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
Six female members of the Vermont House of Representatives flanked former Democratic Gov. Madeleine Kunin Monday as she announced the launch of Emerge Vermont, an organization that will recruit, train and mentor Democratic women to run for political office.
Last May, Afghanistan’s upper house of parliament quietly removed an electoral law that stipulated that a quarter of all provincial council seats should be allotted to women. When women politicians found out nearly a month later, they fought to have the bill recalled.
High-profile mayoral elections this year have already proved that the steps to City Hall remain steep for female candidates.
Women's representation in parliaments is most likely to increase where there is some sort of system of quotas, an analysis of international elections held last year shows.
The just concluded parliamentary elections featured women who didn't ask for equality and leadership to be handed to them on a platter. They chose to fight it out with male candidates for their respective positions.
Women voters were prevented from participating in the by-elections taking place in the Union Council Kari Shamuzi NA-25 earlier today, Express News reported.
The reason behind this is not yet known.
Why are there so few female elected officials in the second largest city in the country? Of 18 elected positions in City Hall, only one is held by a woman — Nury Martinez, who joined the council in July.
Women make up 34% of the 8th Parliament of Zimbabwe, with 32% in the National Assembly and 48% of Senate. Although the quota for women in parliament led to the dramatic increase from 19% in 2008 to 34%, the number of women who actually won, fell from 34 to 26.