Mia Mottley, who shot to international fame during the Cop26 climate talks and oversaw Barbados’s break with the Queen last year, has won a second term as the Caribbean nation’s prime minister.

For the first time in the island’s history, women leaders will take Barbados’ two major political parties into the arena as the island prepares for a snap general election.

According to Mia Mottley, the first female Prime Minister of Barbados, women make better leaders than men because they are more caring’ and run their country ‘like a family household’.

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has won the country's 2018 General Elections claiming all 30 seats in the country's House of Assembly and unseating the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), which has governed the country since 2008.

Speaker of the National Parliament Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, MP, on Wednesday held a courtesy meeting with a delegation from UN Women to discuss measures aimed at advancing women’s rights, empowerment and gender equality in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s democratic trajectory reveals a persistent paradox.

In Bangladesh, the transition from a government job to a political career is not as straightforward as it ought to be.

This post is part of Global Voices’ April 2026 Spotlight series, “Human perspectives on AI.” This series will offer insight into how

Dhaka: Bangladesh is witnessing a quiet yet devastating rise in the misuse of technology with rising incidents of women being targetted by superimposing their faces onto pornographic content.

A staggering 89% of women social media users in Bangladesh have experienced online violence at least once, speakers said at a national consultation, calling for urgent coordinated action to tackle technology

By mid-May, the parliament will have completed the process of filling the 50 reserved seats for women.

When women lead, democracies thrive. Yet, in Bangladesh's electoral landscape, the voices of women remain critically underrepresented.

The political history of Bangladesh is inseparable from mass resistance, popular movements, and struggles for freedom and rights.

The vision of an inclusive democracy, forged on the streets during the July uprising, has collided with a formidable structural wall.

Bangladesh's new government led by center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman was sworn in last week after his party's landslide victory in the

For a nation that has seen not one but two female prime ministers, the recently concluded elections showed a dismal reality. Although half of Bangladesh’s voters are women, the representation of women in politics continues to be low.

Seven women candidates, majority of them from the BNP, have been elected to Bangladesh parliament in the 13th national election, a media report said on Friday.

It is a striking paradox. For more than three decades, Bangladesh has been led by women—an exceptional continuity across the globe. Yet the outcome of the 13th national election tells a different story.

Concerns Over Women's Political Representation

DHAKA – As the dust settles on Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election, with the Election Commission (EC) declaring the 297 candidates elected to our parliament, a major source of disappointment rema

As Bangladesh awaits the result of the 2026 national parliamentary election, one statistic should give us pause. Only 78 women are contesting the election — just under 4% of nearly 2,000 candidates.

Despite decades of pledges to ensure women’s political empowerment, the upcoming national election paints a starkly different picture, with female representation on the ballot remaining alarmingly low.

A 2025 Democracy International poll shows strong public demand in Bangladesh for greater political inclusion, with 96% supporting participation of persons with disabilities, 85% calling for better ethnic minority representation, and 81% backing stronger involvement of r

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised alarms over an increase in violence targeting women, children, and religious minorities in Bangladesh as the country prepares for the 13th National Parliamentary Elections scheduled for February 12.

The political structure and processes in Bangladesh remain predominantly patriarchal and under male control.

Speakers at a press conference on Monday said women’s participation in the upcoming election is extremely disappointing, despite some independent female candidates joining the race at the last moment.

Despite women being at the forefront of the August 2024 uprising that toppled the Awami League government, political parties have largely failed to honour their pledge to nominate at least 5 percent women candidates in the parliamentary election.

Women remain largely absent from the electoral race, with 30 of the 51 political parties contesting the upcoming national election fielding no female aspirants at all, Election Commission data shows.

The Royal Norwegian Embassy andthe Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, in collaboration with UN Women,hosted a high-level dialogue titled "Power Without Fear: Ending Digital and Gender-Based Violence Against Women in Politics" as part of the global 16 Days of Activism

Despite calls for inclusive governance, women and youth remain underrepresented in national politics; experts urge the government to address structural barriers, harassment, and tokenistic participation that limit meaningful engagement and hinder the

DHAKA, Sept 23, 2025 (BSS)- Narir Rajnoitik Odhikar Forum (NROF) today demanded that political parties must nominate 33 percent women candidates mandatorily outside the reserved seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections.

