iKnow Politics

 In a country where they have been playing second fiddle to men for centuries, women candidates outnumber men in the ongoing polls to the West Bengal village councils, the third tier of India's electoral democracy.

An estimated 90,000 rural women are contesting the pollls out of a total of 169,000 candidates, that is over half the total number of candidates in the elections that would decide representatives in 58,865 seats.

The lot of Nigerian women in the workplace has not always been pleasant. It is even more brutish in the political arena. Gender activists and other stakeholders gathered in Abuja recently to ponder their lot.

MRs. Rifkatu Samson Dannahn the only female member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, suspended for about one year from the House by her male colleagues, was the cynosure of many eyes at the Women in Parliament summit in Abuja penultimate week.

Violence against female protesters was a terrifying hallmark of the unrest that led to the fall of the Morsi government. Local NGOs documente more than 100 reports of sexual violence, including rape, between June 30 and July 3, the day of the “coup-volution” which ousted Morsi.

Among the many issues bringing protestors together at Gezi Park, the now-iconic site of struggle in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, is the demand for women’s liberation.

Coming from many walks of life and expressing a myriad of ideals and values, the women of the Occupy Gezi Movement have nevertheless voiced a collective desire: to fight the undercurrent of deeply entrenched patriarchal values and reclaim autonomy over their own bodies and lifestyles.

A free press, crucial to any democracy, plays a significant role in shaping public attitudes.  It can reinforce voter stereotypes about certain types of candidates, or it can help dispel the kinds of opinions that for many years in many places have hampered efforts by women to become full partners in the political process.

The Democratic Party of Indonesia (DPI) is seeking to attract more women to participate in the upcoming presidential candidate convention.

Nova Riyanti Yusuf, member of the DPI, said: “Personally, I would like women to come forward at the convention especially to compete with other candidates, [so that] our politics will be more exciting"

“We once had a female president, Megawati Sukarnoputri. The names of female figures should be raised. If there are women who would like to participate, don’t be shy.”

Fatma Bostan Unsal, one of the founders of the Turkish ruling party Justice and Development Party, asserted that over 13 million women wearing hijab are barred from contesting the parliamentary elections. 

A group of 57 women including journalists, academicians, politicians and artists called last week for the end of all restrictions regarding dress codes.