Participation

The suffragists who 90 years ago won voting rights for women would likely shake their heads in wonder at this election, with its "mama grizzly" candidates and high-stakes woman-vs.-woman showdowns.

This week marks the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

One of the unsung heroes of the suffrage movement was Jane Addams.

Throughout her life, Addams struggled not only for women's rights, but also for labor and civil rights; free speech and world peace.

The women come from all over Israel every month to pray at the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites.

As their voices rise and fall in prayer, onlookers gawk and occasionally harass the praying women. Israeli police have arrested several women on charges of disturbing the peace; Orthodox men and women have spit at, cursed and attacked others.

With this fall's midterm elections, the number of women serving in Congress could drop for the first time in a generation — a twist on a political season many had dubbed "the year of the woman."

There is nothing more wholesome than the participation of women in the political process. When women gain in numbers in elected representation, when more women engage in the political process, women gain in influence--and that means greater advancement for America's women and families.

Margot Wallstrom, U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict, deployed a senior staff member on Aug. 25 to help find out what happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo in July, when more than 179 women were reportedly attacked and gang raped.

The attacks took place in the U.N. peacekeeper-occupied North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Ten campaign workers for a female parliamentary candidate in western Afghanistan were abducted by gunmen Thursday and the Taliban claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks, one that killed eight Afghan police officers and another that killed two Spanish police trainers and a translator a day earlier.

When Rose Gottemoeller began negotiating the new nuclear treaty with Moscow, the U.S. diplomat got questions on the usual topics: missile defense, warheads, inspections.

And then there was this one from the Russian generals: "How come you've got so many women?"

In honor of Thursday's anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote in the United States of America, here are some facts on women and politics.

The U.S. ranked 73rd in the world for women's representation in the national parliament/legislature out of the 186 countries evaluated.

Women constituted 16.8% of the U.S. House of Representatives and 15.3% of the U.S. Senate.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday that he will not sacrifice women's rights in any peace deal with the Taliban.