It has been argued that where women are fully represented, societies are more peaceful and stable. Women's political participation is fundamental for gender equality and their representation in positions of leadership must be a priority for all African governments. Women are largely under-represented in decision-making and leadership positions in Africa.
 
Over the last years, there has been more women in parliaments and decision-making positions than before. In the parliamentary elections of Rwanda in September 2013 women obtained 64 percent of the seats, which is the highest number in the world. However, women's participation in governmance and decision-making remain very limited. They are outnumbered by men in all decision-making and leadership positions.
 
In the history of Africa, there are now three women who have been elected president:
  • 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: The New Dawn

Women leaders from across the African continent have concluded a three-day gathering of Amujae’s second leadership forum convened in Monrovia by the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center), vowing to change the landscape for women in public leadership.

Source: UN Women

UN Women and the Canada High Commission will embark on a three-year initiative to increase women’s participation and representation in political leadership and decision-making in Kenya. The Government of Canada has pledged over USD 5m to address the barriers responsible for excluding women from political leadership and decision-making processes.

Source: Nation

Kenya has outperformed the global average of female board directors after witnessing significant progress in board diversity and inclusion in the last nine years, a new report shows.

Source: Africa News

Sierra Leone's government on Thursday introduced a bill that would ensure that 30 percent of parliamentary seats and cabinet positions are held by women in the West African state.

Source: Nation
Kenya’s youngest Assistant County Commissioner Rehema Malemba Kiteto has urged young women to seek leadership positions in the 2022 General Election.She particularly singled out women who are passionate about leadership to vie for various positions from MCA, MP, senator and governor positions.

Source: VOA

Tunisian President Kais Saied surprised many Wednesday with his appointment of Najla Bouden Romdhane, a 63-year-old professor at a prestigious engineering school, as the country’s first female prime minister.

SOURCE: THISDAY

Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said there is need to pave the path for a more equal, safer and inclusive Nigeria where women can optimally and effectively contribute their own quota to leadership at every level. Gbajabiamila, in his remarks yesterday at an intergenerational consultative and strategic dialogue titled, “Paving the Path: Forum for Women’s Participation in Political Leadership in Nigeria; Past, Present and Future, organised by the House Committee on Women’s Affairs in collaboration. She is doing it at the ElectHER, National Institute for Legislative & Democratic Studies (NILDS), with support from the Office of the Speaker, Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), Global Affairs Canada, USAID, and UN Women, who charged women to come out to seek political offices as power is never served a la carte, said.”

Source: Daily News Tanzania

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has appointed Dr Stergomena Tax to be the Minister for Defence and National Service. She becomes the first woman to hold the title since the country's independence.

Source: Zambia Daily Mail

FOR Vice-President-elect Mutale Nalumango, assuming public office is about providing services to better people’s lives, as opposed to amassing wealth. This is the motivation that Mrs Nalumango, 66, a teacher-turned politician comes with as she takes office as Vice-President of Zambia tomorrow.

Source: Namibia Economist 

The African Energy Week (AEW) which will take place from 9 to 12 November in Cape Town, aims to put women in a fundamental role to drive the future of Africa's energy.

AEW 2021 considers women to be the key drivers of Africa's energy revolution and should therefore, comprise notable participants in the workforce. They added that despite making up 50% of the population, women continue to represent a minimal role in the African energy industry, accounting for merely 21% of the overall workforce in energy utilities.

Source: The East African 

When Somalia's former Foreign Affairs minister Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adam announced her candidacy for president in the next elections, the reaction in Mogadishu was mostly muted.

Yet Ms Adam, from a prominent family of scholars, is not just testing the waters. She may well be testing the rigidity of an age-old culture.

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