Constitution and Legislative Reform

Kenyans head to the polls on Monday and the country is covered in campaign posters vying for their attention. Nairobi’s malls, stalls, trees and speed bumps have been plastered with candidates’ faces. Vast billboards tower over the country’s newly registered electorate promising peace, jobs, progress and change.

NAIROBI, Jan 25 2013 (IPS) - Few women in Kenya harbour illusions of entering politics. Blatant discrimination, threats and intimidations, an uneven playing field and a largely unsympathetic public have turned electoral politics into a veritable minefield for women hoping to secure top government posts.

Dozens of Egyptian women demonstrate in Nahdet Misr Square in the governorate of Giza on Wednesday evening against the proposed draft constitution, ahead of phase two of the national referendum poll scheduled for Saturday, 22 December.

Women from diverse social backgrounds participated in the march, most of who belong to opposition parties and rights groups. The female protesters in the square held signs saying “void” and raised them in the direction of traffic to promote a ‘No’ vote against the constitution on Saturday.

Kenya's rights activists are furious that the country's highest court "violated" women's constitutional rights by ruling against the implementation of a gender quota in parliament ahead of the 2013 general elections.

Activists here are threatening to boycott the Mar. 4, 2013 elections and bring the government to a standstill unless the gender parity law, which states that no more than two-thirds of one gender should hold elected office, is enforced in the senate and national assembly in the upcoming elections.

The political battle raging on Cairo’s streets is focused on President Mohamed Morsi’s autocratic actions in his efforts to rush through his draft constitution, but the anxiety of those on the street are equally based on the content of that constitution.