As the prominence of women in politics increases, so does the incidence of violence against women in politics. This section highlights news, interviews, resources and events on violence against women in politics
In the early afternoon of May 13, 2020, Joana Mamombe, a member of parliament in Zimbabwe, was seized by security officers after she participated in a pop-up protest, demanding aid for the poor during the Covid pandemic. She and two other rights...
Fourteenth Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians
This Workshop will bring together scholars and parliamentarians in order to discuss research findings which are likely to be of practical use to parliamentarians. Following the practice of recent Workshops, there will be a concluding plenary session...
Bahrain’s parliament made history on Wednesday when it elected MP Fawzia Zainal as its first female Speaker of the Council of Representatives.
Zainal, who won 25 votes from the 40-member lower house chamber, became the second woman to head a...
Four days before the 2016 congressional primary in her Northern California district, Erin Schrode woke up to tens of thousands of messages. They were everywhere: in her email, on her cellphone, on her Facebook and her Twitter and her Instagram.
“All...
Female legislator attacked in brawl over Yerevan sewage water
YEREVAN -- An Armenian opposition municipal legislator was attacked in a brawl that erupted at a city council meeting in the capital, Yerevan, as she attempted to give the mayor a container showing how dirty the water in the capital is.
Marina...
Female MP abuse 'puts women off politics' says Diane Abbott
Women may be deterred from entering politics because of abuse suffered by female MPs, Diane Abbott says.
The shadow home secretary said she was speaking out about her own experiences after recently receiving a series of threats and insults.
In the...
Former Australian P.M. says women politicians face threats of rape and violence ‘almost daily’
Former prime minister Julia Gillard has warned women going into politics to expect rape threats as part of a blunt assessment of the hurdles facing female politicians.
Ms Gillard also spoke of her own experiences of sexism as Australia's first...
Feminist Forum: Discrimination + Harassment of Women in Politics
TITLE: A woman’s place is apparently not in the house (either of them): Discrimination and harassment of women in politics
ABSTRACT: Women continue to be under-represented in politics around the world. Myriad obstacles face politically ambitious...
Indian actor and director of numerous films and founder of Men Against Rape & Discrimination (MARD), Farhan Akhtar was touched by the struggle to end violence against women when a woman he worked with was sexually assaulted and killed in her own...
Female Lawmaker Describes Harassment in Parliament
A lawmaker in the Japan Restoration Party was jeered during a meeting at parliament and told by a male lawmaker she “should give birth to a baby.”
The incident took place in April when Rep. Sayuri Uenishi was speaking on Japan’s declining population...
Fighting the spirits, to defend and protect, Papua New Guinea
Accusations of sorcery are widespread in the communities of the highlands in Papua New Guinea. Often for deaths or illness, for theft or accident, the cause is believed to be sorcery, with the villain more often than not being allegedly a woman....
Factsheet: Violence Against Women - the Missing MDG?
"This paper is the first of a series of three factsheets on different pertinent issues concerning gender equality and sustainable development. In the context of the post-2015 agenda negotia-tions, we asked SDC Gender Focal Points around the world,...
First Afghan Women Police Chief Appointed in Kabul
Colonel Jamila Bayaz, a 50-year-old mother of five, this week became the first women to be appointed police chief in Afghanistan. Bayaz will lead the 1st District of Kabul.
Although the job will not be without risk – a senior police woman was ...
Fawzia Koofi, the female politician who wants to lead Afghanistan
Though disallowed from the 2014 presidential race, Fawzia Koofi is optimistic about her political career in Afghanistan. Yet it is not clear what will happen to the state of women's rights before the next one.
Afghanistan remains one of the most...
Female Fiji candidate subjected to online harassment over involvement in politics
A young Fijian woman who intends to stand in the Fiji elections says she has received threats, including threats of rape, on social media.
Roshika Deo is standing as an independent candidate in next year's promised elections.
Ms Deo who has been...
Fear and fury: women and post-revolutionary violence
One of the unmistakeable notes of euphoria during the 'Arab spring' uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia came from women proclaiming that they finally felt safe in public spaces in societies where the record of sexual harassment and violence against women...
Betraying their own biases, various Western commentators have frequently expressed shock at the visible and active presence of women and girls in demonstrations across the region. This sense of surprise has often doubled at the sight of innumerable...
