Editorial / Opinion Piece / Blog Post

The March 26 by elections ended on a high note, amid reports that there were no reported cases of violence at all polling stations across Zimbabwe.

Global trends indicate the slow-paced progress in closing gender gaps across major dimensions of human development in different countries.

Want to see drama? Take an interest in Nigeria’s elections. From seemingly true-intentioned motives to the ‘aspire to perspire’ speeches and the comical jumps across party lines, election season is an interesting period here.

‘When some women try to get involved in politics, they are despised and as such they are at the defensive. Even their co-women would despise them and refuse to support and vote for them…First, women are not as financially buoyant as the men.

For nearly all political parties in India, women’s role in politics seems to begin and end as voters. In contrast to this, the Congress’ decision to give 40% tickets to women in UP was a refreshing change.

We need more women in top leadership roles. We also need male leaders embracing the qualities women leaders exemplified throughout the pandemic. Nothing less than our future depends on it.

In our series of letters from African journalists, Sammy Awami looks back at how Tanzania has changed in the year since Samia Suluhu Hassan became the country's first female president following the death of President John Magufuli.

Despite studies showing widespread public acceptance of female politicians in India, women's political participation in the South Asian country remains low.

Despite India having had multiple female heads of state, and a progressive and highly diverse political past and present, the inclusion of women in Indian politics continues to be doubted by many countries across the world.