In a bold and unprecedented electoral gambit, Jamaat-e-Islami is deploying its vast, grassroots women’s wing as a central pillar of its strategy for the upcoming national elections signalling a seismic shift in Bangladesh’s political calculus. 

The Women's Political Rights Forum has submitted six-point demands to the Election Commission (EC), calling for electoral reforms ahead of the 13th national elections. 

Speakers at a press conference have called on the political parties to reconsider their stance on reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament).

In Bangladesh, the Forum for Women’s Political Rights has called for comprehensive electoral reforms to ensure fair and inclusive representation of women in the political arena.

In the aftermath of Bangladesh’s historic student-people's uprising in July 2024 that led to the removal of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Thousands of members of an Islamist group protested proposed gender equality reforms in Bangladesh over the weekend.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party strongly disagreed with the Constitutional Reform Commission on its proposal for a quota of 10 per cent parliamentary seats for young candidates.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly resigned and fled the country in the face of

The landscape of women leadership in Bangladesh presents a paradox: despite notable female figures in key political positions, the overarching advancement of women into leadership roles remains stagnant. Despite having a female prime minister, a female speake

TOKYO -- Two strong, prominent female leaders have found themselves facing very different political futures in neighboring countries on the Bay of Bengal.

Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, the reins of the government have always been in the hands of a woman (except during the state of emergency in 2007-08).

In November 2023, an online video showed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Medina, Saudi Arabia, being greeted with slogans of "Bhua, bhua." The original footage of the prime minister's Medina visit had no such sounds in the background, and the audio was fou

Speaker of the National Parliament Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, MP, on Wednesday held a courtesy meeting with a delegation from UN Women to discuss measures aimed at advancing women’s rights, empowerment and gender equality in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s democratic trajectory reveals a persistent paradox.

In Bangladesh, the transition from a government job to a political career is not as straightforward as it ought to be.

This post is part of Global Voices’ April 2026 Spotlight series, “Human perspectives on AI.” This series will offer insight into how

Dhaka: Bangladesh is witnessing a quiet yet devastating rise in the misuse of technology with rising incidents of women being targetted by superimposing their faces onto pornographic content.

A staggering 89% of women social media users in Bangladesh have experienced online violence at least once, speakers said at a national consultation, calling for urgent coordinated action to tackle technology

By mid-May, the parliament will have completed the process of filling the 50 reserved seats for women.

When women lead, democracies thrive. Yet, in Bangladesh's electoral landscape, the voices of women remain critically underrepresented.

The political history of Bangladesh is inseparable from mass resistance, popular movements, and struggles for freedom and rights.

The vision of an inclusive democracy, forged on the streets during the July uprising, has collided with a formidable structural wall.

Bangladesh's new government led by center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman was sworn in last week after his party's landslide victory in the

For a nation that has seen not one but two female prime ministers, the recently concluded elections showed a dismal reality. Although half of Bangladesh’s voters are women, the representation of women in politics continues to be low.

Seven women candidates, majority of them from the BNP, have been elected to Bangladesh parliament in the 13th national election, a media report said on Friday.

It is a striking paradox. For more than three decades, Bangladesh has been led by women—an exceptional continuity across the globe. Yet the outcome of the 13th national election tells a different story.

Concerns Over Women's Political Representation

DHAKA – As the dust settles on Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election, with the Election Commission (EC) declaring the 297 candidates elected to our parliament, a major source of disappointment rema

As Bangladesh awaits the result of the 2026 national parliamentary election, one statistic should give us pause. Only 78 women are contesting the election — just under 4% of nearly 2,000 candidates.

Despite decades of pledges to ensure women’s political empowerment, the upcoming national election paints a starkly different picture, with female representation on the ballot remaining alarmingly low.

