Sub Saharan Africa

Women who constitute 52 percent of Zimbabwe's population (the impending census could establish that figure might have increased), have been conspicuously quiet on this matter despite having actively participated in the constitutional outreach process including the chaotic first all-stakeholder's conference.

The women's movement led by the Women's Coalition has had numerous consultative meetings to ensure that women's views are well captured in the draft.

Political party leaders were on Monday urged to implement to gender approach in elections.

Women from the civil society and political activists are demanding for their 30 percent quota as the deadline to the formation of a new government draws near.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, the first female minister in Nigeria, Ambassador Ebunoluwa Oyagbola, on Saturday in Abuja called for the election of a female president, saying it would bring positive developments in the country.

She also called for more respect and commendation for ex-President Shehu Shagari who, despite protest by politicians in Ogun State, made her the Minister of National Planning.

South Africa’s gender parity laws have seen women rise to positions of power in the state, the private sector and civil society. On National Women’s Day, there was much talk of increasing women’s rights, strengthening measures to deal with violence against women and increasing support for their economic empowerment. But the lesson of the historic 1956 women’s march was that they had the courage to speak out—even through silence.

The ECOWAS Parliament's Joint Committee on Gender, Employment and Social Welfare and the Committee on Health and Social Service on Tuesday commenced a five-day sitting at the Senegambia Beach Hotel in Banjul where they will dilate on the "Validation of the Ecowas Parliament Gender Strategy".

The meeting is expected to also consider and update its draft gender strategy, submitted to it by a resource centre, the Canadian Parliamentary Centre in 2010, which it had hitherto, considered in a couple of its sitting but could not get the plenary to adopt due to certain constraints.

Tanzanian National Assembly Speaker Anne Makinda has urged women to look beyond their allotted 30% quota in the National Assembly and seek full 50% representation by participating in elections in constituencies, Tanzania's Daily News reported Monday (August 6th).

"You must not fear and we cannot cling on to special seats forever; we must go to the constituencies and fight. Let us not let down Tanzanian women," she said to a group of women lawmakers.

Gender and Development Minister, Julia Duncan Cassell has called on Liberian women to be more proactive and ready for the 2014 midterm legislative election.

Addressing a gathering of women, (The all Liberian Women's Summit) yesterday at the Monrovia City Hall, Minister Cassell said that her statement comes in the wake decrease in female legislators.