Political Participation - News

Elected female representatives from the local government on Sunday demanded the reservation of one third of the ward of Union Parishad and Pourashava for women which would be selected from every three wards by rotation every year.

At a conference held in London on Thursday to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Arab International Women's Forum, politicians, academics and business leaders from the Middle East, Asia and Africa gathered to address the themes of ‘Emerging Economies and Leaderships.'

Appreciating the leadership role of Dr Fehmida Mirza, for undertaking numerous initiatives towards the protection and empowerment of women, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that she is a role model for women of many countries particularly in her region. Admiring the fact that Dr Mirza is the first female Speaker of the Muslim World, he said her contribution in building parliamentary consensus as well as establishing Parliamentary Caucus were significant achievements need to be promoted and highlighted. The Secretary General made these remarks in a meeting with Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Dr Fehmida Mirza, who called on him at the UN Headquarters on Friday.

In Sierra Leone's highly patriarchal society, where institutionalised gender inequalities are exacerbated by discriminatory customs, one group is singing its way towards changing this.

Women lawmakers and four other members of parliament from marginalized and dalit communities obstructed the parliamentary proceedings on Sunday demanding appropriate representation of their communities in the state organs.

Chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula called on Friday for a quota system to improve women's representation in the public and private sector.

While the Iranian authorities have effectively quashed all overt political organization for women's rights, today women are the most dynamic group in Iranian opposition politics.

Senior United Nations officials today stressed the need to promote the participation of women in decision-making, noting that democracy and gender equality are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.

Syrian human rights organization Sawasiah says security forces have killed at least 560 civilians since protests started just over six week ago; Syrian security arrested 11 women participating in a silent demonstration on Saturday.

Iranians take to the streets in Tehran to show support for Bahraini women enduring the violence and crimes committed against them by Saudi-backed security forces.