The suspense around newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's federal cabinet finally died down on Tuesday — a whole eight days after he was sworn in as premier — after federal ministers and state ministers took their oaths to shape up the 37-strong cabinet.

A dozen of women groups have expressed their concerns and dissatisfaction over the number of women that were elected on the 9th April elections as members of the country’s National Assembly.

The newly appointed Cabinet which consists of 17 Ministers has failed to include female representation. 

The new Cabinet was appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Colombo today. 

The list shows the lack of female representation, and also does not include the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs. 

The previous Cabinet of Ministers included one female Parliamentarian in a ministerial portfolio.

By Alice Kantor

Few feminist policies have been campaign talking points during the election.

On Sunday, the French head to the polls to elect their next president. After the first round two weeks ago, there are two candidates on the ballot: centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 13 April, the second forum on the topic "The role of women parliamentarians in the development of Uzbekistan" was held in the capital. The event was organized by the Republican Commission on Women’s Role in Society, Gender Equality and the Family, the Senate Committee on Women and Gender Equality, and the OSCE.

It was attended by senators and deputies, deputies of local Kengashes, members of the Youth Parliament, senior officials of state bodies and public organizations, representatives of international organizations and the media.

The life of a politician isn’t easy — even less so if you’re the leader of a party and a woman, says Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade.

In politics, women are judged more harshly in many respects, she says. They feel the pressure to be perfect at all times and must constantly prove themselves, with little room for anger or mistakes.

The Mauritanian presidency announced the formation of a new government of 25 ministers headed by Prime Minister Mohamed Ould Bilal.

According to a presidential decree read out Thursday night by the Secretary-General of the Presidency, Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed, the Waqf in front of the journalists, 15 ministers left the government, most notably the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, higher education and health.