Sub Saharan Africa

Her confirmation in the position will take place at the party congress scheduled for December this year. This would propel her into the party's powerful politburo and mark her official entrance into politics.

As a member of the supreme decision-making body the former presidential typist will play an active role in the battle to succeed her husband, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.

Five women have successfully gone through vetting to contest positions in the Jirapa constituency election of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper West Region.

Mr Richard Kuunaah, Executive Director of GHANACare, a non-governmental organization, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani on Thursday that women participation in politics in the Jirapa Distict had increased significantly.

Many lessons can be learned from South African women who rose as leaders even when it was dangerous to do so, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said on Thursday.

In a speech prepared for delivery at a women's leadership conference in Cape Town, she said the lessons were on how to lead with courage and integrity.

Madonsela said leading examples were the lives of anti-apartheid activists Victoria Mxenge, Helen Joseph, and Helen Suzman.

The call for more women to participate in politics need more commitment than mere political rhetoric.

Women's role in African politics must go beyond being voters or 'airport dancers'.

Women in Parliament are better placed to fight vices like gender-based violence, child slave, sexual assault and defilement, early marriages, abortions and unfair distribution of wealth.

The population of women in Zambia is large and hence the need for fair representation in Parliament (of course not the unrealistic 50 per cent).

The Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), on Thursday urged more women to contest the forthcoming district assemblies’ elections to enable them to participate actively in policy formulation and decision-making processes.

Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, FOSDA Programme Officer said the participation of more women in politics and the decision-making process with their male counter parts would provide a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society and is needed in order to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning.

Sexual harassments and intimidation are two major reasons why women shy away from politics, representative of Ikorodu Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, western Nigeria, Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola, has said.

Akinsola, a first-term lawmaker at the House, who spoke with newsmen recently, said many women are in tune with the general belief that politics is only meant for men. She also argued that sexual harassment could only be experienced by women who are very desperate to be politically relevant.

The Chairman of the opposition Liberty Party, Atty. Fonati Koffa, said the Liberty is in the lead pushing the gender parity. Speaking at a fundraising dinner organized by Senator Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence and held at the Cape Hotel on Friday July 25, 2014, Atty. Koffa said the party will support women candidates to ensure success in politics.

“The case of the Costa Rican domestic workers perfectly illustrates the need to shift the debate beyond numbers to consider how inclusive and representative our political systems truly are – at all levels.

Whilst the advances made in women’s parliamentary representation worldwide is no doubt a cause for celebration we know full well that ‘bums on seats’ are not enough. Attention must increasingly turn to ensuring women parliamentarians reflect the diversity of societies in which they live and that their increased participation translates into actual influence.”

As the world looks on in horror at the bloodshed in Gaza, Mary Gahonzire brings a unique perspective to the role of women in peacemaking and reconciliation. Gahonzire is deputy commissioner of the Rwanda Correctional Service, which runs prisons in the country that 20 years ago was torn apart by 100 days of killing.