A millennial candidate has shaken up the US Democratic Party by defeating the incumbent congressman for his seat.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28, defeated political veteran Joe Crowley, 56, on Tuesday night in their party's congressional primary in New York City.

Mr Crowley, a 10-term Democrat, had been tipped as a future party leader or even Speaker of the House.

In July’s crucial election – the first since the fall of Mugabe – women hope to deliver a decisive blow against sexism.

Women in Zimbabwe are hoping for a political breakthrough in the forthcoming elections, despite a “hostile atmosphere” and “resistance” from male politicians.

The Society for Empowerment and Self Reliance (SESER), advocated structural changes in the political framework to increase women’s participation to foster economic growth and development.The National Coordinator, Mrs Rose Effiong said this in a media briefing in Abuja in preparation towards the All African Women Summit (AAFWOS).

The women-led movement of GROOTS Kenya is supporting women candidates – including by providing them with bodyguards and volunteer support in the form of Humphrey Muriuki Ngaine and his ‘male champions’. Hannah O’Neill and Louise Donovan report from Kiambu County.

The United Nations (UN) has introduced a Women Empowerment Project (WEP) in Salima to empower female aspirants ahead of the 2019 tripartite elections.

The project is also expected to be implemented in five other districts in the country.

Ankara – June 25, 2018. A total of 103 women deputies have been elected to the 600-seat Turkey Parliament in the June 24 poll, according to unofficial data compiled from results provided by the state-run Anadolu Agency.

In the June 2015 and November 2015 elections, 97 and 81 female deputies were elected to the 550-seat parliament respectively, corresponding to 17.6 percent and 14.7 percent of all lawmakers in the national assembly.

States around the world must act urgently to introduce new legislation to stamp out online and information and communications technology (ICT) facilitated violence against women and girls, which is yet another way in which their human rights are being violated, a UN expert has said.