Women's Leadership

Women contribute socially, economically and culturally, yet their voices are not adequately reflected in governance. Increasing women’s participation strengthens democracy and inclusive development,’’ the seasoned parliamentarian stated.

Jagne, served in The Gambia’s parliament from 2007 to 2017 and concurrently represented the country at the ECOWAS Parliament from 2007 to 2015. In 2010, she became the first President of ECOFEPA, transforming it into a structured regional platform for female lawmakers across West Africa.

At the national level, she was among the few women elected through the ballot in 2007 and notably seconded the landmark Women’s Act 2010, which strengthened legal protections for women.

She challenged political parties to remove structural barriers, reduce high nomination fees, and adopt gender quotas to increase female representation.

Similarly, she called for more opportunities to enhance women’s inclusion in politics, while also urging for mentorship and training opportunities so as to create safer internal party environments for women aspirants,

Full article.

Exile Hub is one of Global Voices’ partners in Southeast Asia, emerging in response to the 2021 coup in Myanmar, focusing on empowering journalists and human rights defenders. This edited article is republished under a content partnership agreement.

As a Burmese filmmaker shaped by her grandmother’s quiet defiance, Verse uses storytelling to challenge gender bias and uplift women whose voices are too often erased.

Verse began her professional journey in 2018 as a reporter at a local news agency in Myanmar. She dreamed of covering political news, but quickly encountered systemic gender bias. During a major assignment, male reporters were sent to Nay Pyi Taw to cover parliament-related matters, and she was told to stay behind.

She recalled the moment: “I was told women weren’t given those opportunities. I could not accept a workplace that denied my growth simply because I was a woman.”

She left journalism and joined a women’s rights organization, shifting her focus to human rights and feminist advocacy.

Full article

Exile Hub is one of Global Voices’ partners in Southeast Asia, emerging in response to the 2021 coup in Myanmar, focusing on empowering journalists and human rights defenders. This edited article is republished under a content partnership agreement.

Nay Nay’s journey began not in a bustling newsroom, but on the serene Rakhine coast of Myanmar. Yet fate had a different path in store, one that led her into the heart of truth-telling during Myanmar’s darkest moments.

The military coup shattered Myanmar’s fragile peace in 2021. Journalists quickly became targets, and the danger of arrest grew impossible to ignore. As the risk to her partner, also a woman journalist, intensified, Nay Nay made the agonizing decision to flee their homeland together. They sought refuge along the Thai–Myanmar border, a place of safety from persecution. In exile, Nay Nay continues her work as a news presenter at Lay Waddyi FM and, above all, a storyteller.

When Nay Nay first applied for the Feminist Storytelling Grant under Exile Hub, they planned to tell a deeply personal story of a lesbian couple navigating journalism amid conflict and displacement. It was a story of love, survival, and resilience. But as conversations unfolded, a broader and more urgent truth emerged.

Full article.

Analysis of new candidates suggests visible minority women are disproportionately steered toward unwinnable ridings, reinforcing long-standing inequities in party recruitment.

Examining the diversity of first-time candidates in last year’s federal election is a revealing exercise on many levels and serves as a sharper measure of distinct party efforts to recruit visible minority candidates.

By taking this analysis a step further and breaking down first-time visible minority candidates by gender, we find further evidence of a persistent gap in female candidates, whether visible minority or not.

Recent analyses have focused on women being nominated as sacrificial lamb candidates in unwinnable or swing ridings. Some exceptions have focused on visible minorities, either in the form of experimental polling or actual results.

Read More here. 

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won the general election on 8 February 2026 in the biggest win for any Japanese party since the LDP’s formation in 1955. It captured 316 seats in the Diet’s lower house, well above the 233 seats needed for a simple majority. The LDP now also holds majorities in all 17 parliamentary committees, giving it immense power over decision-making.

But the real election winner was Sanae Takaichi, who first became prime minister in October 2025. Pre-election polls, conversations with LDP candidates and YouTube viewing data suggested that her popularity underpinned a significant portion of the LDP’s vote. When Takaichi called the election on 19 January 2026, she wanted a stronger mandate for her leadership. The results show she has it.

Japanese voters have been hungry for something different from the elderly male leaders who have long headed the LDP. Takaichi is certainly different.

She is a woman, the first to lead the LDP and Japan’s first female prime minister. The country was ready for a woman at the helm. She also comes from a non-political, non-wealthy background. For many voters, she has put the ‘representative’ back in representative democracy. Her public speaking and decisive style appealed to voters, and her widely publicised jam with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung also bolstered her image.

The same cannot be said for the confused — and confusing — main opposition party, the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), formed only weeks before the election when the left-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan merged with Komeito — the Buddhist-backed former LDP coalition partner. Both party leaders are over the age of 65 and have struggled to project dynamism. You know you are in trouble when the LDP looks cooler and more diverse than you.

Full article.