gender

Political parties that have less than 30 percent female representation in their lists of candidates for the general and regional elections may get less money from the state per mandate gained, according to a draft amendment to the election law, which daily Právo writes about today.

The provision was initiated by Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier (Social Democrats, ČSSD).

Following David Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle, the UK government has moved from having three women in the cabinet to five: and these two new members are working mothers, a presence not there before.

This still fails to improve the overall gender equity: according to theInter-Parliamentary Union the UK currently ranks 65th globally for women parliamentary membership. Women comprise 22.6 per cen of the total UK parliament, compared to 51 per cent of the population.

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.

The gender gap in American salaries is well documented, but it turns out this disparity in pay extends into the political realm as well. Women also donate much less to political campaigns than their male counterparts.

Gunmen shot dead a leading Libyan female lawmaker in the restive city of Darna on Tuesday, as rival militias and government forces continued to battle for control of a major airport in the capital, Tripoli.

A lawmaker in the Japan Restoration Party was jeered during a meeting at parliament and told by a male lawmaker she “should give birth to a baby.”

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.