Asia and the Pacific

Despite the increase in the number of female candidates in the parliamentary elections held throughout Indonesia on April 9, 2014, the country would likely fail to meet its target of increasing womens representation in the 560-seat Parliament for the 2014-2019 period.

Of 6,607 legislative candidates racing for the House of Representatives (DPR) seats in the elections, some 37 percent or 2,467 were women, up from 30 percent in the legislative elections in 2009.

The moment there was an inkling that Dyana Sofya would be DAP’s candidate for the Teluk Intan Parliamentary seat, a picture purportedly of her (it wasn’t) in a bikini was circulated on the internet. She has since been subjected to wolf whistles by her own supposed supporters, and called cheap candy by extremist group Isma.

IN THIS heady age of grimy corruption revelations, thanks to the ICAC merry-go-round, it's good to know there's a simple answer to end corruption in politics.

That is, to get more women elected Australia-wide, according to Lennox Head-based NSW Upper House MP Catherine Cusack.

Ms Cusack has just been elected to chair the Commonwealth Women's Parliamentary Steering Committee, and her appointment comes during a crisis point for women.

The number of female MPs is dropping; nationally the number has fallen from 254 in 2010 to 239 in 2014.

The dissemination of posters featuring DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud alongside a bikini-clad actress with whom she shares a striking facial resemblance has drawn outrage from several Malay residents in this usually placid town.

Two days ago, physical copies appeared in two Malay villages here, local PAS leaders said.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw many highs for women. 

Does this mean that finally the Women’s Reservation Bill and others Bills pertaining to women’s representation, security and development will be passed?

The 16th Lok Sabha will have the highest number of women MPs since the first election in 1952, 61. It had the maximum number of women candidates, 668 and the highest women voter turnout in numbers. 

The Vanuatu Council of Women says the government needs to come up with more strategies to push women's political representation in the country.

The non-governmental organisation has launched a report on women's participation in politics from 2009 to now to mark National Women's Day.

The coordinator of the study, Seman Serekan, says no women being elected in the 2012 general election forced the government to introduce reserved seats for women in municipal elections.

They might not be getting their due when it comes to representation in parliament, but women have increased their participation in the voting process by nearly 10 percent in this general election, even surpassing men in eight states.

Comparatively, the male voter turnout increased to 67.17 percent from 60.24 percent last time.

Women political participation in Pakistan is constrained due to deep-rooted gender inequality and politics of patronage. There is need to not only sensitize political leadership but also introduce broader legislative and electoral reforms to strengthen women political leadership in Pakistan.