Civil Society

MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday expanded his two-member ministry. However, the list did not include a single woman. Several women politicians and women’s rights activists slammed the exclusion of women members. Shinde expanded his ministry 41 days after taking oath as the CM by inducting 18 ministers, nine each from his rebel Shiv Sena group and the BJP.

Just a few years before she was elected as a Member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives (ZHoR), Zawadi Amour Nassor didn’t have political aspirations, but life had bigger plans for her. Today, she represents the Konde constituency of Northern Pemba, where the Representative seat had previously only been held by men. 

Through roundtable discussions, capacity-building workshops, and seminars targeting women from across Sudan, UN Women Sudan empowers young women to learn skills in alliance-building and participation in political processes.

Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyans have elected a record number of women to positions of power in this month's polls, with the list including seven governors, three senators and 26 MPs, in a step towards gender equality.

The East African nation has long struggled to get women into politics, with men accounting for the overwhelming majority of elected officials and female politicians largely consigned to serving as one of Kenya's 47 women representatives.

Dozens of female candidates have been physically assaulted while campaigning ahead of the August 9 elections in Kenya.

Liz Njue, a Kenyan psychologist who wanted to stand for a county assembly seat, had just arrived to vote in her party primary when opponents attacked her, pulling her hair and tearing her blouse. She fled without casting her ballot and lost the race.