The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) will soon start training women who are actively involved in developmental work with various political parties, but don’t get a chance to be in mainstream politics.

Besides those who are into active politics, the workshops will also target women in developmental work and those in an ‘alternative’ political space. “A primary reason of our involvement here is because we see women in politics as a mode of their empowerment and a tool of social change,” she said. Training will be given in areas like the roles of a municipal body, how to prepare the budget and ways to speak up in meetings. “We will train them in advocacy and ways in which political parties operate in urban spaces. Women who do a lot of work on ground are rarely aware of how to engage themselves in electoral politics or be vocal. We want to change this,” Bhide said.

Mayawati is far from a sure bet to win another term as chief minister of the northern state whose population of 200 million would rank as the fifth-most populous in the world if it were a country.

If she doesn't, it would be a blow to her undisguised ambition to one day become prime minister of India, a goal that looked reasonable back in 2007 when she won a huge mandate from the state's voters by appealing to a rainbow of castes, which still define the socio-economic status for many of India's 1.2 billion people.

Electrification and rural welfare projects have undoubtedly contributed to economic growth, which at seven percent annually in her first four years of office, was the state's fastest-ever rate.

In a traditionally male-dominated society, the 55-year-old leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has sought to turn her gender into an advantage in the campaign for this Saturday's election.

Tsai has promised to turn a new page with a fresh image for the DPP, shedding a history of scandal as it seeks to reach beyond its traditional blue-collar support base and embrace urban middle-class voters.

She is in a tight race with President Ma Ying-jeou who has presided over a warming of ties with China which observers say could be wound back if the independence-minded opposition is victorious.

The Arab Spring has provided a platform to the unsung heroes of the Arab world. Women have always been behind-the-scene participants in the old order of Middle Eastern politics. With the rise of social media, women are finally coming out of their cocoons and taking centrestage in shaping the new geo-politics of the Middle East.

...Meanwhile, the third edition of the Dubai School of Government's Arab Social Media Report highlights the trend of women's increasing presence in social media. It tackles the issues of a "virtual" gender gap, whether Arab women perceive social media as a useful tool, and if this alternative media can potentially increase women's civic participation.

The report found that women in the Arab world constitute only a third of Facebook users, despite the fact that Arab women have been active on social media sites across the region throughout the Arab Spring.