women's empowerment

“It’s true that as a woman leader you attract probably a disproportionate amount of influence because there are so few of us,” says Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Female activists play an invaluable role in the country that gave rise to the Arab Spring

Despite the recent political chaos in the country, Tunisia cannot be written off as a potentially failed state. Behind the scenes, citizens — especially women — are keeping Ennahdha, the Islamic party ruling in a coalition with two secular parties, from slipping into extremism.

Liberal MP Teresa Gambaro learnt what it meant to have guts long before she went into politics. Her parents, who immigrated to Australia from Italy after World War II, ran a small fish store in Petrie Terrace, an inner-city suburb of Brisbane. Far from the seafood industry, Ms Gambaro is now scaling the political ladder – but the fight to retain the seat of Brisbane, one of the most marginal electorates in the country, will definitely require some guts.

Nigeria and Senegal are planning to provide women at grassroots level with leadership and advocacy skills that would enable them contribute meaningfully to the development of their countries.

To this end, a three-day capacity building workshop has been scheduled for November this year in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, to train women on strategies that would reposition them as leaders.

Also, they would evolve on participating effectively in the political and socio-economic development of their communities and the nation.

Hattie Carraway [...] was the first woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. On Dec. 9, 1931, Carraway filled the seat vacated by her late husband. She was elected to a full term in 1932 and served as a Democrat from Arkansas through 1944.

Right now, there are 20 women in the U.S. Senate, the most in history. Thirteen are the first females ever elected to represent her particular state in the Senate.

We invite you to read the full article published by US News

The key message conveyed in Kelly O’Dwyer’s maiden speech in parliament was that of aspiration.

In February 2010, the Federal Member for Higgins *Vic) cited the story of her grandparents who established a small business and, through their aspirations, created opportunities for their family that carried down through the generations and informed her politics.

We invite you to read the full article published August 21, 2013 

Archaic and chauvinistic practices are being used to prevent Swazi women from taking part in the upcoming primary elections, despite the country having a constitution that guarantees their rights, says political analyst Dr. Sikelela Dlamini.

“The discrimination [against] women by preventing them from participating in politics is a consequence of deeply-rooted notions of male dominance and the subordination of women,” Dlamini told IPS.

Armenian sociologist characterized adoption of gender equality law as a senseless and dangerous move.

“If we become an associate member of the European Union, we will automatically take on commitments supposed by the EU treaty which fully protects the rights of sexual and ethnic minorities,” Aharon Adibekyan told reporters, News.am reports

We invite you to read the full article published August 21, 2013

To many, it may come as no surprise. Politics is a man’s world in the South Caucasus, where women remain a legislative minority, according to recent data from the World Bank.

The study showed that, regionally, Armenia has the lowest share of female parliamentarians, at 11 percent of its 131-seat National Assembly. Georgia comes next on the list with 12 percent, though the 2012 election marked a slight improvement. Azerbaijan is doing the best, though the female presence in its 125-seat Milli Majlis still stands at a modest 16 percent.