BEIRUT  — When the March 15 filing deadline for candidates to register in May's parliamentary elections had passed, 157 women* had signed up to run making up some 15 percent of the 1,043 total candidates, compared to 11 percent in the 2018 polls.

They included both new and old faces, members of establishment political parties and of a range of opposition groups.

The National Women Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Louisa Hannah Bissiw, has called on the women leadership of political parties to mentor young ladies in and out of tertiary education to partake in active politics.

She explained that women’s participation in partisan politics was low and needed strategic intervention on the part of parties that believed in equity and equality to reverse the trend.

Despite efforts to encourage women to both vote and run in local elections in the West Bank, candidates say much work remains to be done.