Women make up only 23.5% of Members of Parliament according to the latest available data of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. While significant strides in women’s political participation have been made since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, which set Member States’ target of achieving gender balance in political decision-making, women are still underrepresented in political decision-making at all levels and gender balance remains an aspirational goal. Gains in women’s participation have been notable in countries that have taken proactive steps to support women’s political participation, including reforming or amending discriminatory laws, taking concrete action to address violence against women in politics and gender discrimination within parliaments, addressing gender-specific barriers, and supporting women in all forms of decision-making including at local level and in executive government.
As the world marks the 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the resilient voices of women in Mt Elgon and Trans Nzoia have exposed the harsh realities they encounter within the challenging realm of politics.
FEMALE lawmakers are pushing for the tabling of a Sexual Harassment Bill to protect women in politics against persecution by their male counterparts.
The UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, met with a delegation from the “High National Council for Libyan Women,” as part of the consultations he is conducting with a number of components of Libyan society, in addition to what he described as his quest to bridge the ga
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted many experts to warn about its impacts on democracy. To explore this issue further, the IPU is preparing a series of articles on the topic.
One of the first few countries to introduce suffrage for women and their election to office, Türkiye marks the 89th anniversary of the constitutional amendment, with more women in political offices though they are still outnumbered by men.
Udora Orizu chronicles the noteworthy strides being made by the 10th House of Representatives towards improving women’s political representation and end gender based violence in the country.
For a country with a significant female population, Nigeria has been poor in ensuring gender parity in elected and appointed leadership positions.
For a country with a significant female population, Nigeria has been poor in ensuring gender parity in elected and appointed leadership positions.