Advocacy & Lobbying
She argued that despite years of advocacy and constitutional guarantees of equality, women remain largely sidelined during candidate emergence processes through practices such as exorbitant nomination fees, political intimidation, monetised delegate systems, and exclusion from strategic negotiations where candidacies are determined.
Political parties in Nigeria have been scolded for resisting genuine reforms that will guarantee women equitable participation in the country’s electoral process, according to the Executive Director of the Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack.
Sydney-Jack, while speaking to journalists in Abuja on Sunday accused political parties of sustaining structures that deliberately exclude women from emerging as candidates in ongoing primary elections across Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In Africa, several initiatives seek to increase women’s visibility in digital spaces. Africa Wiki Women is one of the projects actively involved in advancing African women’s participation in online knowledge creation and sharing.
Women across the continent still face many obstacles in accessing technology and participating in digital knowledge spaces. Previous reports from Global Voices show that online abuse and harassment of women are significant barriers limiting their participation in and contribution to collaboration platforms and information networks. These obstacles lead to a representation bias, where African women’s achievements often remain unseen and undocumented in digital spaces.
From these access barriers emerged Africa Wiki Women, a collaborative project between three women: Ruby Damenshie-Brown from Ghana, Bukola James from Nigeria, and Pellagia Njau from Tanzania, who came together to empower women through training, contribution campaigns, and mentorship programs. This organization encourages women to document the countless remarkable achievements African women make, and increase the content about women and their initiatives on collaborative knowledge platforms.
This post is part of Global Voices’ April 2026 Spotlight series, “Human perspectives on AI.” This series will offer insight into how AI is being used in global majority countries, how its use and implementation are affecting individual communities, what this AI experiment might mean for future generations, and more. You can support this coverage by donating here.
As a Nigerian who has spent years on X (formerly Twitter), I’ve seen a lot. I’ve witnessed trends come and go, policies shift, and communities build and dissolve. For a long time, I considered myself a “conscious” internet user. I curated my timeline carefully, avoided unnecessary engagement, muted triggering keywords, and accepted the uncomfortable truth that the internet, especially for women, was never designed with our safety in mind.
My work at Superbloom (a design non-profit and studio) — particularly on human-centered design projects and the tech policy design lab playbook on online gender-based violence — was my first real exposure to the scale and intensity of violence occurring online. I came to see how these forms of violence persist online: Victims remain scared and vulnerable, while perpetrators are rarely held accountable. A temporary ban is often the extent of the response, and they soon return with a new account and a new victim. Social media, once a place for connection, community-building, and entrepreneurship, has now become a battleground and hostile environment, with women often bearing the brunt of unprovoked abuse. Furthermore, according to UN estimates, only 40 percent of countries have legislation protecting women and girls from online abuse, leaving much of the global population exposed.
This post is part of Global Voices’ April 2026 Spotlight series, “Human perspectives on AI.” This series will offer insight into how AI is being used in global majority countries, how its use and implementation are affecting individual communities, what this AI experiment might mean for future generations, and more. You can support this coverage by donating here.
In November 2023, a group of parents from a school in Rio de Janeiro reported to the police that teenagers were creating and sharing nudes created using Artificial Intelligence (AI) featuring other classmates. Less than a year later, in September 2024, in the state of Bahia, another group of teens was also suspected of using AI to create pornographic images of other classmates, while in Mato Grosso state, students were expelled after sharing AI images featuring a teacher and other students in pornography communities on social media.
These are some recent cases reported on Brazilian media and mentioned in a technical note published by the independent research center Internetlab in early April, 2026. The document aims to discuss “ways of combating online violence against girls and women in Brazil” and recommend regulatory discussions within the country’s context.
Even as the debate surrounding reservations to women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies is once again in the spotlight, some serious concerns are being raised: Will the reservation being promised by to-be promulgated legislation truly reach women from all sections equally or whether the benefits will be limited primarily to the affluent and socially empowered.
India has a strong patriarchal political culture. This is clearly evident in Panchayat elections. Reservation for women in Panchayat elections in India came through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1993, which reserved at least 33 per cent (one-third) of seats for women at all levels.
Currently, this reservation has been increased to 50 per cent in more than 20 states, with Bihar leading the way in 2006. India is the only country where more than 1.4 million elected women are actively participating in local self-government institutions (panchayats and municipal bodies). This has, albeit slowly, significantly transformed the status of women.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the African School of Governance (ASG), the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), today opened applications for the inaugural cohort of the African Academy for Women in Political Leadership, a continental programme designed to build the next generation of women who govern Africa.
