Participation

Nearly a third of candidates in Angola's upcoming parliamentary elections are female, thanks to a new quota imposed by the government. The 30 percent rule was designed to bring more women into the country's parliament, but as campaigning gets under way, women continue to stay in Angola's political shadows, barely visible at rallies and with few holding senior party positions.

The New Zealand Parliamentarians' group on Population and Development (NZPPD) welcomes the news that 18 women will be contesting the 4th August elections in the Solomon Islands.

The 11th Regional Conference on Latin American and Caribbean Women closes Friday with the approval of the "Brasilia Consensus," which highlights top challenges of women.

For four days, about 800 women from 33 countries and representatives of 100 NGOs worldwide met in the Brazilian capital to talk about diverse gender issues and the need for a new social pact allowing for gender equity in labor.

Cuba was elected Tuesday in Brazil one of th vice presidents of the 11th session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean that will analyze the situation of women and genre equality.

A record 508 candidates will be contesting the 50 seats in the Solomon Islands parliament in next month's national election, according to figures released by the country's electoral commission.

The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission is yet to confirm the number of women to contest the election but media reports say there are 25 female candidates.

In the coming October 3 presidential election, two of the three frontrunners are women. Dilma Rousseff (PT) has 35% of voter intentions in the polls and Marina Silva (PV) has around 7%. Former São Paulo governor José Serra (PSDB) is the man in this political triangle and he also has 35%.

Honduran women rejected on Wednesday the increased US military presence in the country and the installation of two new bases in the Caribbean.

"There are clear intentions by Washington to continue extending its operational range and to demonstrate from our territory its hegemony to wage a war that we, the peoples, do not want," warned the Visitacion Padilla Movement of Women for Peace.

Two years after its initial release, the documentary film Courting Justice continues to inspire audiences around the world with its story of South African women who fought against all odds to win judgeships in the country's highest courts.

Only a handful of women are running in Mozambique's municipal elections scheduled for Nov. 19. Among the 111 candidates vying to become president in 43 municipal councils, only eight are women.

Plans for a peace deal with the Taleban in Afghanistan could seriously jeopardize the rights of the Afghan people, in particular Afghan women, unless concrete human rights benchmarks are incorporated, said Amnesty International.