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Nepali women had much to be proud of as 172 of them were seated in the country’s newest Constituent Assembly on Jan. 22. They filled almost 30 percent of the 575 seats that were contested during parliamentary elections last fall, despite the decision by a group of party elders to reduce the assembly’s women’s quota by 66 seats to 22 percent.

We invite our users to read the complete article published January 24 2014

One of the UN's most senior leaders has warned against Western intervention in Syria, drawing on her experience as prime minister of New Zealand when she decided not to take the country to war with Iraq.

Helen Clark, who was a Labour prime minister of New Zealand for nine years, said she had never regretted her decision not to join the Allies in the toppling of Sadaam Hussein.

While women in Guatemala have slowly been making political gains, a new report by NDI and UN Women shows that a significant gender gap persists. The report, Between Challenge and Reality: Women and Political Participation in Guatemala, examines the progress made in recent elections, some obstacles women face and potential areas for improvement.

Want to know more about how women MPs are organizing themselves in parliaments around the world? IPU has launched a new global database on women’s caucuses in parliament to capture such information in one useful place. The database is a unique tool that provides a global, regional and national perspective on how women MPs have succeeded in coming together to tackle issues in ways that transcend their political differences.

Women account for only about 20 per cent of the world’s MPs. In nearly every country they form a minority in parliament, an institution traditionally governed according to the principles and worldviews of their predominantly male memberships.

UN Women launched a Constitutional Database (http://constitutions.unwomen.org) which for the first time examines constitutions through a gender lens, mapping the principles and rules which guarantee, deny, or protect the rights of women and girls around the world. Constitutions have a tremendous impact on women. They are well-recognized markers for countries and their citizens, serving as the bill of rights and providing a framework for the rights and responsibilities of people and a mirror to the way people are governed.