Campaigns

At least 300 women would have been trained in politics by the end of 2013 under a programme aimed at politically empowering women in Mauritius, PANA reported.

The training, which includes campaign planning and development of campaign materials, public speaking, media relations and electoral laws, is being carried out by the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare.

Hillary Rodham Clinton took to a Toronto stage in June before about 5,000 supporters, many of them women and many looking for a hint that she might run for president in 2016 — and she gave them one.

“Hypothetically speaking, I really do hope that we have a woman president in my lifetime,” Clinton said coyly, making an implicit nod to the history she might make herself. “Our country,” she added, “has to take that leap of faith.”

On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, UN Women calls for the promotion and protection of the human rights of indigenous women and girls. 

Despite indigenous peoples’ extensive contributions to society, their communities continue to be among the most marginalized and discriminated against in the world. Indigenous women across their lifetime, including girls, adolescents and widows, face multiple layers of violence, discrimination and inequality that must be addressed in a more robust, inclusive and comprehensive manner.

The adoption of a new bill, now before Cabinet, would help to fully emancipate South African women, said the Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana.

"Within the 100 years, a lot has been achieved to attain the total emancipation of South African women of all races," she said in a speech prepared for delivery at the launch of Women's Month in Freedom Park, Tshwane.

Xingwana paid tribute to women who fought for liberation, including Charlotte Maxeke, Albertina Sisulu and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

As the world continues to watch the wave of uprisings across Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) nations, AWID and other women’s rights organizations around the world, together with our partners in the region, strategize on how to best hold the line to ensure that women’s rights are not jeopardised, while maintaining meaningful spaces for women’s rights activists to actively participate in the transition processes.

Women contestants in the fray for sarpanch elections scheduled for July 31, who are financially not too sound to woo voters with valuables, have taken up a unique stand of highlighting what other candidates failed to promise.

All-round development of their panchayat is their mantra and their promise to the voters. Women candidates in Kruthuvennu, Machilipatnam rural and Bantumilli have intensified their campaign by raising their voice against poor access to health care, basic amenities and largely better management of natural resources.

The Somali Ministry of Development and Social Affairs is drafting a bill that outlines a new gender policy for the country and safeguards women's rights, particularly in politics and education.

The proposed legislation is part of a wide-ranging government programme that aims to promote women's rights and support their access to education, health services and participation in governance.

While 30% of parliament is supposed to be reserved for women, women make up less than 16% of the current parliament. 

Two years away from the general elections, Nigerian women who converged under different organizations and auspices at a two-day summit organized by Nigerian Women in Parliament with the support of United Nations Development Programme and Democratic Governance for Development (UNDP/DGD), have started strategizing on how to gain more political relevance ahead of 2015.