Africa: Women from P♂lls to P♀lls

Lilian Patel: Male politicians fail to protect women. Credit: Pilirani Semu-Banda/IPS

POLITICS-MALAWI: Elections Get Ugly For Women

By Pilirani Semu-Banda
Malawi’s primary elections are getting ugly for women candidates. Shoving, derogatory songs and being pelted with stones are just some of the intimidating tactics aimed at discouraging women from contesting the primary elections that will select candidates for the parliamentary polls in May 2009.
Asfaw is determined that her new political party will not repeat previous mistakes. Credit: Michael Chebsi/IPS

POLITICS-ETHIOPIA: Disappointed But Not Defeated

By IPS Correspondents
She fought alongside men in the Ethiopian liberation struggle. She fought for a free and fair society. But today, Yewubmar Asfaw feels that Ethiopia's revolution has failed to deliver a fair share of political power to women.
Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem -- plenty of powerful women in Angola Credit: Louise Redvers/IPS

POLITICS-ANGOLA: A Tradition of Strong Women

By Louise Redvers
She was orphaned by Angola's liberation struggle against Portugal, but through it she found a new family and a life-long inspiration.
Guinea's maverick politician Kaba Rougui Barry. Credit: Saliou Samb/IPS

POLITICS-GUINEA: Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drum

By Saliou Samb
Surprises have been a common occurrence in the all-but-common political career that made Kaba Rougui Barry the first female mayor in Guinea since political parties were legalised in 1990.
Rita Muainga -- "If we rush, we can create problems. We wish to see Mozambique become modern without tossing aside our diverse roots." Credit: Paola Rolleta/IPS

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: Fate and Merit

By IPS Correspondents
Two deaths in a row placed Rita Muianga at the helm of Xai-Xai's municipal council. In 2003, council presidents Ernesto Mausse and Faquir Bay died suddenly and successively. Rumours of witchcraft gripped Xai-Xai, a small town 220 kilometres north of Mozambique's capital, Maputo.
Moreno: seeking real decision-making power for women. Credit: Paola Rolletta/IPS

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: The Modern Face of Renamo

By IPS Correspondents
If Maria Moreno is elected president of the Municipal Council in Cuamba, in Niassa Province, Mozambique's parliament will lose one of its most interesting personalities.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Hide And Seek

By Mantoe Phakathi
Swazi gender activists are angry that King Mswati III and the newly elected Parliament have betrayed their hopes, and the Constitution, by not appointing more women to the House of Assembly and the Senate.

POLITICS-BENIN: Women Left Out of New Govt

By IPS Correspondents
"Every change is a step backwards in this new era. It's disheartening," is Claire Houngan Ayémona's response to Benin's newly-appointed cabinet.
Power to the people... Credit: Amandio Vilanculo/IPS

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: Still A Man's Thing?

By IPS Correspondents
Only a handful of women are running in Mozambique's municipal elections scheduled for Nov. 19. Among the 111 candidates vying to become president in 43 municipal councils, only eight are women.
Visibility of women politicians in elections is still low Credit: Amandio Vilanculo/IPS

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: Ready To Roll

By IPS Correspondents
The posters and flyers are ready, and so is Marta Simango. Ready for Nov. 4, when the municipal elections campaign officially kicks off in Mozambique.
Mideksa -- "The values that guide me are truth and fairness" Credit: Michael Chebsi/IPS

POLITICS-ETHIOPIA: A Career In Dissent

By IPS Correspondents
Frozen in disbelief on the steps of the courthouse where she presided as a federal judge, Bertukan Mideksa watched as a man she had just ordered released on bail was detained by plain-clothes police with no warrant and no apparent regard for the law.
Simply seeking information -- 47 women were arrested. Credit: Ephraim Nsingo/IPS

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Women Demand Movement On Talks

By IPS Correspondents
Over 300 women gathered outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare on the morning of Oct. 27, dressed mostly in black and white. They were there to protest the prolonged impasse over the allocation of Cabinet ministries among Zimbabwe’s rival parties.
Dlamini -- Advocating laws to protect women and children. Credit: Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: A Woman With Swagger

By Mantoe Phakathi
The writing is on the wall. "WANTED - Men who Believe that Wives are not for Beating," reads a poster on Nonhlanhla Dlamini's office wall.
Msiska says her first priority will be to bring water to her rural constituency. Credit: Pilirani Semu-Banda

POLITICS-MALAWI: The Bold and the Beautiful

By Pilirani Semu-Banda
The reigning Miss Malawi, Peth Msiska, has hit the campaign trail, not seeking another crown but to be voted into Parliament in her country’s general elections in May 2009.

POLITICS-GHANA: The Steep Price of Getting Elected

By Francis Kokutse
Mawusi Awity and her husband were willing to jeopardize his military career for her dream of running for parliament in Ghana but there was another price to pay that she could not afford.
Politics is a manly affair in Sao Tome. Credit: Lourenço Silva/IPS

SÃO TOMe AND PRINCIPE: A Retro Approach to Politics?

By IPS Correspondents
It is lonely at the top – especially when you are one of only two women among 53 men at the National Assembly.

POLITICS-SENEGAL: Ms. Mayor, Ms. Prefect

By IPS Correspondents
The Sicap Baobab neighborhood, one of the prettiest in the Senegalese capital, stands out, but not for the most obvious reasons. Not for its well-paved roads, or the number of naturalised immigrants from Cabo Verde, Togo or Benin, not for the hustle and bustle of the formal and informal economies.

MADAGASCAR: A Difficult Step For Women

By IPS Correspondents
The northern region of Diana is known for the beautiful beaches of the Nosy-Be district and the scent of fields of ylang-ylang flowers. But the political landscape of Diana is as extraordinary as its geography: the region's administrative head is a woman, Anjara Mantasara.

POLITICS-KENYA: Broken Bodies, Unbroken Spirit

By Najum Mushtaq
It was a sad occasion, and an occasion to rejoice. Sad, said Dr Ludeki Chweya, introducing Flora Terah's new book, because her heart-wrenching story shows that physical abuse and torture are a weapon of choice to deter women's participation in electoral politics in Kenya.
Political rally: dancers, cooks, or leaders? Credit: Moses Magadza/IPS

POLITICS-NAMIBIA: Gender Equality – Making The Numbers Count

By Moses Magadza
Namibian gender activists applaud the goal of a 50/50 split of women and men in government by 2015, but warn that the real work is only just beginning.
Women like this trainee doctor are pushing against entrenched male attitudes blocking women from powerful positions. Credit: Nicholas Reader/IRIN

POLITICS-GUINEA: "Sheep Who Vote?" Women Say No

By Saliou Samb
Long absent from the top posts in the civil service and under-represented in political parties, Guinean women are calling for changes during legislative elections planned for December.
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