Sub Saharan Africa

The Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), on Thursday urged more women to contest the forthcoming district assemblies’ elections to enable them to participate actively in policy formulation and decision-making processes.

Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, FOSDA Programme Officer said the participation of more women in politics and the decision-making process with their male counter parts would provide a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society and is needed in order to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning.

Sexual harassments and intimidation are two major reasons why women shy away from politics, representative of Ikorodu Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, western Nigeria, Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola, has said.

Akinsola, a first-term lawmaker at the House, who spoke with newsmen recently, said many women are in tune with the general belief that politics is only meant for men. She also argued that sexual harassment could only be experienced by women who are very desperate to be politically relevant.

President Barack Obama criticized gender oppression in Africa that he said is "crippling" development in some countries, speaking out publicly Monday for the first time against female genital mutilation while encouraging young leaders from the continent to empower women.

The Chairman of the opposition Liberty Party, Atty. Fonati Koffa, said the Liberty is in the lead pushing the gender parity. Speaking at a fundraising dinner organized by Senator Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence and held at the Cape Hotel on Friday July 25, 2014, Atty. Koffa said the party will support women candidates to ensure success in politics.

“The case of the Costa Rican domestic workers perfectly illustrates the need to shift the debate beyond numbers to consider how inclusive and representative our political systems truly are – at all levels.

Whilst the advances made in women’s parliamentary representation worldwide is no doubt a cause for celebration we know full well that ‘bums on seats’ are not enough. Attention must increasingly turn to ensuring women parliamentarians reflect the diversity of societies in which they live and that their increased participation translates into actual influence.”

As the world looks on in horror at the bloodshed in Gaza, Mary Gahonzire brings a unique perspective to the role of women in peacemaking and reconciliation. Gahonzire is deputy commissioner of the Rwanda Correctional Service, which runs prisons in the country that 20 years ago was torn apart by 100 days of killing.

Former first lady and Mozambican education minister Graça Machel’s advocacy work in women’s financial inclusion will not extend to a return to active mainstream politics.

She was speaking exclusively to Independent Newspapers on the edges of the African Development Bank’s Women’s Economic Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, on Friday.

Since the death of her husband Nelson Mandela, Machel has returned to public life.

Popular Somali musician and member of parliament Saado Ali Warsame has been shot dead by Islamist militants.

She was killed along with her bodyguard in a drive-by shooting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

A spokesman for the Islamist al-Shabab group, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, told the BBC that she was targeted for her politics and not her music.

The BBC's Mohammed Moalimu in Mogadishu says she is the fourth MP to be killed this year.

Somali women leaders met in Mogadishu on Sunday (July 20th) to demand greater representation in national politics and clear constitutional provisions protecting their participation, Somalia's Hiiraan Online reported.

Chair of the Somali National Women's Association Batulo Sheikh Ahmed Gaballe and several of Somalia's women lawmakers attended the meeting.