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Heated debate erupted on the floor in the Senate on Thursday after some Senators strongly opposed a provision in the election reform law that requires political parties to ensure thirty percent gender equality during candidates' registration.

Some of the Senators, who opposed with the thirty percent gender equality provision, said the committee on the election reform law should not legalize what is not part of the Constitution of Liberia.

Women rights organizations have urged the political parties and election commission to take care "not to undermine the already won battle" regarding women empowerment by failing to ensure 33 representation of women in the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) election. 

Nepal had become one among the few countries in the world with high women participation in the parliament by inducting 33 percent of women through the last CA election held in 2008.

Vanuatu’s Parliament has passed legislation providing for reserved seats for women in the country’s Municipal Councils.

The amendment to the Municipalities Act, which was passed with unanimous support among MPs, provides that one seat in every ward in a municipality must be reserved for a woman.

Under the new law, a female candidate for an election to a municipal council cannot contest for both a reserved seat and a general seat in a ward in a municipality.

To eliminate gender discrimination, the political parties should ensure 33% of the positions allotted to women in their party hierarchical structure by 2015, and include this in their election manifesto ahead of the 2014 general elections.

The call came at a meet the press on Saturday organised by Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leadership (BDAWL) at the National Press Club.

The Election Commission has a vital role to play in ensuring women’s participation as well as achieve the target by 2015, they said.

NGOs in Serbia fear that in the coming reshuffle, the government will veer from the European standard of having at least 30 percent of women in its ranks.

Belgrade-based daily Danas reports that a letter cautioning that women should make up at least 30 percent the new government was sent on Monday to all members of the national parliament.

Members of the parliamentary Committee on Human and Minority Rights, and Commissioner for Equality Nevena Petrušić also received the letter.

Government will not be able to achieve its target of appointing 30 per cent of women to head Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) due to “structural difficulties,” says Dr Raymond Atuguba, Executive Secretary to the President. He, however, reiterated government’s commitment to meet the target in future appointments.

We invite you to read the full article published August 20, 2013

As political parties concentrate around preparations for the Constituent Assembly (CA) election, protest programs demanding 33 percent women´s representation in the new CA has fallen under shadow. 

Inter Party Women Network (IPWN) had 3 weeks ago planned to carry out agitations in the capital at four different places to create pressure for the demand to be met. 
However, on seeing the parties too busy to notice them, IPWN had to cancel its street protests.

WITH two years to go for Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries to meet the 50-50 target for gender parity in decision-making positions, it seems many states in the region are not on course to meet this target. Only five countries – South Africa, Seychelles, Mozambique, Tanzania and Angola – are on course to meet the target at Parliamentary level only.
Zambia, together with Swaziland, Malawi, Congo DR among others, have shown low representation of women in parliament, meaning that women have no say on matters that affect their lives.