- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – President of the Republic of Liberia
- Joyce Banda – President of the Republic of Malawi
- Catherine Samba-Panza – Interim President of the Central African Republic
There is progress here and there on the continent regarding women's rights . We must go much further to ensure greater gender equality in Africa. It is not just a matter of justice....When women take their rightful place at the negotiating table, in the parliament and in leadership positions across society, we can unleash Africa’s enormous potential..." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
To learn more about women's political participation, please visit the following websites:
Source: Ansa Africa
Some women's rights groups have expressed their disappointment at the recent national constitutional review conference organized by the Constitution Review Commission in Accra recently.
Source: WomenEnews
Egyptian women fought for the overthrow of Mubarak alongside men. But now the male-domination of transitional politics is like going backwards, writes Nadya Khalife of Human Rights Watch.
Source: IPS
Elizabeth Phiri was so incensed when she was overlooked as a parliamentary candidate for the Patriotic Front in a 2008 by-election on the basis of her gender that she quit the party. Four years on, she has rejoined the party but remains pessimistic - but other women politicians see reasons to hope the 2011 elections will be different.
Source: Al-Masry Al-Youm
Despite their noticeable participation in pro-democracy protests that toppled the former regime and paved the way for a new era in Egypt, Egyptian women are still finding themselves relatively excluded from the current political scene.
Source: Ghana News Agency
The Member of Parliament for Agona East, Mr John Kwesi Agyabeng, has urged women associations and groups to form "think tanks" to fight for gender equality and economic empowerment.
Source: IPS
"We have had enough of the training given to us in cooking, sewing and household works… We now have another dream: of participating actively in the development of our island at decision-making level," says Marie-Anne Laganne, a political trainer at Women In Politics.
Source: IPS
It would have been hard for a teenaged Margaret Nnananyana Nasha to imagine that she would grow up to become one of the most powerful figures in Botswana's government.
Source: Awoko
A local NGO, Movement for Resettlement and Rural Development (MORD) and the civil society governance outfit Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) have ended a dialogue forum with stakeholders and representatives from political parties, civil society organizations and women activists under the project “Strengthening cooperation for women’s political participation, rights and empowerment in society”.
Source: Pambazuka
Egyptian women describe the spirit of Tahrir and their hope that the equality they found there will live on.
Source: ReliefWeb
The African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today organized the launch of the Darfur Regional Women's Legislative Caucus, in El Fasher, North Darfur.
Source: IPS
Fatima Asmal interviews ZANELE MAGWAZA-MSIBI, leader of South Africa's National Freedom PartyDURBAN - Zanele Magwaza-Msibi is a woman with a mission: to serve the people of South Africa. She is poised to become leader of South Africa's newest political party, the National Freedom Party (NFP), after breaking away from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), where she served as national chairperson