Women's Leadership

From 1 July 2026, for the first time in its 137-year history, the Secretariat of the Inter-Parliamentary Union will be managed by a woman.

Anda Filip of Romania was elected the tenth Secretary General of the IPU at the 152nd IPU Assembly in Istanbul, becoming the first woman to hold the post since the Organization was founded in 1889. She will succeed Martin Chungong of Cameroon, whose third and final term ends on 30 June 2026.

It is a historic first, as well as a moment that carries a deeper meaning for an organization built around parliaments, democracy and representation.

For decades, the IPU has worked with parliaments to advance women’s equal participation in political life, as well as tracking progress and documenting setbacks. Today, it continues to produce the authoritative data on women in parliament, advocate for reforms and call for political institutions to better represent the people they serve. 

Anda Filip’s election marks an important milestone in the IPU’s own institutional journey and reflects a wider shift in the leadership of international organizations.

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 The Badienou Gokh – which means, “community godmothers” or “neighbourhood mentors” – occupy a unique place in Senegalese communities. Known for their proximity and empathy, these trusted godmothers support women and girls who have experienced or are experiencing violence and abuse. They help survivors with the difficult work of speaking out, which can often be risky.

Today, as Secretary General of the Badienou Gokh (pronounced bah-dyen-oo gohk) of Tambacounda, Tacko Sall’s home is often one of the first places where women and girls turn to for support, guidance, and protection. She has become a reassuring presence, a trusted listener, and a first point of support.

In a region where more than a quarter of women experience physical, sexual, psychological, or economic violence, her role often begins where formal justice systems and support services have not reached. She can step inside homes, hear the whispered conversations, and witness the hesitation that comes before seeking help.

For Tacko Sall, this commitment has become a daily responsibility. She raises awareness, provides guidance, refers survivors to health, justice, and social protection services, and mobilizes local actors whenever cases of violence are reported. Through the support of Global Affairs Canada and the KAARANGUE Project – which means “protect” in Wolof and is implemented by UN Women – this community-based work has been strengthened through training and tools that enable more structured support for survivors.

But protecting women also requires resources.

“Sometimes, cases are referred to us, and we do not even have enough money to cover transportation costs to reach them”, Tacko Sall explains.

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As 2026 began, amid proliferating armed conflicts and the escalating climate crisis around the world, more than 239 million people were identified as being in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Conflicts are not only becoming more protracted – they are also growing deadlier, as international humanitarian and human rights law is blatantly disregarded and attacks on civilian infrastructure become more frequent. 

Today’s global crises are also interlinked: three in four people who are forcibly displaced live in countries facing high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards and weather-related disasters, according to a UNHCR report on extreme weather and repeated displacement.

Crises are not gender-neutral. Women and girls are disproportionately affected due to pre-existing gender inequalities and discriminatory social norms, which limit their access to humanitarian aid, services, resources, and decision-making power.

It is not surprising that the 30-year review of progress on the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action found that progress for women and girls is slowest in conflict and crisis-affected countries. The review raised the alarm about how ongoing trends may further thwart progress.

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Morocco — Political participation is not tied to will and competence alone; it also requires the ability to bear the cost of electoral campaigns, travel, communication, and continuous engagement in party work. Although women currently hold 96 of 395 seats in the House of Representatives — the highest level of women's representation in the history of Morocco's legislative institution — a number of women active in the field believe that higher representation does not necessarily mean equal opportunity, given the persistence of economic challenges that can hinder women's access to positions of decision-making.

Amid the debate over representation, another question arises concerning what precedes access to elected institutions: do all women have equal opportunities to enter the world of politics, or have financial resources become an unspoken factor determining who can continue and who is forced to step back?

The experience of Halima El Fekri, deputy head of the Sidi Othman district in Casablanca, reflects part of this reality. For her, the hardest thing she faced over more than two decades of political work was not convincing society that women are capable of leadership, but bearing the financial cost that political practice demands.

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As Kazakhstan prepares to elect its new Kurultai, women are becoming increasingly visible in political institutions across Central Asia. Their presence, however, still falls sharply as offices acquire greater executive, territorial and economic authority.

Kazakhstan’s political parties have selected their candidates for the country’s first election to the new unicameral Kurultai, scheduled for 23 August. Seven parties submitted lists before nominations closed on 13 July, and the Central Election Commission has begun registering them ahead of the formal campaign.

The election will help determine the shape of Kazakhstan’s new political system following the entry into force of its new constitution. It also raises a more specific question: what place will women occupy in the redesigned parliament?

Kazakhstan requires at least 30 percent of candidates on each party list to belong collectively to three categories: women, people aged 35 or under, and persons with disabilities. The same combined threshold applies when seats are distributed. The quota therefore guarantees representation for the three categories together, but no fixed proportion specifically for women.

All seven parties say their submitted lists meet the legal requirement. But the combined nature of the quota makes the number of women selected – and their position within the lists – particularly important.

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Amid 1970s environmental threats of nuclear proliferation and pollution, the origin of the term “ecofeminism” is attributed to Françoise d’Eaubonne, a French feminist and ecologist who is said to have first used it in her 1974 work “Le Feminisme ou la Mort” (Feminism or Death), which was reprinted in October 2020 by Le Passager Clandestin. D’Eaubonne argued that the oppression of women and the exploitation of nature stemmed from a system deeply rooted in patriarchal values.

D’Eaubonne’s theory is fully expounded in her 1978 work “Écologie et féminisme. Révolution ou mutation?” (Ecology and feminism: Revolution or mutation?), where she explains that for centuries, men have controlled the fertility of both women and the earth, but global capitalism has pushed this domination to a new extreme: life itself is now at risk. As men in power fail to address the ecological and political crisis, she contends that women must reclaim control over their fertility and build an ecological, egalitarian, and self-governing society.

Ecofeminism, as a practice, was advanced beyond Europe in the 1970s as well. In 1973, in India, women led the Chipko movement, organized to protect trees and forests from deforestation. In 1977, Kenyan activist Wangarĩ Maathai, who in 2004 became the first East and Central African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization that, working on the intersection of ecological restoration and social justice, empowers rural women to restore ecosystems and forests through nature-based enterprises.

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