International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics)

Tanzania: Donors push gender agenda

The European Union (EU) delegation in Tanzania revealed its "Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Tanzania for the period 2010-2012," which will be presented in Dar es Salaam. It is the first of its kind, representing a collective effort by EU member states to "strengthen and coordinate action on gender issues at country-level." The EU collectively by large is Tanzania's biggest donor.

The new action plan is to promote the establishment of gender-sensitive domestic accountability mechanisms as an integral part of good governance. This is set to hold the government accountable to its citizens and empower women and men to voice their interests and needs, especially at local level. The new EU Gender Action Plan aims at capacity building of key stakeholders, strengthening accountability, monitoring and evaluation systems using gender-sensitive performance indicators and supporting concrete actions to redress situations where women and girls are particularly disadvantaged.

India: Women get one-third share in Gadkari team

Women have got their place under the sun in Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari’s new team of office-bearers and an effort has been made to take forward the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s ‘diktat’ on the need to give the party a youthful look.

The 121-member new National Executive Committee has as many as 40 women members, nearly one-third of the total, as mandated by the party constitution amended during the tenure of the outgoing BJP president Rajnath Singh.

Egypt: Supreme Court backs women judges

Egypt's Constitutional Court backed the right of women judges to sit on the bench in the state's administrative courts, despite opposition from conservatives, state media reported Monday. The ruling follows a dispute within the State Council, the top administrative court, over whether women should be appointed.

The body's general assembly voted overwhelmingly against female judges, reigniting a debate within the country over women holding senior government posts, particularly in the judiciary.

India:DMK to train women cadres in governance

As the bill reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies awaits to be passed by parliament, Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK party is planning to hold camps across the state to empower its women cadres in governance.

"We plan to train DMK party women in various aspects of governance. We want to groom our party women so that they are ready as and when the 33 percent reservation for women comes into effect," Kanimozhi, party Rajya Sabha member and daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi, said.

Iraq: Foreign Policy: Iraq's Forgotten Women

Economically, women are vastly underrepresented in the work force as employment is still limited to mostly the army and the police. The Women's Ministry barely has any budget allocations, which has led to the resignation of ministers (most notably, Nawal al-Samaraie, minister for women's affairs, tendered her resignation in February 2009). Girls have a high rate of illiteracy and often drop out of schools due to economic and security reasons. Domestic violence is increasing, as is trafficking in women, and the Iraqi government estimates there are up to 3 million widows in Iraq today.

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Women in Arab media: present but not heard

Dr. Leila Nicolas Rahbani provides an in-depth report and analysis on the state of Arab women in the media in the Middle East and North Africa.

Women's Empowerment Principles: Equality means Business

This set of Principles is intended to offer practical guidance to business and other stakeholders on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians

Jointly produced by the IPU and UNODC, the Handbook on Combating Trafficking in Persons is intended to encourage parliamentarians to take an active part in stopping human trafficking.

Empowering Parliaments through the Use of ICTs

The study, published by the United Nations Development Programme, has developed an analytical framework that focuses on the three core functions of Parliaments - legislation, representation and ove

Assessing Legislation - A manual for legislators

It aims at providing the legislators with the necessary tools that would help them in assessing legislations and proposing them to promote social and democratic change in their countries.

A Parliamentarians’ Handbook on the Small Arms Issue

In a landmark step, parliamentarians from countries in Central, East and the Horn of Africa, gathering at a conference organised by UNDP and AWEPA on 26-28 November 2003, reached an agreement on a

Enhancing Women’s Political Participation: A Policy Note for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

This Policy Note presents a set of pragmatic recommendations that will enable policy makers to enhance women’s political participation in the region.

Women's leadership in Haiti

We are interested in information, blogs, news posts and success stories from Haiti about how women are contributing to the reconstruction of democratic processes in Haiti.

Women in Politics 2010 (Poster)

This poster-sized map is a "snapshot" of the presence of women in executive and legislative branches of government as of January 2010.

Integration of Women in Industrial Development

The history of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) towards the integration of women in its activities is described, from the International Women’s Year in 1975 to the pre

Gender Based Violence in Rural Communities

The women in the rural communities are facing high levels of aggression inflicted on them mostly by Men. The abused women i interviewed the time i was compiling footage for my documentary Luapula...

2010 Election in Costa Rica

Dear iKNOW Politics members, You may be interested in knowing that on the iKNOW Politics network we have started an Election Talk. Where members from different parts of the world can share their...

Experience from Cameroon

the first place at rural areas is to look at those traditional practices that serve as a barrier to women to hold leadership positions that they look it as a taboo. The women them selves should...

Gender in the Malestream – Acceptance of Women and Gender Equality in Different United Nations Organisations

The author outlines changing approaches to women’s issues and gender equality in the
UN system both before and since the International Women’s Year in 1975 and describes

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Interview with Regina Mundi, the Director General of Hoseana Enterprises Ltd.

Regina Mundi "All through the years I have fought to have women’s talents recognized and for women themselves to be interested in politics. We have through seminars encouraged women to participate actively in politics, not only by going out to vote but also by adhering to political parties."