Women's political participation

NGOs in Serbia fear that in the coming reshuffle, the government will veer from the European standard of having at least 30 percent of women in its ranks.

Belgrade-based daily Danas reports that a letter cautioning that women should make up at least 30 percent the new government was sent on Monday to all members of the national parliament.

Members of the parliamentary Committee on Human and Minority Rights, and Commissioner for Equality Nevena Petrušić also received the letter.

In a bid to promote women in leadership positions, the Sierra Leone Social Aid Volunteers (SLSAV) has concluded a one-day confab on women's participation in leadership and decision-making at local governance level.

The event, which was held at the Western Rural District Council hall at Waterloo, attracted over fifty participants from four constituencies, with support from ENCISS - Enhancing Interface and Interaction between State and Non-State Actors to Improve Poor People's Lives.

A women’s group in Papua New Guinea says having three women in Parliament is a victory, but there is an ongoing struggle to have allocated seats.

Susan Setae, the Executive Officer of Papua Hahine Social Action Forum, says the awareness work the group does should be credited for the breakthrough.

We invite you to read the full article published August 20, 2013

Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper are strong Labour MPs but they both have baggage. In an open letter to Ed Miliband, Cathy Newman advises the beleaguered leader of the Opposition to look to the next generation of female MPs for some inspiration. 

We invite you to read the full article published August 20, 2013

Those who described Lady Thatcher after her death as "not really a woman" or "inhuman" were "really wide of the mark", according to the late prime minister's biographer, Charles Moore.

The former editor of the Daily Telegraph, who was given access to Thatcher's papers and hitherto unseen early correspondence with her "much more formidable" sister, Muriel, said that far from being a "weird machine" Thatcher was a human, at times vulnerable, figure for whom her sex was central.

“There’s something sexist about saying that the candidates are two women. Has anyone ever remarked on it when the candidates are two men?” former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet complained about comparisons between herself and her main rival in the presidential elections, rightwing candidate Evelyn Matthei.

The Nov. 17 elections are the first electoral race in Latin America in which the two main presidential candidates are women.

Women aren't running for office because barriers to entry too high

Since the 1980s, more women have registered to vote than men. In the 2012 election, 7.8 million more women cast ballots than men. Women are more engaged in politics than their male counterparts in a lot of ways. But when it comes to actually making the laws, women are sitting on the sidelines, making up just 18 percent of Congress.

Quotas should be introduced to increase the numbers of women in parliament and public life to address the "dire" gender balance in Westminster, authors have told the Edinburgh international book festival.

Kamila Shamsie, the novelist, and Kate Mosse, the author and founder of the Women's Prize for Fiction, argued that quotas for women in parliament, though according to Mosse "a blunt tool", could "effect real change".

The study, A View of Bahraini Women's Political Stance, was made by Bahraini Nooh Khalifa, who is a renowned author and media expert. A total of 300 Bahraini women from different political backgrounds and age groups were surveyed. It was completed in around a year and revealed that a majority of voters have a positive opinion of women in power.

We invite our users to read the complete article published August 18 2013