Indonesia's new parliament elected its first female speaker, Puan Maharani Nakshatra Kusyala, granddaughter of the country's first president, after members of the House of Representatives were sworn in on Tuesday amid continuing protests against several new or proposed laws.

Boris Johnson on Wednesday night sparked a tide of criticism by dismissing suggestions that his rhetoric was dangerous in the current climate and claiming the best way to honour the memory of murdered MP Jo Cox was to “get Brexit done”.

Bhatia, who also doubles as the Deputy Executive Director of the UN Women said she was pleased that at least 52 percent of positions on the committees in Maaji Refugee Settlement in Adjumani district, Northern Uganda were won by women.

The United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General for Resource Management, Sustainability, and partnerships, Anita Bhatia, has applauded Uganda for its keen interest in empowering women refugees to take up leadership responsibilities.

While the European Parliament stands for gender equality, women continue to be under-represented in politics and public life at local, national and European level, as shown by recent data.

Deliberate effort to put women in political positions, building institutions and strong legal frameworks, as well as strong human resource capacity,  are some of the catalysts that will ensure the African woman is empowered.

These are some of the solutions put forward by the First Lady Jeannette Kagame yesterday, during a sideline event at the on-going United Nations General Assembly taking place in New York.