Thirty women will be selected for a fully funded, four-week blended programme combining virtual learning with a residential convening in Kigali. Nominations are now open to government institutions, political parties, AU member state bodies, and civil society organisations across all five African regions.
Why the Academy
Africa’s political representation of women remains critically low. Where women do hold office, they often navigate systems that were not designed with their leadership in mind. The African Academy for Women in Political Leadership was built to change that — by equipping women leaders with the skills, networks, and strategic resources required to lead, govern, and shape reform agendas at the highest levels.
The Academy is anchored in African leadership and ownership, and is positioned as a continental public good. It builds on the curriculum framework developed and validated through an inclusive co-design process held in Kigali in October 2025.
What Participants Will Experience
The four-week blended programme combines high-impact virtual learning, an immersive residential convening, mentorship from senior African leaders, and applied leadership practice. The curriculum covers:
- Political leadership and governance
- Strategic communications
- Coalition-building and legislative processes
- Campaign and political financing
- Ethical leadership and inclusive governance
All programme costs, including tuition, travel, and accommodation for the residential convening, are fully covered for selected participants.
Who Should Apply
Applications are open to women who are currently holding, or credibly pursuing, elected or appointed political office anywhere in Africa. Eligible profiles include:
- Electoral Cycle Leaders: Women from countries scheduled for presidential or parliamentary elections within the next 12–36 months, including declared candidates, parliamentary candidates, senior campaign strategists, and MPs seeking re-election or higher office.
- Sitting Political Leaders: Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament or Senate, Speakers and Deputy Speakers, Mayors and Governors, and senior political party leaders such as Secretaries General and Women’s League Leaders.
- Young Women Leaders: Women aged 21–35 with strong political leadership potential, including aspiring candidates at the local and national level and emerging leaders within political parties or public institutions.
The Academy strongly encourages nominations of women with disabilities and women from fragile or transitional political contexts.
Baseline Eligibility
- Female citizen of an African Union Member State
- Aged 21 or older at the time of nomination
- Demonstrated active engagement in political leadership or political ambition
- Formal endorsement from a government institution, recognised political party, NGO or relevant stakeholder
- Commitment to full participation in the programme and to post-Academy alumni engagement and peer mentoring
Selection: Merit-Based and Continentally Balanced
The 30 participants will be selected through a competitive, merit-based review by a joint panel comprising UNDP, the AUC, AWLN, and ASG. Selection is designed to ensure fairness, regional balance, political inclusivity, and strategic impact across the continent.
The inaugural cohort will reflect:
- Representation from all five African regions, with a maximum of two participants per country
- At least 60% of participants from countries facing elections within 12–36 months
- At least 40% young women leaders aged 21–35
- Linguistic diversity across Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabophone Africa
- Balance between executive, legislative, and party leadership roles, and between ruling and opposition parties
How to Apply
Government ministries, political parties, AU member state institutions, and civil society organisations are invited to submit nominations. Self-nominations supported by an institutional endorsement are also welcome.
Each nomination package must include:
- An official nomination or endorsement letter, signed by an authorised senior official, political party leader, NGO or recognised stakeholder
- The nominee’s curriculum vitae (maximum two pages)
- A personal statement from the nominee (maximum 1,000 words)
Africa’s next generation of women political leaders starts here. Apply online: Submit your application
Deadline for applications: 15 May 2026
KARACHI: The Uks Research Centre (URC) has urged the media outlets in the country to recognise the transformative potential of women in politics and foster a more inclusive media environment for democratic, inclusive, and representative discourse.
The Pakistani media has been urged to increase the coverage of women's issue to address gender imbalance prevailing in the country -- a phenomenon witnessed during the news coverage of pre-and post-election period.
The URC organised a dialogue, titled 'Gender Representation in Media During Pakistan's 2024 Elections'. The event, hosted by URC Executive Director Tasneem Ahmar, was attended by politicians, representatives of journalists, and researchers.
In her brief remarks, Ahmar said that her organisation monitored gender representation in the Pakistani media, and conducted research on emerging trends and created awareness about inclusion and negative stereotyping through training and advocacy.
On the occasion, Shahrezad Samiuddin presented a data-based analysis of the media coverage of the pre- and post-election scenarios. She highlighted that during the election coverage, more than 90% of journalists, who reported to both print and electronic media, were males.
A better representation of was seen on TV screens where 33% announcers were women. Similarly, Samiuddin pointed out that the coverage of women-specific news did not exceed 10-13% in both forms of media. The share of women-related news increased in the current affairs shows to 38%.
Read here the full article published by The Express Tribune on 18 May 2024.
Image by The Express Tribune
Africa Renewal: What best practices you would you like to share with other countries regarding your government’s work to empower women?