A 2025 Democracy International poll shows strong public demand in Bangladesh for greater political inclusion, with 96% supporting participation of persons with disabilities, 85% calling for better ethnic minority representation, and 81% backing stronger involvement of r

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised alarms over an increase in violence targeting women, children, and religious minorities in Bangladesh as the country prepares for the 13th National Parliamentary Elections scheduled for February 12.

The political structure and processes in Bangladesh remain predominantly patriarchal and under male control.

Speakers at a press conference on Monday said women’s participation in the upcoming election is extremely disappointing, despite some independent female candidates joining the race at the last moment.

Despite women being at the forefront of the August 2024 uprising that toppled the Awami League government, political parties have largely failed to honour their pledge to nominate at least 5 percent women candidates in the parliamentary election.

Women remain largely absent from the electoral race, with 30 of the 51 political parties contesting the upcoming national election fielding no female aspirants at all, Election Commission data shows.

The Royal Norwegian Embassy andthe Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, in collaboration with UN Women,hosted a high-level dialogue titled "Power Without Fear: Ending Digital and Gender-Based Violence Against Women in Politics" as part of the global 16 Days of Activism

Despite calls for inclusive governance, women and youth remain underrepresented in national politics; experts urge the government to address structural barriers, harassment, and tokenistic participation that limit meaningful engagement and hinder the

DHAKA, Sept 23, 2025 (BSS)- Narir Rajnoitik Odhikar Forum (NROF) today demanded that political parties must nominate 33 percent women candidates mandatorily outside the reserved seats in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections.

In a bold and unprecedented electoral gambit, Jamaat-e-Islami is deploying its vast, grassroots women’s wing as a central pillar of its strategy for the upcoming national elections signalling a seismic shift in Bangladesh’s political calculus. 

The Women's Political Rights Forum has submitted six-point demands to the Election Commission (EC), calling for electoral reforms ahead of the 13th national elections. 

Speakers at a press conference have called on the political parties to reconsider their stance on reserved seats for women in the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament).

In Bangladesh, the Forum for Women’s Political Rights has called for comprehensive electoral reforms to ensure fair and inclusive representation of women in the political arena.

In the aftermath of Bangladesh’s historic student-people's uprising in July 2024 that led to the removal of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Thousands of members of an Islamist group protested proposed gender equality reforms in Bangladesh over the weekend.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party strongly disagreed with the Constitutional Reform Commission on its proposal for a quota of 10 per cent parliamentary seats for young candidates.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly resigned and fled the country in the face of

The landscape of women leadership in Bangladesh presents a paradox: despite notable female figures in key political positions, the overarching advancement of women into leadership roles remains stagnant. Despite having a female prime minister, a female speake

TOKYO -- Two strong, prominent female leaders have found themselves facing very different political futures in neighboring countries on the Bay of Bengal.

Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, the reins of the government have always been in the hands of a woman (except during the state of emergency in 2007-08).

In November 2023, an online video showed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Medina, Saudi Arabia, being greeted with slogans of "Bhua, bhua." The original footage of the prime minister's Medina visit had no such sounds in the background, and the audio was fou

The Gen-Z-led uprising in Nepal did not erupt out of nowhere – it emerged from intersecting pressures that had been quietly building for decades.

Sustainable development, responsive governance and inclusive democracy all depend on women's equitable engagement and representation in politics.

KATHMANDU, Jan 22: Amid the buzz of election fever in the chilly January air, candidates for the House of Representatives (HoR) election on March 5 have been enthusiastically filing their nominations.

Thousands of young Nepalis have taken to the streets to protest their government over a ban on social media platforms. The protests have garnered national attention as Prime Minister Sharma Oli resigned, and the Nepali parliament was set on fire.

At least 19 people have been killed and dozens injured during violent protests against the government’s social media ban and alleged corrupti

Nepal is heading to the polls in less than two years. Voters will choose their representatives for three tiers of government – the local, provincial, and federal – which will shape Nepal’s political course until the early 2030s.

