Sub Saharan Africa

The number of women who made it to the party lists for normal competitive seats in the forthcoming elections remains diminutive raising a red-flag amongst many Kenyans.

Women aspirants were technically locked out by the Tenth Parliament when it failed to pass laws that would have operationalised section 81(2b) of the constitution that says: not more than two-thirds of the members of the elective bodies shall be of the same gender.

Increasing women’s participation in politics and economy and ending violence against women to be a key focus of the visit.

Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet will travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 26 to 29 January to participate, as part of the delegation of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in the 20th African Union Summit. The theme of the Summit is “Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance.”

The number of women who have shown interest in elective seats inTrans Nzoia county has increased compared to previous general elections.

Political experts attribute the increase to the new constitution which has created more elective positions for women.However, despite the new entrants, most of those giving it a try for the second or third time never succeeded in past elections.

In the history of Trans Nzoia, all seats have been won by men. Women have only been lucky to be nominated as councilors. Most women politicians are, however, interested in women representative.

Sierra Leone gender activists on Monday bemoaned the low representation of women in the country’s parliament after recent general elections, saying it has steadily decreased.

“The blame should be laid on the doorstep of political parties,” said gender activist Caroline Smart, adding that they had not come through on promises to see a 30 percent quota for women in parliament.

Bernadette Lahai is the newly elected parliamentary leader of the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party and the only woman to ever hold the post.

The Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) has presented names of 65 women it says can be appointed by President John Mahama in his government.

The names were contained in a petition signed by Bernice Sam, Executive Director, WiLDAF Ghana, and sent to the president.

The petition was headlined “Affirmative Action: Appoint 40% Women in NDC Government.”

WiLDAF says the NDC must in fulfillment of its own manifesto in 2012 have 40 per cent of women representation in all public appointments.

As countries across West Africa transition to democracy following years of autocratic rulers, civil unrest, and sometimes civil war, women are frequently left out of the process. Though they make up more than half of the population, women are often excluded from politics by rigid social norms, opaque party structures and other societal hurdles.

Yet democracies with more women in power have been shown to yield more equitable societies, have less corruption, and make more advancements in education, infrastructure and health standards.