Elections
Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyans have elected a record number of women to positions of power in this month's polls, with the list including seven governors, three senators and 26 MPs, in a step towards gender equality.
The East African nation has long struggled to get women into politics, with men accounting for the overwhelming majority of elected officials and female politicians largely consigned to serving as one of Kenya's 47 women representatives.
But the August 9 elections marked a breakthrough for female politicians.
Click here to read the full article published by France 24 on 16 August 2022.
Kessy Sawang has been elected as MP for Madang Rai Coast and joins Rufina Peter as the second woman admitted to PNG's parliament this election.
Ms Peter and Ms Sawang are just the eighth and ninth women in the history of PNG politics to be elected to Parliament.
Ms Sawang said educating her constituents on how government works was critical to gaining support.
"When people have new knowledge about things they feel empowered," she said.
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On Sunday morning, the activities of the training program “Monitoring Violence against Women in Elections in Libya” were launched. The program is organised by the High National Election Commission (HNEC), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), at the training centre at the commission’s headquarters.
The program was opened by a member of the HNEC’s Council, Rabab Halab, with a speech, in which she explained that this program is the result of many programs, meetings and discussion panels, organised by the Women’s Support Unit at the Commission, with specialists, as well as national and regional expertise in this field.
Click here to read the full article published by Libya Review on 8 August 2022.
A conversation between Curt (Wellington) and Diane Ballantyne, councillor for Wellington County about the barriers female candidates face.
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The Kaduna state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Asmau Maikudi, has stated that 35 women are among the various political parties’ candidates for the 2023 general elections in Kaduna state.
Addressing a one day sensitisation and enlightenment meeting with women contestants and other stakeholders at the Kaduna state INEC headquarters on Thursday, Asmau called for more political support and political position for Nigerian women.
He said women constitute more than half of the population, more than 50% of registered voters in Nigeria and contribute more than men to the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
Click here to read the full article published by Blueprint on 4 August 2022.
Martha Karua may become Kenya’s most senior woman ever but feminists fear the compromises that will be forced on her.
The Kenyan media are calling it the “Karua wave”, as the woman hoping to be the country’s first female deputy president energises a jaded political race. A win in Kenya’s 9 August elections would make Martha Karua the highest-ranking woman in the country’s history.
Karua has had a long career on the edges of political power before being nominated in May as a running mate by her former longtime opposition leader, Raila Odinga. She was a key figure in the push for multiparty democracy through the 1980s and 1990s, and defended human rights activists during the dictatorial regime of the former president Daniel Arap Moi, known for its brutal crackdowns on dissent.
Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 1 August 2022.