The Media Advocacy Group, in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), organised a panel discussion titled ‘Visibility of Women Leadership in Media’ on Tuesday, at Yak Palace, Pulchowk.

Constitutional, political, and legal arrangements have increased representation of women in various levels of governance in Nepal.

Election Commission is drafting a bill to increase women’s candidacy in all three tiers of government by a third.

As proportional representation votes are scattered among parties, women, Dalits, Janajatis will be underrepresented.

KATHMANDU, Nov 25: Five women candidates have been elected to the House of Representatives (HoR) in the elections held on November 20.

With few women FPTP candidates, more of them may need to be elected to the upper house to meet the requirement.

Almost all political parties have an extremely lower ratio of women to men candidates fielded under the first-past-the-post category in the upcoming elections.

The result announcement of elections held on May 13 have revealed two women candidates as the winners of mayoral elections in two local levels of Rautahat district. 

The commission rescinded the decision after the political parties protested against the provision stating that it is against existing laws.

The 22 years old Saraswati Nepali is the mom of two kids and lives approximately five hours' drive (and five hours walk) away from the headquarter of Karnali Province, Surkhet—a place that paid the heaviest of prices in the 10 year-long armed conflict from 1996-2006.

In line with the inclusive principles enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal 2015, the three major political parties—in their recently held general conventions—included cluster-wise inclusion in their central committees (CCs).

After the first elections under federalism in 2017, Hupsekot became one of only two municipalities in Nepal in which women were voted both chair and deputy.

Sarita Giri, on Thursday, was officially expelled from the Samajbadi Party, and consequently as a Member of Parliament, in the culmination of a se

Women parliamentarians and other leaders in politics, on Sunday, discussed how people generally are less likely to recognise leadership qualities in women and stressed on the urgency to break this gender gap with female journalists, in Kathmandu.

Female representation in Nepal's parliament has increased dramatically in the last 10 years.

Nepal’s constitution mandates that women hold at least 33% of seats in the national parliament and provincial assemblies, and at least 40% in local governments.

When Bidya Devi Bhandari became&nbs

Nepal

The first local elections i

KATHMANDU: The Election Commission

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: One of the

By Sophie Kemkhadze, UNDP Nepal Country Director

Nine days remained — just nine days before the deadline expired, the bill died, and years of work would have to begin again from scratch.

Catherine Juvinao Clavijo is a Colombian congresswoman, journalist, and civic activist currently serving as Representative to the Chamber for Bogotá with the Alianza Verde party.

Elections in Colombia saw a political shift in 2022, and the greatest gains in terms of women’s representation in the Americas.

When Colombians on Sunday elected their first leftist president ever, they also voted for their country’s first Black vice-president.

Election observers warn that rampant hate speech could result in violence.

The environmental leader won more votes than the center candidate Sergio Fajardo without having held public office and with a campaign that began only three months ago.

Billions of people across the world stand on the right side of history every day. They speak up, take a stand, mobilize, and take big and small actions to advance women’s rights. This is Generation Equality.

Claudia López, a gay politician who advertises herself as "incorruptible", has become the first woman to be elected mayor of Colombia's capital, Bogotá.

Observers say female candidates systematically threatened with physical, sexual violence to deter them from running.

The body of mayoral candidate Karina García was found shot and incinerated in her car in the Cauca department of southern Colombia, 

In Colombia’s southern province of Putumayo, a group of women is stitching together social fabric despite an alarming number of ongoing threats and acts of violence against them.

Last week, the new President of Colombia, Iván Duque, swore in his vice president, Marta Lucía Ramírez.

She is Colombia’s first female vice president.

Colombia is to get its first female interior minister with women heading other key ministries including justice and energy

By Anastasia Moloney

OpenDemocracy has published the following report in defense of grassroots women crisis responders.

