Civil Society

As world leaders met on a global stage for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this past week, it wasn’t hard to notice that something was missing. Women make up half of our planet’s population, yet this year only 15% of the attendees at one of the world’s most important gatherings of decision makers and influencers were female.

More than 50 per cent of candidates nominated by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in the upcoming provincial and district council elections should be women, a coalition of 12 civil society groups said in a letter on Thursday.

Finding out why women’s voices are not being listened to is imperative to increasing the proportion of female political representation in Cambodia, a meeting heard yesterday.

The Committee to Promote Women in Politics (CPWP) – which is made up of 12 organisations – hosted discussions in the capital that included discussion about the importance of having a legislative population that is at least 25 per cent female, one of Cambodia’s Millenium Goals.

ISLAMABAD: To add to the hype surrounding local bodies elections, non-government organisation and human rights groups have urged the election commission to prepare and release gender disaggregated data. 

Addressed to the Prime Minister, Senate chairman and chief ministers, the letter demands categorised data to strengthen democratic culture.

The Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, which describes itself as the “world’s leading platform featuring women’s views and voices on major social and economic issues,” is hosting its inaugural conference in Rangoon on Friday and Saturday (6- 7 December). The meeting will be the third Forum event this year, with others previously held in France and Brazil.

On the eve of elections in Delhi, women's rights activists called on political parties on Tuesday to commit to a "Womanifesto" - a gender-sensitive agenda - to combat rising crimes against women in the Indian capital.

The gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy trainee in New Delhi last December jolted many usually apathetic urban Indians into joining street protests and sparked national discussion about how prevalent violence against women is in largely patriarchal Indian society.

PARLIAMENT needs to reflect the society it represents, says Fiji Women's Rights Movement's executive director Virisila Buadromo.

Explaining why it was important to support temporary special measures for women in Parliament, she said: "It is not about giving women special privileges but it is about narrowing the gap and addressing the historical discrimination women have faced in politics."