Women's Leadership
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HÀ NỘI — Women’s participation in politics is widely seen as a key measure of social progress and an important driver of socio-economic development, gender equality and sustainable growth.
Speaking at the seminar themed 'Women in Politics – A Story That Belongs to Everyone', held on Wednesday in Hà Nội, Associate Professor Dương Kim Anh, deputy director of the Việt Nam Women’s Academy (VWA), highlighted the growing role of women in shaping public policy and governance.
The event was organised by the VWA in co-ordination with the Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad Office in Việt Nam (APHEDA) to mark the upcoming election of the 16th National Assembly and people’s councils at all levels for the 2026–31 term.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is on a visit to Rome, where she joined the “Women of My Time” event, organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ecclesiastical advisor to Minister Antonio Tajani.
In her speech, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that women in Belarus have historically carried a great deal of responsibility: “In Belarus, life has always rested on the shoulders of women. It was women who rebuilt the country after the wars. Women raised children alone when their husbands were taken away by war, prison, or exile. This is still happening today. It was women who, in 2020, raised the flag and led the peaceful protests. And I believe that it will ultimately be women who dismantle the dictatorship and turn our country toward democracy and the European future we are fighting for”.
She highlighted Belarusian women who show courage despite repression: “Courage is 80-year-old Nina Bahinskaya, who walks the streets with the white-red-white flag, and when the police confiscate it, she simply sews a new one. Courage is Maryia Kalesnikava, who tore up her passport at the border so the regime could not deport her. She spent five years in solitary confinement but did not break. There is always a smile on her face”.
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,
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.
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.
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.