Sub Saharan Africa

Following the elections and President Jacob Zuma's recent cabinet appointments, South Africa has missed its last opportunity - so tantalizingly close - to achieve gender parity in politics ahead of the 2015 deadline.

The 50% target for women's representation in all areas of decision-making is enshrined in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development adopted in South Africa in 2008.

More participation of women in politics will go along way in making democracy in Nigeria an interesting game, even as it would help in stamping out corruption in the political system. This position was made by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi called on women in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to actively participate in politics and win elective positions in the upcoming 2015 elections.

First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, recently put forward new perspectives on how to make women's voices heard and make their votes count in Nigeria's political process, ahead of the 2015 general elections. She noted that the time had come for women to remind themselves and ask one another how they intend to take their rightful place in the continuously unfolding political equation in the country.

Nouakchott, Mauritania:  A woman has put forward a rare bid for the presidency of Mauritania, a west African nation run under strict Islamic law, the country's Constitutional Council said Wednesday,

"Lalla Mariem Mint Moulaye Idriss dropped off a file at the Constitutional Council containing her candidacy for the June 21 presidential elections," the body said in a statement.