Women's political participation

Rwanda's parliament is now almost two-thirds female, while Malawi, Liberia and Senegal have women at the helm. Western feminists, take note.

What would have once sounded like a far-fetched feminist fantasy – namely women forming the majority of a parliament – is a reality in one country in the world, Rwanda.

Early reports from the parliamentary elections last Monday indicate that women now hold nearly 64% of the seats. Prior to the genocidal conflict in 1994, the figure was just 18%.

On Tuesday, September 17, the 

Women voters were prevented from participating in the by-elections taking place in the Union Council Kari Shamuzi NA-25 earlier today, Express News reported.

The reason behind this is not yet known.

There are 308 polling stations where voting will take place till 5 pm.

There have been similar previous incidents in the past when women were prevented to vote. Not a single woman could cast her vote in NA-103 Hafizabad during the by-elections in August.

Hazel Brown, co-ordinator of the Network of NGOs for the advancement of women, hopes after the October 21 local government elections that 50 per cent of councillors will be women as well as 50 per cent of aldermen elected under the newly-implemented proportional representation. Brown made the announcement yesterday at a news conference at the Professional Centre, Fitzblackman Drive, Port-of-Spain.

On Sept. 11, a story broke about a female student taken into custody at one of the most prestigious universities of Turkey, Middle East Technical University (METU). Ezgi Ozen and her friends were protesting a government road project that may destroy 3,000 trees on the METU campus and nearby neighborhoods. Another protester was able to shoot a video of Ozen being handcuffed and escorted to police vehicles. The video shows an officer yelling, “If she resists, her arm will be broken.” Unarmed and relatively small, could Ozen really have “resisted” the police?

Continuing the celebrations marking ten years of uninterrupted peace, the women of Liberia presented a five-count resolution to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf highlighting their plight and how they can be resolved for the common good of Liberian women and girls.

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, on Tuesday urged more Nigerian women to vie for elective positions in 2015.

Dame Jonathan said this in Owerri in a message to the inauguration of Coordinators of Women for Change and Development Initiative (W4CDI) ,  her pet project.

The First Lady was represented by Dr Rabi Ibrahim, the National Coordinator of W4CDI.

We invite you to read the full article published September 17, 2013