Yesterday’s agreement between the g

Former St. Gallen National Councillor Hanna Sahlfeld-Singer has died, according to an obituary in the "St. Galler Tagblatt". The former SP politician would have been 82 years old next Friday.

The average Swiss parliament member is male, well-educated and 50 years old. This year’s elections have accentuated an already existing trend.

At the last federal elections in 2019, the share of women candidates elected to the 200-seat House of Representatives surged by 10 percentage points to 42%.

Women in Swiss parliament are now allowed to show their shoulders and arms after the Council of States relaxed its clothing regulations for women.

In Switzerland, female voters outnumber their male counterparts by 10%. Yet women remain a minority in cantonal and federal politics. Here’s a look at some of the reasons for this discrepancy.

With

The annual general meeting of the S

Nine days remained — just nine days before the deadline expired, the bill died, and years of work would have to begin again from scratch.

Catherine Juvinao Clavijo is a Colombian congresswoman, journalist, and civic activist currently serving as Representative to the Chamber for Bogotá with the Alianza Verde party.

Elections in Colombia saw a political shift in 2022, and the greatest gains in terms of women’s representation in the Americas.

When Colombians on Sunday elected their first leftist president ever, they also voted for their country’s first Black vice-president.

Election observers warn that rampant hate speech could result in violence.

The environmental leader won more votes than the center candidate Sergio Fajardo without having held public office and with a campaign that began only three months ago.

Billions of people across the world stand on the right side of history every day. They speak up, take a stand, mobilize, and take big and small actions to advance women’s rights. This is Generation Equality.

Claudia López, a gay politician who advertises herself as "incorruptible", has become the first woman to be elected mayor of Colombia's capital, Bogotá.

Observers say female candidates systematically threatened with physical, sexual violence to deter them from running.

The body of mayoral candidate Karina García was found shot and incinerated in her car in the Cauca department of southern Colombia, 

In Colombia’s southern province of Putumayo, a group of women is stitching together social fabric despite an alarming number of ongoing threats and acts of violence against them.

Last week, the new President of Colombia, Iván Duque, swore in his vice president, Marta Lucía Ramírez.

She is Colombia’s first female vice president.

Colombia is to get its first female interior minister with women heading other key ministries including justice and energy

By Anastasia Moloney

OpenDemocracy has published the following report in defense of grassroots women crisis responders.

Yesterday’s agreement between the g

HÀ NỘI — Women’s participation in politics is widely seen as a key measure of social progress and an important driver of socio-economic development, gender equality and sustainable growth.

Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnamese and Lao female lawmakers on April 25 shared their experience in politics at a workshop in the n

HANOI, June 11 (Xinhua): A total of 499 out of 866 candidates have been elected to the 15th National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam, the country's top legislative body, for the 2021-2026 tenure, the country's National Election Council announced at a press

International delegates lauded Vietnam’s contributions to affirming women’s roles in building and sustaining peace while attending the International Conference on Women, Peace and Security held by the 

NDO - The Presidium of the Vietnam Women's Union held a meeting with female deputies of the 14th National Assembly (NA) in Hanoi, on November 13.

(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Vietnam’s appointment of its first female president belies a deep gender imbalance in the communist country’s politics and society and will do little to improve women’s rights, advocates said on Monday.

The election of deputies to the 14

The past week marked positive chang

(Berlin, April 23, 2024) – Kazakhstan’s President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev signed a

ASTANA – Human rights activist Saltanat Tursynbekova was nominated to run for the presidency by Qazaq analary – dasturge zhol (Kazakh mothers are a path to traditions) public association on Oct. 11, reported the association’s press services.

On May 25, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the law titled “Amendments to the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” “Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and the law on “Amendments and Additions to the Law on Political P

«On December 20, 2019 during the second session of the National Council of Public Confidence the President made proposals aimed at reforming the current political system.

The Ak Zhol party nominated April 24 Daniya Yespayeva as its candidate for the 9 June presidential election. If confirmed by the Kazakhstan Central Election Commission, Yespayeva would be the first woman in Kazakh history to run for president.