Elections

Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyans have elected a record number of women to positions of power in this month's polls, with the list including seven governors, three senators and 26 MPs, in a step towards gender equality.

The East African nation has long struggled to get women into politics, with men accounting for the overwhelming majority of elected officials and female politicians largely consigned to serving as one of Kenya's 47 women representatives.

On Sunday morning, the activities of the training program “Monitoring Violence against Women in Elections in Libya” were launched. The program is organised by the High National Election Commission (HNEC), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), at the training centre at the commission’s headquarters.

The Kaduna state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Asmau Maikudi, has stated that 35 women are among the various political parties’ candidates for the 2023 general elections in Kaduna state.

Addressing a one day sensitisation and enlightenment meeting with women contestants and other stakeholders at the Kaduna state INEC headquarters on Thursday, Asmau called for more political support and political position for Nigerian women.

Martha Karua may become Kenya’s most senior woman ever but feminists fear the compromises that will be forced on her.

Rufina Peter is just the eighth woman elected in Papua New Guinea. But the economist has been battling for her place in society since she was a child.

The celebrations when news broke that Rufina Peter had been elected governor of Papua New Guinea’s Central Province had a particular sweetness.