women's rights

On the eve of elections in Delhi, women's rights activists called on political parties on Tuesday to commit to a "Womanifesto" - a gender-sensitive agenda - to combat rising crimes against women in the Indian capital.

The gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy trainee in New Delhi last December jolted many usually apathetic urban Indians into joining street protests and sparked national discussion about how prevalent violence against women is in largely patriarchal Indian society.

It is time that the percentage of Irish women attaining high levels of education is reflected in decision making roles in politics and business, the head of the EU Commission representation in Ireland told an event held in Dublin tonight.

Afghan authorities should ensure a large number of women take part in next year’s make-or-break elections to prevent female voters being murdered and to safeguard transparency, Afghan human rights activist Sima Samar said on Tuesday.

“If one or two women go to a polling station, then it’s easy for the opposition to the government to identify the women and kill them, but if it’s thousands of women they cannot go behind every door and kill the people,” she said.

Campaigning for the December 4 Assembly elections in Delhi ended on Monday with around 25 rallies and road shows being organised in the capital.

The public engagement programmers included those by BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal.

While the city was plastered with posters promising safety to women and the issue figures big in party manifestos, only a few women have made it to the candidates’ list for the Delhi Assembly polls.

Women’s activists in Bali expect that female representation in the Provincial and Regional Councils could go up to 15 percent next year from its current 7.5 percent, which is the lowest in the country.

Democracy and women’s activist from Bali Sruti Foundation, Luh Riniti Rahayu, said Saturday the target of between 11 to 15 percent was plausible, seeing that the total number of women on the Final List of Candidates (DCT) for the 2014 general election in Bali amounted to 33 percent.

Lofa County district #4 Representative Hon. Mariamu B. Fofana has frown on the creation of women's wing in political parties in the country. Representative Fofana said putting women on the wing side of political parties deprives them of actively participating in the decision making of the party they belong to.

The Democratic Party is hoping 2014 will be a Year of the Woman—again.

As party operatives prepare for the midterm elections, Democratic women are being cast in starring roles, on the ballot and at the ballot box, as the party tries to take back politically important governor's mansions and keep its fragile majority in the Senate.

"The importance of women to the Democratic Party in 2014 cannot be overstated," said Jess McIntosh, a spokeswoman for EMILY's List, which recruits and supports Democratic women candidates.

The leader of Germany's Social Democrats on Sunday pledged a 50-50 male-female split of the party's cabinet posts in a planned new 'grand coalition' with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, according to a newspaper interview.

Sigmar Gabriel, 54, last week sealed a deal with Merkel to form a left-right government tie-up after five weeks of political wrangling following September elections, but the accord must still be endorsed by his party's membership.