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Interviews

Interview with Marguerite Lusamba, popularly known as “Tacher”, President of the Rally of Conciliatory Democrats

I was abducted, tortured. Substances were injected into my body. I was shot: two bullets in the leg and one in the head. I nearly lost my life because of my political commitment. But these experiences did nothing to diminish my determination.

Interview

Interview with Amssatou Sow Sidibé President, Convergence of Actors in Defence of Republican Values “C.A.R Lenen”. Candidate in Senegal’s 2012 presidential elections

Women know that if a woman is elected their concerns will be better taken into account – a woman who assumes power having been a mother, with boys and girls, and who could never discriminate against either gender.

Interview, Senegal

Interview with Dewi Coryati, A Member of Parliament in Indonesia

"As a woman, you may have to work twice as hard as your male colleagues to be considered equal. But because of that you will then always be motivated to improve yourself, so that you will be better or you are doing your best in completing your responsibility for your constituents."

Constituency Outreach, Indonesia, Interview, Parliamentary Caucuses, Parliaments and Representatives, Skills Building

Interview with Honorable Celestine Adjonahoun, Member of Parliament in Benin, President of women Caucus

It’s not a world you can enter without being prepared. I’m convinced that being involved in politics implies a certain personal culture. You can’t be the kind of woman who’s at a loss for words, you have to stand up for yourself and learn to take what comes your way.

Benin, Campaign Planning and Strategy, Campaigns, Elections and Quotas, Electoral Systems and Laws, Interview, Voter Outreach

iKNOW Politics Interviews H.E Mariam Marie Gisèle Guigma, Minister for Women’s Promotion, Burkina Faso

Political parties have to be more respectful of women. Women are the largest segment of the electorate and they have to head their lists with women candidates. Women’s access to new technologies should not be limited, because it is very important for the continent’s economic development. Women are just as capable as men of using the new technologies.

Burkina Faso, Interview

Interview with Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Amerindian Affairs of the Republic of Guyana

“…but with more women being educated, I’m sure that the number of high-caliber and quality women to assume leadership in the near future is not going to be reduced.  I think the quality of women who enter into politics will increase very soon.”

Guyana, Interview

Interview with Marlene Malahoo Forte Senator and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Jamaica

“My simple approach to anything I do is to do the best I can – to use my office well while I am there and to understand that that office is not a place of personal privilege but a high seat of responsibility.  So every decision I take must be a decision that furthers the good of others.”

Interview, Jamaica

Interview with Gloria Young, president of the Panamanian Association of Women Parliamentarians and Former Parliamentarians and Panamanian legislator for two consecutive terms (1994-2004)

“There is no better way to add to your political worth than through training and constant capacity-building, especially for women.  Men are more willing to take on political challenges without training.  For women, it’s much more difficult to take this step or to find the courage.  So you have to encourage them.  It’s not enough to say, “be brave, be brave,” you have to explain and provide reasons.”

Interview, Panama

Interview with Honourable Ascofaré Ouleymatou Tamboura, member of Parliament for Ténenkou Cercle, President of the Women’s Caucus of the National Assembly of Mali

To my sisters and my daughters who want to embark on politics, I have only one piece of advice: you have to believe!

Interview, Mali

Interview with Carmen Beramendi National Representative (1990-1995) and Director of the National Women’s Institute, INMUJERES (2005-2010)

“The lack of political participation by women marks an important democratic deficit. All structures that make democracy more effective are also structures that can contribute to increasing women’s participation, though this is not automatic. At least this is a lesson from my own personal experience: the more democratic the structure, the more women that are elected."

Interview, Leadership, Uruguay