Women's political participation

There is an Ethel, a Melanie, a Dana, a Jolie, a Melody, a Nancy, a Judith, and a Margaret who would prefer voters call her Peggy.

Women are all over Lake and Porter county ballots this spring.

Some 51 Democrats and 45 Republicans are competing with men and sometimes other women for the state legislature, county, township and municipal offices May 6.

They represent almost a third of all candidates for public elective offices. More than 25 of them are incumbent officials running for re-election.

With 59 winners of the total 556 contestants, women candidates seem to have had a dream run in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. May 16 will tell if their success story repeats this time too.

Women not only outnumber men on electoral rolls in the state, they also outscored them in casting votes. The Election Commission on Saturday said 2.03 crore women — 73.86% of the total women voters — cast their votes in the Lok Sabha elections held on Thursday. In comparison, 2.02 crore men (73.51%) turned up at polling booths. But of 3,341 transgenders, only 419 (12.5%) voted.

Group and individual proponents advocating for increased participation of women in governance, have been urged to brace up for another round of advocacy, as the local government elections, approaches later this year.

Ms. Esther Tawiah, Executive Director of Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED) made the call on Tuesday in Ho during a validation workshop on the Local Governance Network’s Position Paper on the participation of civil society organisations (CSO) in local governance.

GENDER minister Inonge Wina says the government is committed to increasing women participation in politics and decision-making positions.
Speaking when she officiated at the third Gender Protocol Summit and Awards ceremony in Lusaka yesterday, Wina said the government's commitment to gender equality was evidenced by the introduction of the National Gender Policy, which had strong commitments to regional and international instruments.

Egyptian women today still suffer from cultural, social and political discrimination with no indication from policymakers for progress. Though women attained the right to political participation in 1956, significant development has been minimal. The January 25 and June 30revolutions marked a significant change as women were at the forefront throughout.

Nadine Moussa, Lebanon’s first female candidate for the presidency, insists that Lebanon needs a “new social contract,” with women holding half of all parliamentary and governmental posts.

“I know what Lebanese women are capable of, and I know how much they can contribute,” Moussa told The Daily Star.

Moussa, a lawyer who has worked to promote women’s rights for over a decade, is the first female to officially run for president of Lebanon.

African women from 15 countries across the continent gathered in Nairobi, Kenya from April 23rd to the 24th to deliberate and strategize on women's political leadership in Africa. Convened by FEMNET (African Women's Development and Communication Network) and Urgent Action Fund – Africa (UAF-Africa), the meeting engaged seasoned politicians, aspirants, women's rights activists, leading organizations engaged in enhancing women's political leadership, donors, UN agencies and the media.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, where women hold just 23 percent of the seats in national parliaments and there are only three women heads of state, Catherine Samba-Panza, president of the Central African Republic (CAR), is an inspirational figure. Her position as the first female president of a Francophone country is a powerful symbol for African women, showing they can succeed even in countries where armed conflict, corruption and inequality have been the norm.