Dr. Mahoi: Everybody knows what we have been through in Sierra Leone—war, Ebola, landslides, flooding, and more. In all these, women suffered the most but we have picked ourselves up. Our focus now is ensuring that women's empowerment is at the centre of development.
We have ratified numerous international agreements such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol, and the Beijing Declaration, and so on. So, we are on course in domesticating these treaties and implementing our mandates and obligations as a country.
On the domestic front, we have enacted many gender-related laws such as the Devolution of Estates Act, 2007; the Domestic Violence Act of 2007; and the Customary Marriage and Divorce Act of 2009. For me, these are outdated laws, even though they were steps in the right direction at the time.
In the last few years, we reviewed some of those laws and are trying to address existing gaps. For example, in 2019, we reviewed the Sexual Offenses Act of 2012, to impose stiffer punishments on perpetrators of sexual violence. President Julius Maada Bio demonstrated his passion for the well-being of women by declaring in 2019 a State of Emergency over rape and sexual violence.
We established a Sexual Offences Model Court to try cases of sexual violence against minors and impose stiff punishment. Those cases are now fast-tracked. We enacted the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act(GEWE), in 2022, to reaffirm our commitment to the empowerment of women and girls. We also have the Customary Land Rights Act, which guarantees women the right to own, hold, use, and inherit land.
All these efforts are translating into tangible results.
Click here to read the full article published by the United Nations Africa Renewal News on 30 April 2024.
Image by UN News
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In the ongoing war in Sudan, there is an insufficiently narrated tragedy—the plight of women who are paying a hefty price for this war and are simultaneously being kept from the table in the discussion of how this war can end. International Women's Month coincides with a difficult period in Sudan, where women are facing various forms of violence and violations, including rape, sexual assault, kidnapping and the loss of providers. This is all occurring in a context marked by extreme poverty and lack of medical facilities, especially those related to sexual and reproductive health.
The war that erupted on April 15, 2023 between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces has led to a humanitarian crisis that UN reports have ranked among the largest globally—stating that nearly 8 million people have been displaced due to the war, 88 percent of whom are women and children. There are more than 4 million women and girls at risk of sexual assaults, and alarming reports have appeared of women being sold in markets in Sudan.
The painful irony is that Sudanese women were at the forefront of the Sudanese revolution that overthrew Omar al-Bashir's government on April 11, 2019. Despite their contributions and sacrifices, they found themselves marginalized and excluded from decision-making positions in the subsequent transitional government. The promises of allocating 40 percent of the Sudanese parliament’s seats for women remained unfulfilled. When the actual figures emerged, they reflected a failure to meet Sudanese women's aspirations and acknowledge their vital role in society and the political process.
Read here the full article published by the Washington Institute on 25 March 2024.
Image source: Washington Institute
With Victorian council elections to be held in October, the state government’s target of reaching 50-50 gender representation at the local level is under threat.
While the state achieved a record 43.8% of women elected to councils in 2020, outperforming most federal and state parliaments, and succeeded in achieving gender parity in 47 out of 76 councils, the overall 50-50 gender representation target by 2025 will still be difficult to reach.
Globally, gender quotas have been a tried and tested way of lifting women’s political representation. But research also shows quotas can divide public opinion, and they work better in some contexts than others. With this in mind, we wanted to test alternative measures to support women in politics, which also attract public support.
Click here to read the full article published by The Conversation on 8 February 2024.
Image source: The Conversation
Abstract
Violence against women politicians is increasingly recognized as an issue that undermines women's presence in politics. Latin America has been at the vanguard of this global discussion. In 2012, Bolivia became the only country in the world to criminalize “political violence and harassment against women.” Several other countries have similar legislation in the works. What explains the emergence of these bill proposals? This article argues that the creation of these bills is the result of three processes: activism at the local level used international norms to propose an innovative solution to a problem; women politicians and “femocrats” worked within the state apparatus to overcome resistance; and international actors worked to foster connections among activists and politicians across the region. In this process, international norms have been transformed, with important implications for women's political representation.
Click here to read the full article published by the Cambridge University Press on 27 July 2020.
Image by Cambridge University Press
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Today, we announced the release of our new report, The State of Women: 2023 Multiplier Report and Roadmap, a comprehensive report drawing on insights from extensive data gathered from a wide-ranging network of women nationwide. Utilizing data collected from She Should Run participants and research conducted between 2020 and 2023, we found that most women—across demographics and ideologies—need multiple points and types of encouragement over several years in order to consider running for office.
Click here to read the full report published by She Should Run on 6 November 2023.