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
In the lead up to the Federal Election on 7 September 2013, Australian Women Online will be profiling women from the major political parties in both houses of Federal Parliament.
Thirty percent of all indirectly elected Senators must be female.
Mme Haidara Aissata Cisse dite Chato was the only one woman candidate for the first round of the presidential elections.
Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Madagascar next August 23 after several changes in the date due to political instability and lack of consensus among different political par
Malians are still waiting for the government to announce full provisional results from Sunday's presidential poll. The presidency says the announcement has been delayed until Friday, the day by law when the results are due.
The All Women Action Society (Awam) welcomes the state of Selangor's initiative to make it compulsory to have 30 percent of members of the local council be women, from the Jan 1, 2014.
In Ireland, the rate of female participation in politics is one of the lowest in Europe
Just 15 per cent of Dail members are women, which ranks 5th in Europe, according to European Parliament figures collected after the general election in 2011.
I moved away from Zimbabwe almost 15 years ago. In the early years I inhaled all the news I could; watching in shock as my home country descended into crisis.