women leaders

While we women welcome the initiative of talks taken by the government and stand in full solidarity with them, we would like to clearly state that women will not be a negotiating chip this time.

We have dealt with the Taliban for over a decade and with the traditional feudal mindset and patriarchal system for centuries. Whether it is in the name of Islam or in the name of tradition, it all falls on our heads.

Women can and do run for office, but their path to politics differs from the one most men follow. Women are generally asked to run and likely to have been recruited. Men tend to initiate their own candidacy, and worry less about if they are qualified or not. Women tend to feel under qualified, regardless of their background and experience.

We invite you to read the full article published February 11, 2014

Burma’s president is set to appoint Khin San Yi, formerly a deputy minister of planning and economic development, as the new education minister, bringing the number of woman ministers in the government to two.

The media plays a crucial role in the political or electoral process. It's the ears and eyes of the public and help mould perceptions. 

People rely on it for information on making decisions on a range of issues such as choosing their political leaders, informing them about their activities, mandate of political campaigns and giving them effective coverage while in office.

Today’s Cape Cod Times noted the imminent retirement of Senate President Therese Murray and listed two of the leading candidates for her seat, Plymouth state representative Vinnie deMacedo and former Falmouth state representative Matt Patrick.

deMacedo, a Republican, said that “I would like to think that the district wants balance, and I think this is an opportunity to bring some balance to the Senate.”

When Anna Margareth Abdallah entered the Tanzanian parliament in 1975, she was one of only five female MPs. Today, she is one of 126 – more than a third of the total – and the first woman to chair the standing committee on defence and security.

Africa now has three female heads of state, after Catherine Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic took office in January. Though women leaders remain the exception in African politics, activists say things are looking up.

Women are breaking into the "boys club" of the African presidency.

We invite you to read the full article published February 8, 2014

Both houses of the Afghan Parliament have voted to pass an act that would prohibit relatives from testifying against a criminal defendant in a judicial proceeding. If signed by President Hamid Karzai, the proposed change to the Afghan criminal code would prevent family members from testifying as victims or witnesses in all criminal cases, including domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault cases. The act would also ban children and doctors – including those who may have examined victims – from testifying against the accused.