International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics)

Ghana: Official appeals to women to participate in politics

Mrs. Melonin Asibi, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of the Department of Women, has appealed to women to get actively involved in district assembly elections. She said since women were in the majority, there was the need for them to get active in politics especially at the grassroots level.

She expressed concern about the low participation of women in the region in district assembly elections and said only 234 women contested in the 2006 district assembly election and 58 were elected.

iKNOW Politics celebrates its Third Anniversary

The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics) Project celebrated its third anniversary on February 27th, 2010. Since its launch at the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York in February 2007, iKNOW Politics has become the premier online network serving the needs of women politicians and their supporters around the world.

World: Open Forum: Will the U.S. follow India's example?

The leadership of women in politics took a new turn in 1993 when India put into place a 50 percent quota for women at the level of local governance. From 1993 onward, more than 1 million women have served on Indian village, block and district-level councils.

On March 8, the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, a bill was proposed in the Indian parliament -- and successfully passed the next day -- imposing a 33 percent quota for women in India's federal and state assemblies.

Philippines: Reproductive Health Tests Candidates’ Political Guts

Filipino voters who have yet to make up their minds about their choice for their next president are being advised: look at each aspirant’s stance on reproductive health to help them gauge the candidate’s leadership mettle and political guts.

A candidate’s position on issues like reproductive health, which has a long history of opposition from the Catholic Church in this mainly Catholic country, reveals clues regarding his or her capacity for governance, says Ramon San Pascual, head of the Philippine Legislative Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD).

Tanzania: Donors push gender agenda

The European Union (EU) delegation in Tanzania revealed its "Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Tanzania for the period 2010-2012," which will be presented in Dar es Salaam. It is the first of its kind, representing a collective effort by EU member states to "strengthen and coordinate action on gender issues at country-level." The EU collectively by large is Tanzania's biggest donor.

The new action plan is to promote the establishment of gender-sensitive domestic accountability mechanisms as an integral part of good governance. This is set to hold the government accountable to its citizens and empower women and men to voice their interests and needs, especially at local level. The new EU Gender Action Plan aims at capacity building of key stakeholders, strengthening accountability, monitoring and evaluation systems using gender-sensitive performance indicators and supporting concrete actions to redress situations where women and girls are particularly disadvantaged.

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Women in Arab media: present but not heard

Dr. Leila Nicolas Rahbani provides an in-depth report and analysis on the state of Arab women in the media in the Middle East and North Africa.

Women's Empowerment Principles: Equality means Business

This set of Principles is intended to offer practical guidance to business and other stakeholders on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Combating Trafficking in Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians

Jointly produced by the IPU and UNODC, the Handbook on Combating Trafficking in Persons is intended to encourage parliamentarians to take an active part in stopping human trafficking.

Empowering Parliaments through the Use of ICTs

The study, published by the United Nations Development Programme, has developed an analytical framework that focuses on the three core functions of Parliaments - legislation, representation and ove

Assessing Legislation - A manual for legislators

It aims at providing the legislators with the necessary tools that would help them in assessing legislations and proposing them to promote social and democratic change in their countries.

A Parliamentarians’ Handbook on the Small Arms Issue

In a landmark step, parliamentarians from countries in Central, East and the Horn of Africa, gathering at a conference organised by UNDP and AWEPA on 26-28 November 2003, reached an agreement on a

Enhancing Women’s Political Participation: A Policy Note for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

This Policy Note presents a set of pragmatic recommendations that will enable policy makers to enhance women’s political participation in the region.

Women's leadership in Haiti

We are interested in information, blogs, news posts and success stories from Haiti about how women are contributing to the reconstruction of democratic processes in Haiti.

Women in Politics 2010 (Poster)

This poster-sized map is a "snapshot" of the presence of women in executive and legislative branches of government as of January 2010.

Integration of Women in Industrial Development

The history of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) towards the integration of women in its activities is described, from the International Women’s Year in 1975 to the pre

Gender Based Violence in Rural Communities

The women in the rural communities are facing high levels of aggression inflicted on them mostly by Men. The abused women i interviewed the time i was compiling footage for my documentary Luapula...

2010 Election in Costa Rica

Dear iKNOW Politics members, You may be interested in knowing that on the iKNOW Politics network we have started an Election Talk. Where members from different parts of the world can share their...

Experience from Cameroon

the first place at rural areas is to look at those traditional practices that serve as a barrier to women to hold leadership positions that they look it as a taboo. The women them selves should...

Gender in the Malestream – Acceptance of Women and Gender Equality in Different United Nations Organisations

The author outlines changing approaches to women’s issues and gender equality in the
UN system both before and since the International Women’s Year in 1975 and describes

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iKNOW Politics Turns Three

Featured Interview

Interview with Regina Mundi, the Director General of Hoseana Enterprises Ltd.

Regina Mundi "All through the years I have fought to have women’s talents recognized and for women themselves to be interested in politics. We have through seminars encouraged women to participate actively in politics, not only by going out to vote but also by adhering to political parties."