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Elections

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

July 28, 2013
Rwanda: Women Poised to Retain Majority in Parliament

With constitutional quotas for interest group seats in their favour and all political parties legally bound to respect women's quota of at least 30 per cent of their parliamentary nominees, women may retain or even widen their majority in the Chamber of Deputies after the upcoming September e

July 28, 2013
The straight-shooting woman taking on the 'boys' club' of French politics

PARIS -- The politician known as “NKM” is a rising star in France - a tough, military-trained engineer first elected to the National Assembly at the age of just 29 and tipped by some as a future president.

July 28, 2013
Kuwait’s First Female Candidate on Women’s Participation in Elections

Kuwait City, Asharq Al-Awsat—Kuwaitis went to the polls this week to elect their third parliament in 17 months. Despite having the oldest and most powerful parliament in the Arab Gulf, Kuwait has a turbulent political scene: no parliament has served its full term since 2003.

July 28, 2013
Safa first woman to win two consecutive times, Kuwait

Manama: Safa Al Hashem has made history in Kuwait by becoming the first woman lawmaker to win seats in two consecutive parliamentary elections.

July 26, 2013
Australia's Julia Gillard reveals what she thought when she gave the 'misogyny speech'

As prime minister, Julia Gillard remained instinctively private, consistently contained and, for a figure so much in the public eye, oddly enigmatic.

July 26, 2013
Stepping Stone: Jordan's quota for women's parliament seats is raising the profile of female politicians

Jordanian female parliamentarians have come a long way in the ten years since the quota system was first introduced for the 2003 elections.

July 26, 2013
Norway's female MPs tell women to 'give a damn'

'Maybe women deserve men setting the agenda," a conservative female politician said Friday as emotions ran high over a study that showed men know more about politics than women, and that the gender gap was wider in Norway than in comparable countries such as Australia.

July 26, 2013
Two women parties to run for seats in Chechen parliament

Thursday 26 July was the last day for the election commission of the Chechen republic to receive documents from the parties participating in the u

July 26, 2013
Women candidates in Cambodian elections

To promote women representation in politics, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) has released a map with data analysis of women candidates participating in the National Assembly elections.