Women's Leadership

There's an unusual sense of calm inside Lisa Chesters' office.

A green square inside her clock is flashing as bells ring throughout the building.

But she's in no rush to leave. Gone is a Pavlovian response to bells, where everything is dropped to rush to the green-clad House of Representatives to vote.

Once-busy halls are all but empty. Events have been cancelled, the public locked out and political staffers left in their home states.

Just the politicians and their essential aides have travelled to Canberra for the Parliament to meet.

Ahead of the December 8, 2020 Senatorial election, the Coalition of Political Parties Women in Liberia (COPPWIL) says the national legislature is not balanced because of the limited female representation in the Liberian Senate.

The group, which is a conglomeration of women from all political parties in the country, believe that there is a need for women to be enlightened about major issues affecting them and their community or county.

Staring down a masked man with a rifle, standing alongside dozens of other women all linking arms in solidarity, Anastasiya Antoniuk was prepared to be taken to jail.

The 26-year-old copywriter was taking part in a protest against the detention of an opposition leader, one of many demonstrations since Belarus’ authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, was named the winner of a contested election on Aug. 9.

On February 2020, Kosovo elected several women to political office, and women now hold prominent positions in government, ranging from economic development to education. With more women in leadership positions, policies focused on improving gender-based poverty are now taking greater importance. Current female leaders have also worked with the U.N.

Justin Muturi, speaker of the National Assembly and chairman of the Parliamentary Service Commission, said Maraga's advisory was unconstitutional, while organisations that pushed for the petition called it an unprecedented test of Kenyan law. "The Commission regrets that the chief justice appears to be willing, even eager, to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis without exercising the wisdom and circumspection that is expected of the high office that he holds," Muturi told a news conference.

The question has never been whether women can lead as capably as men. Women have always led, and women will always lead, especially when the times are hard, and their communities are in need.

The question that we need to ask is, why is women’s leadership invisible? Why is their potential and their power stifled?

Kuwait City: As the 2020 Kuwait National Assembly elections are approaching, candidates are beginning to campaign for a seat in parliament. In an effort to support women running for office, Mudhawi’s list, an online platform, just launched in time to highlight women running in the 2020 National Assembly election.