Ms. Mu Sochua is a member of a new generation of women who are working their way into the political systems of countries across Asia and elsewhere, from local councils to national assemblies and cabinet positions.

A former minister of women’s affairs, she did as much as anyone to put women’s issues on the agenda of Cambodia as it emerged in the 1990s from decades of war and mass killings. But she lost her public platform in 2004 when she broke with the government, and she is now finding it as difficult to promote her ideas as it is to simply gain attention as a candidate.

The role of women in the lead-up to the March 7 polls -- and the roles they will attain in the next government -- are a barometer of the direction Iraq is heading as it struggles to end violence and create stability ahead of a U.S. withdrawal. Iraq's next parliament will have at least 82 female members -- but only, most would argue, because the constitution drafted under U.S. influence in 2005 guarantees them a quarter of seats.

Councillors Jan Harder and Marianne Wilkinson are teaming up to offer encouragement and advice by hosting a Women in Politics Campaign School on Feb. 27, aimed at providing information on how to budget, develop a platform and deliver a strong campaign message.

"I was thinking back to when I first ran for election in 1997 and I knew nothing about campaigns, the rules and asking for money," said Coun. Harder. "Women are still challenged today with being the main caretaker of the family and have also been involved extensively in the community and want to make a difference. We want to reach out to them with information that allows them to make that giant leap."

In May 2005 I was elected to be the first woman to join the Sinjel Municipality in the Ramallah district. At that time a new law had been passed which set a minimum quota for women's representation in local councils. The assumption underpinning the law was that women should take part in decision-making processes. So, despite the fact that the idea hadn't yet been widely accepted in many rural communities, women from different economic and cultural backgrounds suddenly found themselves taking part in political life.

"The media tend to interview those people of high-ranking ministers and chief of departments, but most of them are men. Therefore, we see voices of men more than women in newspapers," said Phonesavanh Thikeo, ‘Times’ feature editor.

She added that women’s voices usually only come into the picture when they are involved in stories related to politics and economics. "Personally, I like to support women’s voices and I like to interview them even though they are not high-ranking (people)," she said.

Even with state policy to improve the coverage of women and gender issues, news stories do not automatically improve because journalists do not understand these and how to include them as viewpoints in their stories, explains Douangdeuane Bounyavong, a well-respected author and scholar who has founded several magazines.