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UN Women, on Wednesday tasked media practitioners and organisations to empower the female gender and promote its participation in politics.
They made the call at the 2024 UN Women Nigeria Media Forum on “Escalating Media Action for Women’s Empowerment” in Abuja.
Ms Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said the call was necessary to reverse the poor representation of women in both elective and appointed positions in the country.
Eyong, who noted the pivotal role the media plays in instilling change in the society, said it was fundamental for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
According to her, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President have shown commitment towards promoting women’s political participation, hence the media should play the role in championing the cause.
Read here the full article published by News Agency of Nigeria on 24 April 2024.
Image by News Agency of Nigeria
(Berlin, April 23, 2024) – Kazakhstan’s President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev signed a new law on April,15, 2024, to strengthen protections from violence for women and children, including domestic violence survivors, but it falls short in key areas, Human Rights Watch said today. The law aims to advance women’s rights and enhance their safety, but among other concerns, it fails to explicitly make domestic violence a stand-alone offense in the criminal code or elsewhere.
“It is significant that Kazakhstan’s leadership has prioritized protecting women and children from violence, and adopting this law is an important step forward,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But more should be done to ensure that women and children are protected from family abuse in accordance with international human rights standards, including by criminalizing domestic violence as a stand-alone offense.”
The new law, known as Kazakhstan’s “domestic violence” law, introduces amendments to Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code, the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence, the Law on Marriage and Family, and other laws. The passage of the new law coincides with the ongoing high-profile trial of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s former economy minister, who is charged with the murder of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova. The trial has drawn national and international attention and ensured a focus on the urgent need to tackle domestic violence with adequate sanctions for abusers and trauma-informed support for survivors.
Read here the full article published by Human Rights Watch on 23 April 2024.
Image by Human Rights Watch
Jakarta, Indonesia — UN Women Indonesia joined the Indonesian Women's Coalition, the Association for Elections and Democracy, and the Center for Political Studies at the University of Indonesia in organizing the Dialogue Forum of Women Politicians and Civil Society: Promoting Meaningful Participation and Representation in Politics last year.
The 60 participants were women politicians from 15 political parties, including 22 legislative candidates or members of parliament and seven party officials; 31 representatives from civil society organizations; and academic researchers.
Research shows that women's leadership in politics supports social inclusivity and well-being. The United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals Indicators Database shows that the 10 Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have significantly increased women’s representation in their parliaments during the past two decades. Still, it stood at only 22 per cent in 2022, compared with the global figure of 26 per cent.
Women face many sociocultural barriers to participating in politics, and their low representation makes it difficult to promote women's issues in legislation. In 2019, the United Nations Development Programme Gender Inequality Index ranked Indonesia 121 out of 162 countries.
Read here the full article published by UN Women on 24 April 2024.
On International Women’s Day on March 8, North Korea held various events to celebrate the country’s women, repeating what has become more or less a national slogan, “Women Are Flowers,” and hailing the country as a “paradise” for women. State media even compared North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to a “mother” who cares deeply for her children.
The situation of North Korean women, however, is a far cry from the barrage of propaganda the regime spreads across newspapers, television, and smartphone screens for domestic and international consumption.
Up until now, information about the state of women’s rights in North Korea has largely been limited to anecdotal reports assembled from grassroots media outlets, defector testimony, and reports submitted by the North Korean government to international agencies. Recently, however, Daily NK, with the support of the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea, conducted a survey of 30 North Korean women inside the country, as well as 10 North Korean defectors, to delve deeper into the state of women’s rights in North Korea.
Read here the full article published by The Diplomat on 18 April 2024.
Image by The Diplomat
The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with the Republican Commission for Increasing the Role of Women in Society, Gender Equality, and Family Issues, the United Nations Development Programme and with the financial support of the UK government, commenced a five-day training programme on 15 April 2024. The initiative aims to enhance the leadership potential of female representatives from various political parties.
The primary objective of the event is to equip candidates enlisted in the national personnel reserve, women's wings of political parties, and members of local councils—who advocate for gender equality in political spheres—with essential skills to augment their opportunities.
Furthermore, the event featured an award ceremony honoring the winners of the best scenarios competition, "Woman Leader in Politics: A Role Model," organized in March 2024 by the Republican Commission for Increasing the Role of Women in Society, Gender Equality, and Family Issues, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme. The competition aims to foster women's interest in active political participation, craft a contemporary image of female leadership, and cultivate a positive public perception of socially engaged women in politics.
The democratization of modern society necessitates active female participation in political life, underscoring the imperative of safeguarding women's rights as an integral component of human rights amidst ongoing globalization processes.
Read here the full article published by UNDP on 17 April 2024.
The CFP seeks to engage partners to support the implementation of activities on advancement of women participation in public life. The project will support actions that will enhance inclusion of women’s voice and their equal representation and participation in leadership and political processes. The call also focuses on supporting gender-sensitive reforms to ensure marginalized women are fully engaged to advocate and participate in the development of affirmative action.
Click here to apply before the deadline on 20 April 2024.