women's empowerment

Samiyeh Balochzehi, 26, who was elected mayor by the Kalat city council, is an engineer and has a master’s degree in natural resources management from the Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch in Tehran. A local who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said that Balochzehi is a widow, that her sister is on the city council and that she comes from a wealthy and influential family.

LIMA, Peru — For a region famous for “machismo,” Latin America is about to take an unlikely step: elect a record number of women presidents.

In Chile, moderate socialist former President Michelle Bachelet — whose admirers include Hillary Clinton — is widely expected to crush her conservative opponent, also a woman, in a runoff vote on Dec. 15.

Twelve women councilors in the Kailahun District, east of Sierra Leone, have climaxed the 2013 commemoration of '16 Days of Activism' with the official adoption of the 'Gender Model Family' as an antidote to poverty reduction, improved social relations and reduction in gender-based violence. The 16 Days of Activism is a global event aimed at reducing gender-based violence and the flagrant abuse of the rights of women.

Interim President Adly Manosur called upon Egyptian women to participate in the referendum on the draft constitution set to take place on 14 and 15 January 2014.

In a conference organized by the National Council for women, Mansour’s speech which was delivered by his advisor on women’s affairs, Sakina Fouad, stressed the importance of women’s role in “stopping the bloodshed”.

When citizens in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) took to the streets in early 2011 in demonstrations that toppled autocratic regimes, one after another, a new democratic rule with more rights and representation for all, including women, were chief among the demands. The people of the region seized onto the importance of political empowerment and many saw an opportunity within the newly evolving political order to positively impact universal human rights, especially the rights of women and ethnic minorities. 

Though disallowed from the 2014 presidential race, Fawzia Koofi is optimistic about her political career in Afghanistan. Yet it is not clear what will happen to the state of women's rights before the next one.

Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places anywhere in the world to be a woman, or to be a politician, and Fawzia Koofi, a deputy speaker of its national assembly, is both.

At least once a week, she receives a death threat from the Taliban or a warning from the security services about plots to assassinate her.

Socialist Michelle Bachelet was swept back into office Sunday as Chile’s next president, on a platform of narrowing the gap between rich and poor.

"Chile, now, finally, the time has come to carry out the changes," Ms Bachelet told cheering supporters in Santiago shortly after her landslide win, joined by her children and mother Angela Jeria.

We invite you to read the full article published December 16, 2013

Have a look at some of the world's female leaders!

published December 16, 2013