Women in Turkana County have been locked out of political leadership for many years due to culture. According to the Turkana culture, leadership is for men, and this has disadvantaged many aspiring women leaders, as they are seen as incapable of taking over from men.

Jane Apetet, who is contesting the Senate race, told The Standard that they have been oppressed by the culture. “Our culture is not giving women strength and voice. Normally we are separated from men during community meetings,” she said.

Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation now wants the government and political parties to recognise its members by ensuring that more women acquire elective positions ahead of the next General election.

The women’s organisation currently has more than four million members. The organisation's leadership wants the State to create an enabling environment for women eyeing elective posts.

Following Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ announcement last Thursday of an impending Cabinet shuffle early in the new year, members of Generation 2000 (G2K) – the Jamaica Labour Party’s young professional affiliates’ group – have backed calls for more women in senior political roles, including the executive and the general Parliament.

The dawn of 2022 in Uttar Pradesh, apart from witnessing a fiercely fought battle in the Assembly elections, will also decide the political fate of five women politicians.

These women, directly or indirectly, are playing a key role in the Assembly elections for their respective parties, and the poll outcome will prove crucial for them.

A gender-based group, Njikoka Women Association, NWA, in Ezimo, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, yesterday, identified media sexism as bane of women participation in politics.

The Association which bemoaned the derogatory stereotyping of women in political participation in Nigeria, called for a review of media messages on women in politics in order to correct the stigma against female politicians in the country.

Ruwa Romman is entertaining the idea of running for office. The 28-year-old from Duluth envisions herself running on a platform focused on health care, education, social justice and the economy. She also wants to shatter stereotypes and challenge barriers placed on Muslim women.

“The stereotype is that Muslim women don’t vote. They do,” Romman said. “I got politically engaged outside of my Muslim identity, but then I quickly realized my Muslim identity was a necessity to bring with me in this journey.”

Every year, LGBTQ political candidates smash through rainbow ceilings in the fight to represent their communities. 2022 should be no different, with dozens of LGBTQ people already slated to run for both state and federal offices.

But here are five LGBTQ candidates we’re especially keeping our eyes on as they run to make history in 2022.

Earlier this year, following a string of attacks on women in the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, both verbal and physical, a popular female TV host asked rhetorically whether the easiest place in the country to rape a woman is in Parliament House.

Now, a group of independent female candidates are looking to batter down parliament’s doors at the next federal election, to be held sometime between March and May 2022.

Was it the year of the woman? Angela Merkel left the political stage. New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen were given gold stars for their respective responses to the pandemic. And Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emerged as Belarus’ democracy warrior.