gender equality

As Burundi heads towards the 2015 general elections, and despite a quota of 30 percent women’s representation in parliament, women in this southeast African nation feel that they are yet to have a significant say in the management of their country.

Bernardine Sindakira, the chairwoman of Synergy of Partners for the Promotion of Women’s Rights (SPPDF), a Burundian coalition of women’s rights organisations, tells IPS that the country’s very traditional culture still considers women as “homemakers” as women are educated to play this role from young. 

While Lebanon suffers from a paucity of female politicians, establishing a quota is not the only way to bolster women’s participation in the political sphere, say members of UNDP’s Lebanese Electoral Assistance Program.

Parties from all across the political spectrum acknowledge the need to include more women in Lebanese politics, but agreeing what steps to take toward that end have proved more difficult said Richard Chambers, the Chief Technical Adviser at LEAP.

President Paul Kagame has said that women's 64 per cent representation in Rwanda's Lower House should not be seen as an end in itself with regard to women empowerment in the country.

He was speaking yesterday on the last day of the summer summit of the Women in Parliaments (WIP) Global Forum at the Parliamentary Buildings in Kigali.

The Head of State observed that empowered women in legislature, business and other areas had an important effect on the ambitions and dreams of younger girls.

urmese women’s rights activists and government officials aim to finish drafting a bill by the end of the year to prevent violence against women, activists say.

“Once enacted, it would be the first law to ensure the protection of women from all forms of violence, including physical, mental, sexual and verbal violence,” May Sabe Phyu, a peace activist and coordinator of the Gender Equality Network (GEN), a large network of civil society organizations, told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

Iraq has been pitched into a new civil war. After a lightning-quick advance, an extremist Sunni group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) now controls much of northern and western Iraq.

This was discussed at the Fiji Women’s Forum Candidate Strengthening Workshop in the Holiday Inn in Suva, today. Representatives from Political parties met to discuss and support the women candidates that have been announced or with the intention of running through the political party. FemLink Coordinator, Sharon Bhagwan Rolls says the workshop is to also provide for spot for campaign organizers as well.

On June 23, a middle-aged male Japanese politician, dressed in the traditional dark suit and '80s-retro haircut, walked in front of a waiting line of news cameras, to where a younger female politician waited. As the cameras flashed, he apologized to the woman, and bowed deeply; she looked on gravely.

Turkey's first women-only party was established on June 26 after a group of women has submitted a petition to the Interior Ministry, allowing it to participate in parliamentary elections held in 2015.

The party demands the construction of democratic political parties, transparency in election laws and a reduction of the electoral threshold to 3 percent.

Benal Yazgan, the head of the Women Party Initiative stated that what they want is to take the initiative a step further and turn it into a political party.