just two women were elected to the lower house of parliament in this North African country. Legal reforms enacted since have ensured that women will fare better when the latest parliamentary ballot gets underway Friday. But for activists, there is still a long way to go in bringing gender parity to the Chamber of Representatives.

POLITICS-KENYA: “I Almost Have No Fare to Come Back to Nairobi”

By IPS Correspondents
Posters, campaign appearances, radio spots and television adverts: all are essential for winning office in Kenya's general elections, set for December, and all cost money that parliamentary candidates are responsible for raising in this East African country.
Marie-Hélène Ngoa, mayor of Akono in central Cameroon. Credit: Raphaël Mvogo

Q&A: “I Have Ideas for Things That Need To Be Done in All Social Sectors”

By IPS Correspondents
It's a long way from the north of France to West Africa - and from studying mathematics at the University of Lille to becoming a mayor in central Cameroon. But Marie-Hélène Ngoa has successfully undertaken both these journeys.
Ida Odinga: co-convenor of the National Women Leaders Negotiating Committee. Credit: African Woman and Child Feature Service

KENYA: Legislation to Get More Women in Parliament – the Next Chapter…

By IPS Correspondents
Activists in Kenya have resumed efforts to legislate an increase in the number of women occupying seats in the East African country's parliament, this after a constitutional amendment bill that would have created 50 special seats for women was thrown out by the governing body.

POLITICS-MALI: Worst Expectations Confounded

By Almahady Cissé
As former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once remarked, "A week is a long time in politics." By this token, a political landscape can alter even more in a month, recent developments in Mali being a case in point.
Christiana Thorpe, chairwoman of the National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone. Credit: Michael J. Carter

Q&A: Elections "Will Indicate Maturity in the Democratic Process"

By IPS Correspondents
Just hours remain before polling stations are scheduled to open in Sierra Leone for general elections that will see seven parties vie for the presidency, and control of the West African nation's parliament.
A gathering in Freetown to call for violence-free elections. Credit: Tiggy Ridley/IRIN

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Women As An Antidote to Corruption?

By Mohamed Fofanah
Sierra Leone will hold general elections Saturday with a number of significant achievements in hand, not least maintaining peace for five years.
Parliamentary aspirant Joyce Majiwa, who says women must keep aiming for elective office. Credit: Joyce Majiwa

KENYA: More Women in Parliament, Hopefully – By Way of the Constitution

By IPS Correspondents
Kenya's parliament will soon debate a constitutional amendment bill to improve female representation in the legislature by creating 50 special seats for women. At present, only some eight percent of parliamentary posts in the East African country are occupied by women.
Parliamentary candidate Zainab Kamara speaks out against female genital mutilation. Credit: Michael J. Carter

SIERRA LEONE: A Women&#39s Issue That Women Are Wary of Campaigning About

By IPS Correspondents
Female genital mutilation (FGM) can make sex painful, complicate childbirth, lead to urinary tract infections, enable the transmission of HIV - and induce a host of other ills. So, promising to fight this practice should be a winning strategy for someone hoping to be elected to parliament this Saturday in Sierra Leone - where about 90 percent of girls and women undergo FGM, according to rights watchdog Amnesty International.
Shirley Yeama Gbujama, Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children&#39s Affairs. Credit: Michael J. Carter

Q&A: "In Sierra Leone They Just Cut You, And There&#39s Not Much Problem With That"

By IPS Correspondents
Certain comments resonate long after they are made, and Shirley Yeama Gbujama's reported threat to "sew up the mouths of those preaching against Bondo" is certainly one of them.
A police officer shows a woman how to mark a ballot correctly, ahead of Aug. 11 polls. Credit: Tiggy Ridley/IRIN

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Making a Voting Right a Voting Reality

By IPS Correspondents
Having the right to vote is one thing; using it properly, or indeed at all, is quite another, as Sierra Leone has shown ahead of general elections this Saturday.

POLITICS-MALI: Bracing for “Zero to Six” in Parliamentary Elections

By Almahady Cissé
A fear has been voiced that the number of women in Mali's parliament could be more than halved during legislative elections that wrapped up Sunday.
The hardships of daily life in Sierra Leone often make political aspirations a luxury. Credit: Tiggy Ridley/IRIN

SIERRA LEONE: Caught Between Leaving the Kitchen and Putting Food on the Table

By IPS Correspondents
When Iyesha Josiah told people last year that after the August 2007 general elections, she would stand before them as a new member of parliament for Sierra Leone, they thought she was joking.

AFRICA: “If You Want More Development, Include Women in Decision-making”

By IPS Correspondents
The '8th Triennial Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting' (8WAMM) has closed with an acknowledgement that gender equality is central to democracy, peace and economic growth; ministers also called for greater efforts to achieve parity between men and women.

BURKINA FASO: Giving Political Parties a Legal Nudge

By IPS Correspondents
Awareness raising alone hasn't managed to bring about sufficient change...Perhaps quotas are now required. That's the thinking behind a law that will be put before Burkina Faso's parliament later this year, in an effort to increase the number of women in decision-making posts in the West African country's government.

POLITICS-BENIN: A Drubbing in National Elections Turns Attention to Local Polls

By IPS Correspondents
Out of 250 candidates, just a handful triumphed: not an impressive track record by any measure. So, Benin's women are already looking ahead to the next election.

POLITICS-MALI: A Presidential Election That Breaks With Tradition

By Almahady Cissé
When Malians queue to cast ballots in presidential elections Sunday, they will be participating in a poll with a difference: for the first time ever, a woman will be amongst the candidates voters have to choose between.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: Watershed Elections – For Men, That Is

By Sam Olukoya
Declarations of no confidence in the electoral commission, threats of an opposition boycott, a key candidate clawing his way back onto the ballot at the last minute...There has been no shortage of political theatre concerning Saturday's milestone elections in Nigeria, or debate on whether the country can successfully hand over power from one civilian government to another for the first time since independence in 1960.

NIGERIA: What Have Eight Years of Democracy Done for Women Politicians?

By Sam Olukoya
"Men are the decision makers; women should be cooking in the kitchen while men play politics." This is the type of comment that Dorothy Ukel Nyone's male counterparts repeatedly made when she announced her intention to contest a seat in Nigeria's state elections, which got underway Saturday.

LESOTHO: Local Elections May Hold the Key to National Success for Women

By Moyiga Nduru
As Lesotho's newly-elected legislators settle down to the task of governing, activists are expressing disappointment at the low representation of women in the country's parliament.
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