Quotas

Despite the increase in the number of female candidates in the parliamentary elections held throughout Indonesia on April 9, 2014, the country would likely fail to meet its target of increasing womens representation in the 560-seat Parliament for the 2014-2019 period.

Of 6,607 legislative candidates racing for the House of Representatives (DPR) seats in the elections, some 37 percent or 2,467 were women, up from 30 percent in the legislative elections in 2009.

IN THIS heady age of grimy corruption revelations, thanks to the ICAC merry-go-round, it's good to know there's a simple answer to end corruption in politics.

That is, to get more women elected Australia-wide, according to Lennox Head-based NSW Upper House MP Catherine Cusack.

Ms Cusack has just been elected to chair the Commonwealth Women's Parliamentary Steering Committee, and her appointment comes during a crisis point for women.

The number of female MPs is dropping; nationally the number has fallen from 254 in 2010 to 239 in 2014.

Following the elections and President Jacob Zuma's recent cabinet appointments, South Africa has missed its last opportunity - so tantalizingly close - to achieve gender parity in politics ahead of the 2015 deadline.

The 50% target for women's representation in all areas of decision-making is enshrined in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development adopted in South Africa in 2008.

Women were angered by the percentage allocated to their representation in the future parliament according to the new parliament law, the National Council for Women said on Thursday.

A committee formed by a presidential decree to draft this new law announced it yesterday.

Mervat Talawi, the council's head, said that the reason for this reaction from women is that approving the law in its current form is a wrong interpretation of the new constitution, a council statement said.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw many highs for women. 

Does this mean that finally the Women’s Reservation Bill and others Bills pertaining to women’s representation, security and development will be passed?

The 16th Lok Sabha will have the highest number of women MPs since the first election in 1952, 61. It had the maximum number of women candidates, 668 and the highest women voter turnout in numbers. 

There is a need for women to organise themselves as a pressure group to be able to carve a niche in the political sphere, three Delhi-based women journalists said Saturday.