Sweden on Tuesday named a new foreign minister, appointing trade minister Ann Linde who vowed to press on with the country's "feminist foreign policy".

Linde, 57, replaces Margot Wallström 64, who made headlines in 2014 when she put gender equality at the heart of Sweden's international agenda.

Wallström resigned last week to spend time with her family.

Tunisia has long been seen as a pioneer for women's rights in the Arab world, but on the eve of presidential elections, women are calling this reputation into question.

"Men promise a lot to women. But when Mr Moustache arrives in power, nothing happens," said Feryel Charfeddine, head of Calam, an association fighting violence against women.

Sudan swore in its first cabinet since the removal of former president Omar al-Bashir in April following nationwide protests against his rule.

The 18-member cabinet led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, which includes four women, took the oath at the presidential palace in Khartoum on Sunday.

Since the unification of Italy in the late 19th Century, the country has had 58 prime ministers - every one a man.

No woman has come close to leading this country. Female politicians in Italy have often been used either as decoration or as tokens of an equality that doesn't yet exist.

Issues around sexism and work-life balance contribute to the dearth of women in politics, a new study has found.

It has been revealed that Tanzania was making some effort to promote women in leadership, yet advances are going at a slow pace in many of the top political leadership positions.

Speaking recently in Dar es Salaam during women’s leadership and political participation half day seminar, executive director of TGNP Mtando, Lilian Liundi (pictured) has said that the community has negative mentality and perception on women participation in political leadership.