Participation

As Africa commemorates the International Day of Democracy on 15th September and the Peace Day on 21st September, the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) urges African governments to take concrete steps to secure equal participation of women and men in democratic, peace and security processes.

For the first time in its history the Nepali Congress will see a long queue of women participants in the 12th general convention. As many as 500 women representatives selected from village and regional level conventions and under reserved quotas are participating in the conclave.

If Brazilian voters elect a woman president next month, what might have appeared to be isolated developments in Chile and Argentina would start to look more like a trend in the southern countries of South America.

A poll in Peru says two women are the front-runners in the Oct. 3 election for Lima's mayor, a post to which only men have been elected since the city was founded in 1535.

Susana Villaran, candidate of the leftist Social Force party, leads with 42 per cent support. Lourdes Flores of the National Unity movement is second at 28 per cent, the Ipsos-Apoyo poll says.

In a rural Kabul suburb, hundreds of men jostle for the chance to ink their finger and vote, while next door, shielded by a curtain, only a few women wait for their own line to form.

Although 10 of Kabul's 33 parliamentary seats have been reserved for women, few were visible in the capital's outlying hamlet of Chawni after voting began in Afghanistan's second parliamentary election since 2001.

In mid-August in the northern Afghanistan province of Kunduz, the Taliban carried out a horrific sentence against two young Afghan lovers who had eloped against their families' wishes. The punishment was death by stoning. Deemed by Islamic extremists to be justified under sharia law, the process involves partially burying the accused, after which a male crowd hurls stones at the victims' exposed heads until they die.

Whatever else happens after this year's election, it is clear that one thing is certain not to change—namely, the extremely limited role of women in Burmese politics.

Leaders of the Democratic Party (Myanmar), Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, left, Thu Wai, center, and Nay Yee Ba Swe at a press conference at the party's head office in Rangoon on Aug. 22.

But the 26-year-old Honaryar has an additional goal: the Sikh activist aims to become the first non-Muslim woman to gain a parliamentary seat in voting on September 18.

Speaking to Miss Harriette K. Sillah the female who was endorsed by Parliament as women's representative in the National Youth Commission, she was very excited while expressing her views to this press. “I felt highly esteemed as the only female amongst nine (9) men that have been approved by the House of Parliament.”

Women MPs from the Commonwealth countries voted for a new chairperson of their association in an emotional election Friday that was initially characterised by tension, mistrust and emotions.

But it all ended with dance, song and laughter as the 74 delegates elected Ms Alix Boyd Knights, the Speaker of Dominica House of Assembly in the Carribean, the new chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians.