The right to vote and the right to stand for election are two fundamental elements of democracy. Notably, many countries did not afford women the right to vote until the 20th Century. Even today, universal suffrage is not a given right in all countries, and women often face obstacles that undermine their participation in political and electoral processes. There are various ways to support women in overcoming these obstacles. Such methods include revising the electoral system used, applying affirmative action mechanisms such as quotas, improving voter education for women and training political candidates. These are a few of the modes available to strengthen women’s political participation .Photo©Jens Franssen
Afghan women represented a third of the vote and a historic number of provincial candidates at the weekend's elections. Aid workers say that women are defiant in the progress of democracy and rights, and won't be deterred by violent insurgency.
The women form the majority of the electorate in Arunachal Pradesh but when it comes to contesting elections the numbers are at the odds with their population, with only 6 of them joining the fray for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls and Assembly elections.
On International Women's Day last month, Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani held a rally in Kabul attended by several thousand women. While they were all wearing headscarves, there was not a full-length burqa to be seen in the crowd.
The campaign for Saturday's presidential election in Afghanistan is featuring women in a more prominent role than ever before.
Mariam Wardak is one of those young Afghans with her feet in two worlds: At 28, she has spent much of her adult life in Afghanistan, but she grew up in the United States after her family fled there.
Husbands of the women contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Bihar are going all out to support their wives.Take the case of Sailesh Kumar, husband of Misa Bharti and son-in-law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
When it comes to women in the White House, Sarah Palin takes the cake in Americans’ eyes, a new poll found.
Camellia Lubis, a 28-year-old dangdut singer popularly known as Camel Petir (Thunder), is one of 2,467 women legislative candidates vying for a seat in the House of Representatives.
Mrs Freda Prempeh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North, at the weekend emphasised that a “Legislative Quota Seat” system is urgently required in Ghana’s electoral laws to consolidate the country’s fledging democracy.